Construction of the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall is an ominous monument to the Cold War. Statements by American Presidents

The Berlin Wall is the most odious and ominous symbol of the Cold War

As a result of World War II, Germany was divided into four occupation zones. The eastern lands went to the Soviet Union, and the British, Americans and French controlled the west of the former Reich. The same fate befell the capital. Divided Berlin was destined to become the real arena of the Cold War. After the proclamation of the German Democratic Republic on October 7, 1949, the eastern part of Berlin was declared its capital, and the western part became an enclave. Twelve years later, the city was surrounded by a wall that physically separated the socialist GDR from the capitalist West Berlin.

Nikita Khrushchev's difficult choice

Immediately after the war, Berliners were free to move from one part of the city to another. The division was practically not felt, except for the difference in living standards, which was visible to the naked eye. The store shelves in West Berlin were overflowing with goods, which could not be said about the capital of the GDR. In the capitalist enclave, the situation was better with wages, especially for qualified personnel - they were welcomed here with open arms.

As a result, a massive outflow of specialists from East Germany to the West began. The part of the common population that was dissatisfied with their life in the “socialist paradise” did not lag behind. In 1960 alone, more than 350 thousand of its citizens left the GDR. The East German and Soviet leadership were seriously concerned about such an outflow, in fact, a mass exodus of people. Everyone understood that if he was not stopped, the young republic would face inevitable collapse.

The appearance of the wall was also determined by the Berlin crises of 1948-1949, 1953 and 1958-1961. The last one was especially tense. By that time, the USSR had actually transferred its sector of the occupation of Berlin to the GDR. The western part of the city still remained under the rule of the Allies. An ultimatum was put forward: West Berlin must become a free city. The Allies rejected the demands, believing that this could in the future lead to the annexation of the enclave to the GDR.

The situation was aggravated by the East German government's domestic policies. The then leader of the GDR, Walter Ulbricht, pursued a tough economic policy based on the Soviet model. In an effort to “catch up and overtake” the Federal Republic of Germany, the authorities did not disdain anything. They increased production standards and carried out forced collectivization. But wages and the overall standard of living remained low. This provoked the flight of East Germans to the west, as we mentioned above.

What to do in this situation? On August 3-5, 1961, the leaders of the Warsaw Pact member states urgently gathered in Moscow on this occasion. Ulbricht insisted: the border with West Berlin must be closed. The Allies agreed. But how to do that? The head of the USSR, Nikita Khrushchev, considered two options: an air barrier or a wall. We chose the second one. The first option threatened a serious conflict with the United States, perhaps even a war with America.

Splitting in two - in one night

On the night of August 12-13, 1961, GDR troops were brought to the border between the western and eastern parts of Berlin. For several hours they blocked its sections within the city. Everything happened according to the declared alarm of the first degree. The military personnel, together with the police and workers' squads, simultaneously set to work, because the building materials for the construction of the barriers had been prepared in advance. Until the morning, the city of 3 million was cut into two parts.

193 streets were blocked with barbed wire. The same fate befell four Berlin metro lines and 8 tram lines. In places adjacent to the new border, power and telephone lines were cut off. They even managed to weld the pipes of all city communications here. Stunned Berliners gathered the next morning on both sides of the barbed wire. The order was given to disperse, but the people did not obey. Then they were dispersed within half an hour with the help of water cannons...

The entire perimeter of the West Berlin border was covered with barbed wire by Tuesday, August 15th. In the following days, it was replaced by the actual stone wall, the construction and modernization of which continued until the first half of the 70s. Residents from border houses were evicted, and their windows overlooking West Berlin were blocked with bricks. The border Potsdamer Platz was also closed. The wall acquired its final form only in 1975.

What was the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall (in German Berliner Mauer) had a length of 155 kilometers, of which 43.1 km were within the city limits. German Chancellor Willy Brandt called it a “shameful wall,” and US President John Kennedy called it “a slap in the face to all humanity.” The official name adopted in the GDR: Anti-Fascist Defensive Wall (Antifaschischer Schutzwall).

The wall, which physically divided Berlin into two parts along houses, streets, communications and the Spree River, was a massive structure of concrete and stone. It was an extremely fortified engineering structure with movement sensors, mines, and barbed wire. Since the wall was a border, there were also border guards here who shot to kill anyone, even children, who dared to illegally cross the border into West Berlin.

But the wall itself was not enough for the GDR authorities. A special restricted area with warning signs was set up along it. The rows of anti-tank hedgehogs and the strip dotted with metal spikes looked especially ominous; it was called “Stalin’s lawn.” There was also a metal mesh with barbed wire. When trying to penetrate through it, signal flares went off, notifying the GDR border guards about an attempt to illegally cross the border.

Barbed wire was also strung over the odious structure. A high voltage current was passed through it. Observation towers and checkpoints were erected along the perimeter of the Berlin Wall. Including from West Berlin. One of the most famous is “Checkpoint Charlie,” which was under American control. Many dramatic events took place here related to the desperate attempts of GDR citizens to escape to West Germany.

The absurdity of the “Iron Curtain” idea reached its climax when it was decided to surround the Brandenburg Gate, the famous symbol of Berlin and all of Germany, with a wall. And from all sides. For the reason that they found themselves in the path of an odious structure. As a result, neither residents of the GDR capital nor residents of West Berlin could even get close to the gates until 1990. So the tourist attraction became a victim of political confrontation.

The fall of the Berlin Wall: how it happened

Hungary involuntarily played a significant role in the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Under the influence of perestroika in the USSR, it opened the border with Austria in May 1989. This became a signal for the citizens of the GDR, who flocked to other countries of the Eastern bloc to get to Hungary, from there to Austria and then to the Federal Republic of Germany. The leadership of the GDR lost control of the situation, and mass demonstrations began in the country. People demanded civil rights and freedoms.

The protests culminated in the resignation of Erich Honecker and other party leaders. The outflow of people to the West through other Warsaw Pact countries became so massive that the existence of the Berlin Wall lost all meaning. On November 9, 1989, Günter Schabowski, a member of the Politburo of the SED Central Committee, spoke on television. He announced a simplification of the rules for entry and exit from the country and the possibility of immediately obtaining visas to visit West Berlin and Germany.

For the East Germans this was a signal. They did not wait for the new rules to officially come into force and rushed to the border in the evening of the same day. The border guards initially tried to push the crowd back with water cannons, but then gave in to the pressure of the people and opened the border. On the other side, West Berliners had already gathered and rushed to East Berlin. What happened was reminiscent of a national holiday, people laughed and cried with happiness. Euphoria reigned until the morning.

On December 22, 1989, the Brandenburg Gate was opened for passage. The Berlin Wall still stood, but nothing remained of its ominous appearance. It was broken in places, it was painted with numerous graffiti and drawings and inscriptions were applied. Townspeople and tourists chipped off pieces of it as souvenirs. The wall was demolished a few months after the GDR joined the Federal Republic of Germany on October 3, 1990. The symbol of the Cold War and the division of Germany has lived on for a long time.

Berlin Wall: today

Accounts of those killed while crossing the Berlin Wall vary. In the former GDR they claimed that there were 125 of them. Other sources claim that there are 192 of them. Some media reports, citing Stasi archives, cited the following statistics: 1245. Part of the large Berlin Wall memorial complex, opened in 2010, is dedicated to the memory of the victims (the entire complex was completed two years later and occupies four hectares).

Currently, a fragment of the Berlin Wall, 1300 meters long, has been preserved. It has become a reminder of the most sinister symbol of the Cold War. The fall of the wall inspired artists from all over the world, who came here and painted the remaining area with their paintings. This is how the East Side Gallery appeared - an open-air gallery. One of the drawings, the kiss of Brezhnev and Honecker, was made by our compatriot, artist Dmitry Vrubel.

The Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer) is a complex of engineering structures that existed from August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989 on the border of the eastern part of the territory of Berlin - the capital of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the western part of the city - West Berlin, which had , as a political unit, has a special international status.

During this period, there was also a serious aggravation of the political situation around Berlin. At the end of 1958, the head of the USSR, Nikita Khrushchev, proposed making West Berlin a “free city” with a guarantee of its independence, marking the end of the occupation by the victors of World War II. If the NATO countries, Khrushchev warned, do not agree to conclude a peace treaty with both Germanys, the USSR will conclude it only with the GDR. She would gain control of the routes of communication with West Berlin, and the Americans, British and French, in order to get into the city, would be forced to turn to the East German authorities, inevitably recognizing their existence. But recognition of the GDR did not take place. Between 1958 and 1961. Berlin remained the hottest spot in the world.

More than a quarter of a century has passed since the fall of the infamous Berlin Wall. Willy Brand, one of the Chancellors of Germany, called this structure the “wall of shame.” The concrete fence became a symbol of the split of Germany into separate states and the Cold War - a time of confrontation between two superpowers: the USSR and the USA.

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The unconditional surrender of the Third Reich after World War II entailed the redivision of the world into new spheres of influence. The strengthening of the USSR's position in Eastern Europe aroused the fears of the countries of the Western camp, to which the idea of ​​dividing the defeated power belonged. In February 1945, the participants of the Yalta Conference (America, England, France and the USSR) determined the post-war status of Germany: the allies agreed on the dismemberment of the country. The issue of delimiting the four occupation zones was finally resolved during negotiations in Potsdam on July 17-08, 1945.

Four years later, in May 1949, a new state appeared on the world map - the Federal Republic of Germany, and six months later - the GDR. The nearly 1,400 km long border ran from Bavaria in the south to the Baltic Sea in the north. It cut through the landscapes, settlements and lives of millions of people. Berlin also turned out to be bipolar, while remaining a free zone. Residents moved without problems between the two parts of the divided city.

Walter Ulbricht, the first person of the GDR, was interested in stopping the increasing outflow of citizens (especially valuable specialists) to the west. He repeatedly wrote to Khrushchev about the need to strengthen control on the border with Germany. The impetus for the construction of the fence was the political conflict of 1961. Its participants - the USSR and the USA - claimed undivided ownership of the city. The Vienna negotiations, the topic of which was the status of Berlin, were unsuccessful, and the Soviet leadership approved the GDR proposal to strengthen border control.

History of construction

On the night of August 13, 1961, barbed wire appeared in the eastern part of the city. Next, armed troops blocked transport arteries and installed barriers. By August 15, the entire border line was cordoned off. The first blocks appeared. Creating a reinforced concrete structure, builders blocked streets, bricked up the windows of nearby houses, cut wires and welded pipes. The wall knew no barriers - it passed through metro stations, tram lines, railway crossings and the Spree River.

The Brandenburg Gate, located along the way, was fenced on all sides, making the main symbol of Berlin inaccessible to both Western and Eastern residents of the city. From 1962 to 1978, the building was completed and re-equipped. Each time the wall acquired more and more sinister outlines.

What was

The Berlin Wall is a 3.60 m high engineering structure consisting of reinforced concrete segments. The top of the fence was covered with iron pipes installed in 1975, which prevented anyone from clinging to the edge of the fortification with their hands. At the same time, to enhance protection, anti-tank hedgehogs and barrier tapes with spikes, popularly nicknamed “Stalin’s lawn,” were installed at the foot of the structure. Several areas were supplemented with live barbed wire.

By the end of the 70s, in some areas on the eastern side, a metal mesh with signal flares was strengthened. It was separated from the wall by an earthen ditch, called the “death strip.” This area was guarded by dogs and illuminated by powerful floodlights. An illegal attempt to move to the western part of the city was punishable by imprisonment or death.

The total length of the structure was 155 km, of which Berlin accounted for 44.75 km. The “Shameful Wall” crossed 192 streets, 3 highways and 44 railway lines. Along the entire length there were 20 bunkers, 302 towers and 259 posts guarded by guard dogs. The defense fortification was patrolled by 10 thousand armed soldiers, who were ordered to shoot to kill if necessary.

Border crossing

The odious construction divided the city and cut off relatives and friends from each other. Only pensioners had the right to cross the border. Nevertheless, reckless refugees tried to find loopholes through which they could leave the “socialist paradise.” According to various sources, between 136 and 206 East Berliners died trying to escape, most of them within five years of the construction of the fence.

The first killed was Günter Litfin, shot dead in August 1961 by GDR border guards while trying to get into West Berlin along the Spree River. In 1966, 40 shots killed two children. They were 10 and 13 years old. The last two victims were Winfried Freudenberg, who crashed on March 8, 1989, while flying over a wall in a homemade hot air balloon, and Chris Gueffroy, who died in a hail of bullets while trying to cross the border in February of the same year.

Fall and destruction

Mikhail Gorbachev, who came to power, began to modernize the state and government apparatus. Under the slogans "Glasnost" and "Perestroika" he reformed the Soviet Union. The leadership of the GDR lost the support of the USSR and could no longer stop its citizens trying to leave the country. Socialist Hungary, followed by Czechoslovakia, liberalized the border regime. Residents of East Germany filled these states, wanting to get to Germany through them. The Berlin Wall was no longer necessary.

In fact, the beginning of the fall of the wall was the evening of November 9, 1989. At a live press conference dedicated to the authorities’ decision to open checkpoints, the question was asked when this resolution would come into force. In response, Schabowski, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Party of Germany, uttered the famous words: “This will happen, as far as I know, ... now, immediately.”

Berliners watching the performance on TV were speechless. When the initial shock wore off, people from both sides of the border rushed to the hated fence. The border guards did not hold back their pressure. The reunion that had been dreamed of for 28 years took place. The demolition of the Berlin Wall began on June 13, 1990 at Bernauer Strasse. But even before this moment, the townspeople had broken many of its fragments, taking away pieces of concrete as souvenirs.

Those of you who want to include a visit to the infamous landmark in your excursion program will be interested in information that the guidebooks do not contain. So, the Berlin Wall: facts and figures.

1. On October 27, 1961, a confrontation between American and Soviet troops occurred at a checkpoint on Friedrichstrasse - 30 battle tanks collided at the border.

1. On June 11, 1964, French President Charles de Gaulle informed the USSR Ambassador about the possibility of a nuclear war in the event of a new military conflict in Berlin.

1. Despite enhanced security measures, in the period between 1961-1989. 5,000 townspeople managed to get over the fence. Taking advantage of their official position, 1,300 GDR soldiers also crossed the border.

1. After the opening of the passage, West Berliners showed generosity to the East German border guards - bars near the wall gave out free beer.

1. Today, some of the concrete monster's segments can be found in different parts of the world, such as the CIA headquarters and the Vatican.

1. The construction and protection of the border fence became a great economic burden for the GDR. The cost was more than 400 million marks (200 million euros). Ironically, the “anti-capitalist stronghold” led to the collapse of the socialist country.

1. On November 9, 2014, on the day of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, 7,000 glowing rubber balls were installed along the entire perimeter of the former border, which soared into the sky at exactly 19:00.

Berlin Wall today

Currently, all that remains of the structure, which aroused hatred and fear among people for 28 years, are only small fragments and a double line of paving stones, snaking like a long snake through the city. To ensure that the memory of the victims remains forever in the hearts of people, the Berlin authorities have opened several museums and memorial centers located next to the remains of the wall.

Memorial on Bernauerstrasse

“Window of Memory” is the name of the memorial, created to familiarize contemporaries with the tragic events associated with the split of the capital. It is dedicated to people living in the eastern part and trying to get to the western part by jumping from the windows of houses and falling to their deaths. The monument is a rusty iron composition containing photographs of the dead.

Nearby there is an area of ​​gray concrete and border strip, a tower, the Chapel of Peace, built on the site of a bombed Gothic temple, a library, a museum and an observation deck. You can get to the memorial by metro (line U8). Stop Bernauerstrasse.

Topography of terror

This place is a reminder of the countless tragedies caused by the Nazi regime. The museum is located on the territory of the headquarters of one of the leaders of the SS - Reichsführer Himmler. Now in a pavilion with an area of ​​800 m2, visitors can look at photographs and documents introducing genocide and other crimes of fascism. Nearby, in the open air, are the ruins of Gestapo barracks and basements, and part of the Berlin Wall.

Address: Niederkirchnerstrasse 8. You can get here by S-Bahn (city train). Line U2 to Anhalter Bahnhof.

Checkpoint Charlie

At the former border checkpoint for diplomats and officials, where a conflict took place in 1961 - a confrontation between Soviet and American tank divisions, today there is a museum of the Berlin Wall. Among the exhibits are unique photographs and devices with which the East Germans moved to the western side: scuba gear, hang gliders and hot air balloons. Near the museum there is a model of a guard booth with “soldiers” standing nearby, dressed in American military uniforms of that time. “Border guards” willingly take pictures with everyone.

Checkpoint Charlie is located on Friedrichstrasse next to the Kochstrasse metro station. The museum is open every day from 9:00 to 22:00.

One of the journalists in the 80s described his impressions of the Berlin Wall as follows: “I walked and walked along the street and just ran into a blank wall. There was nothing nearby, nothing. Just a long, gray wall.”

Long and gray wall. And really, nothing special. However, this is the most famous monument of recent world and German history, or rather, what is left of the wall and turned into a memorial.

History of construction

It is impossible to talk about the emergence of the Berlin Wall without knowing how Europe changed after World War II.

Then Germany split into two parts: East and West, the GDR (Eastern) followed the path of building socialism and was completely controlled by the USSR, joined the military bloc of the Warsaw Pact, Germany (the Allied occupation zone) continued capitalist development.

Berlin was divided in the same unnatural way. The area of ​​responsibility of the three allies: France, England, and the USA became West Berlin, ¼ of which went to the GDR.

By 1961, it became clear that more and more people did not want to build a socialist bright future, and border crossings became more frequent. The young people, the future of the country, were leaving. In July alone, about 200 thousand people left the GDR across the border with West Berlin.

The leadership of the GDR, supported by the Warsaw Pact countries, decided to strengthen the country's state border with West Berlin.

On the night of August 13, GDR military units began covering the entire perimeter of the West Berlin border with barbed wire; they were finished by the 15th; then the construction of the fence continued for a year.

Another problem remained for the GDR authorities: Berlin had one transport system of metro and electric trains. It was solved simply: they closed all the stations on the line, above which the territory of an unfriendly state was located, where they could not close, they set up a checkpoint, like at the Friedrichstrasse station. They did the same with the railroad.

The border was fortified.

What did the Berlin Wall look like?

The word “wall” does not fully reflect the complex border fortification that, in fact, was the Berlin Wall. It was a whole border complex, consisting of several parts and well fortified.

It stretched for a distance of 106 kilometers, its height was 3.6 meters and was designed so that it could not be overcome without special devices. The construction material – gray reinforced concrete – gave the impression of inaccessibility and steadfastness.

Barbed wire was strung along the top of the wall and a high voltage current was passed through it to prevent any attempts to illegally cross the border. In addition, a metal mesh was installed in front of the wall, and metal strips with spikes were placed in some places. Observation towers and checkpoints were erected along the perimeter of the structure (there were 302 such structures). To make the Berlin Wall completely impregnable, anti-tank structures were built.

The complex of border structures was completed by a control strip with sand, which was leveled daily.

The Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of Berlin and Germany, was in the way of the barrage. The problem was solved simply: they were surrounded by a wall on all sides. No one, neither East Germans nor West Berliners, could approach the gates from 1961 until 1990. The absurdity of the “Iron Curtain” has reached its apogee.

Part of the once united people, it would seem, forever cut itself off from the other part, bristling with electrified barbed wire.

Living surrounded by a wall

Of course, it was West Berlin that was surrounded by a wall, but it seemed that the GDR had fenced itself off from the whole world, safely hidden behind the most primitive security structure.

But no walls can stop people who want freedom.

Only citizens of retirement age enjoyed the right of free transition. The rest invented many ways to overcome the wall. It is interesting that the more the border became stronger, the more sophisticated the means of crossing it became.

They flew over her on a hang glider, a homemade hot air balloon, climbed on a rope stretched between border windows, and rammed the walls of houses with bulldozers. To get to the other side, they dug tunnels, one of them was 145 m long, and many people moved through it to West Berlin.

During the years of the wall's existence (from 1961 to 1989), more than 5,000 people left the GDR, including members of the People's Army.

Lawyer Wolfgang Vogel, a public figure from the GDR who was involved in mediating exchanges of people (among his most famous cases were the exchange of Soviet intelligence officer Rudolf Abel for Gary Powers, the exchange of Anatoly Sharansky), arranged border crossings for money. The leadership of the GDR had a stable income from this. So more than 200 thousand people and about 40 thousand political prisoners left the country. Very cynical, because we were talking about people’s lives.

People died trying to cross the wall. The first to die was 24-year-old Peter Fechter in August 1962, the last victim of the wall was Chris Gueffroy in 1989. Peter Fechter bled to death after lying wounded against a wall for 1.5 hours before border guards picked him up. Now at the site of his death there is a monument: a simple column of red granite with a modest inscription: “He just wanted freedom.”

Fall of the Berlin Wall

In 1989, the leadership of the GDR could no longer restrain its citizens from their desire to leave the country. Perestroika began in the USSR, and “big brother” could no longer help. In the fall, the entire leadership of East Germany resigned, and on November 9, free passage across the former, once so fortified border was allowed.

Thousands of Germans on both sides rushed to each other, rejoiced and celebrated. These were unforgettable moments. The event instantly acquired a sacred meaning: no to the unnatural division of a single people, yes to a united Germany. No to all kinds of borders, yes to freedom and the right to human life for all people in the world.

Just as the wall used to be a symbol of separation, these days it has begun to unite people. They drew graffiti on it, wrote messages, and cut off pieces as souvenirs. People understood that history was being made before their eyes, and they were its creators.

The wall was finally demolished a year later, leaving a 1,300-meter-long fragment as a reminder of the most expressive symbol of the Cold War.

Epilogue

This building has become a symbol of the absurd desire to slow down the natural course of history. But the Berlin Wall and, to a greater extent, its fall took on enormous meaning: no barriers could divide a united people, no walls could protect from the wind of change that blew through the bricked-up windows of border houses.

This is what the Scorpions song “Wind of Change” is about, dedicated to the fall of the wall and becoming the anthem of German unification.

20 years ago, on November 9, 1989, the infamous Berlin Wall fell. This event is widely celebrated throughout Eastern Europe. In Russia, it was also reflected in a number of photo exhibitions and other events, held, however, less widely.

On both sides of the death strip

East Germany began to fence itself off from West Germany in 1952. And on August 13, 1961, the border was closed with the construction of the Berlin Wall, which stopped the mass outflow of residents of communist countries to the West. It was laid through a virtually living city. It blocked the metro lines and the railway. Many Berlin families were torn apart. 155 km of concrete bastion split the city in half for 28 years.

On the eastern side, the Berlin Wall was crammed with electronics. From observation towers, snipers shot at daredevils rushing into the free world. Russian tanks and machine gunners coexisted with German shepherds.

On the western side, the wall was guarded by NATO troops. But it was possible to approach the wall calmly. Even those who wanted to climb on it and look at their eastern neighbors were not prevented. This is understandable - there were no people suffering to get to the other side. Over time, artists and artists began to gather at the western wall. The wall was covered with drawings and graffiti, some of which are now known throughout the world.

Despite such strict protection of the Berlin Wall, there were plenty of brave souls from the eastern side who wanted to breathe the air of freedom. Their ingenuity knew no bounds: they tried to fly over the wall on a hang glider and in a hot air balloon, sailed across the Baltic Sea, hid in car hiding places, dug tunnels under the Berlin Wall, which had a length of 30 to 200 m. Some tunnels could only be crawled, in others, even walk at full height. About 300 people were able to escape to West Berlin in this way.

But not always everything ended well. When trying to get to the other side of the Berlin Wall, according to various sources, from 125 to 1245 people died. “An 18-year-old boy tried to jump over the wall - he fell, he didn’t die, he could have been helped, he just broke his head and lost a lot of blood. For five hours no one approached him. People and children looked at him as he died before their eyes. And he died,” says Olga Sviblova, curator of a photo exhibition at the Manege Central Exhibition Hall dedicated to this event. On August 12, 2007, a BBC broadcast announced that documents were found in the archives of the GDR Ministry of State Security that confirm that the GDR authorities ordered the extermination of all fugitives, including children.

Fall of the wall

In the mid-80s, perestroika began in the USSR. The situation in the GDR is becoming very tense. The leadership of the GDR is trying to pretend that everything is calm, but the number of people wishing to leave the GDR is growing uncontrollably. In August 1989, about 600 tourists from the GDR, who were spending their holidays in Hungary, flee to Austria.

The leadership of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) is trying to block the flow. After this, crowds of people eager to leave for the West begin to besiege the diplomatic missions of the Federal Republic of Germany in Prague and Warsaw.

Celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the founding of the GDR in October 1989 are turning into farce and window dressing. The head of the party and government, Erich Honecker, despite the events taking place in the country, praises the virtues of the socialist socialist system in Germany. Even Mikhail Gorbachev's calls for reforms in the GDR remain unanswered.

However, on October 8, Honecker was forced to cede power to Egon Krenz, who promises the people speedy reforms. But the people are already tired of waiting. On November 4, about 400 thousand demonstrators gather at Alexanderplatz Square in Berlin. The people demand the resignation of the government, free elections and freedom of speech. In Leipzig, the opposition united around the local Evangelical Church of St. Nicholas. On November 6, over half a million people take part in the demonstration. Unrest begins throughout the GDR.

On November 9, at a press conference held by the SED, in response to a question from Italian news agency ANSA correspondent Ehrmann about the new procedure for East German citizens leaving the country, party official Günter Schabowski announced that a new law was being adopted that would allow residents of the GDR to travel abroad. “When will it come into force?” - suddenly a voice came from the hall. Schabowski glanced at the papers through his rimless glasses and stammered, “It will… as far as I know… from now on.”

This news instantly spread throughout East Berlin. And on the same day, many city residents went to the Berlin Wall to find out everything thoroughly for themselves. Border guards, who had not yet heard anything about the new exit rules, tried to block the road. However, they were soon forced to retreat and open the passages.

The unification of Germany was no longer just an internal affair of the Germans. According to the results of the GDR elections in March 1990, the East German Christian Democrats won. Their leader, Lothar de Maizières, becomes head of the GDR government. In mid-May, Kohl and de Maizières signed an agreement on the creation of a single economic space. And in May, negotiations on the “2 plus 4” formula begin in Bonn with the participation of both German states and the four victorious powers: the USSR, the USA, France and Great Britain. There were many controversial issues.

At the next meeting in Zheleznovodsk on July 16, 1990, Kohl and Gorbachev agreed on all controversial points. Gorbachev agrees to the entry of a united Germany into NATO. The deadline for the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the territory of the GDR is determined. In turn, the German government assumes obligations within the framework of economic cooperation with the Soviet Union. Germany recognizes the borders of western Poland along the Oder and Neisse.

On October 3, 1990, the GDR joins the zone of application of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany. In other words, Germany is finally becoming a single country.