Memory of the victims of the GDR border regime: 62nd anniversary of the wall building

Memory of the victims of the GDR border regime: 62nd anniversary of the wall building

On August 13, 2023, the victims of the GDR border regime were commemorated in Berlin and Brandenburg, since the 62nd anniversary of the wall building was. At several events along the former border, representatives from politics and society remembered the people who were died or killed when attempts to escape. The separation of families and the lack of freedom in the GDR were also discussed.

The central memorial event of the State of Brandenburg took place in Teltow. Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) warned that the victims of the GDR border regime and the historical injustice never warned. He emphasized that the SED leadership turned the people into the GDR and thus cemented the German division. In the worst case, people who tried to flee with their lives paid. The President of the Landtag Ulrike Liedtke (SPD) said that the memory of the construction of the wall in 1961 illustrates how a form of repression and violence that had previously been impossible became reality. The memory of the fall of the Wall in 1989, on the other hand, illustrated how an apparently impossible dream could become reality through a peaceful revolution.

At the Glienicker Bridge between Berlin and Potsdam, Minister of Culture and Science Manja Schüle (SPD) intended for the consequences of German-German division. She emphasized that the wall was the symbol for the oppression of freedom, human rights and democracy in the GDR. The Glienicker Bridge was also known during the Cold War because of the exchange of agents. Mayor Frank Ewig (CDU) from Spandau, Mayor Burkhard Exner (SPD) from Potsdam and Mayor Winfried Sträter from Groß Glienicke resigned flowers on an old piece of Berlin Wall, which is part of the wall memorial in the Groß Glienicke estate. Memorial events were also planned in other places in Brandenburg, such as the Wall monument in Griebnitzsee or the monument on the Steinernen bridge in Schönwalde.

The victim of the GDR border regime was also commemorated in Berlin. Personalities from politics and society came together at the wall memorial on Bernauer Strasse to commemorate the people who were died or killed when attempts to escape. The separation of families and the lack of freedom in the GDR were also discussed. Economic Senator Franziska Giffey (SPD) laid down a wreath on behalf of the Berlin Senate. She emphasized that even after so many years, it was important to remember that democracy and freedom are not a matter of course and that people fought for the reunited Germany and Free Berlin or even sacrificed their lives for their desire for freedom.

The construction of the Berlin Wall began on August 13, 1961 and sealed German-German division. The GDR leadership wanted to stop the emigration of people to the west of Berlin and the Federal Republic, as it slowed the GDR economy and destabilized the state. The Berlin Wall separated Berlin for more than 28 years and separated the western part of the city from its surrounding area. According to the Berlin Wall Foundation, at least 140 people were killed on the wall during this time or died in connection with the GDR border regime. In addition, at least 251 travelers died during or after controls at the Berlin border crossings. After mass protests in the GDR, the wall was opened on November 9, 1989.