Berlin 1950-August 9, 1961

Timeline created by catchwing in History

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Event Date:	Event Title:	Event Description:
06/25/1950	North Korean artillery open fire on South Korean army across the border separating the two states	This event changed the Western powers view of the German situation even more than the blockade since Korea was also a country divided according to allied forces at the end of WWII.
03/10/1952	Stalin proposes a united but neutral Germany	He sends a note to each of the other three occupying powers in which he offers a peace treaty and free elections in a unified Germany. He includes a draft of a peace treaty. Adenauer rejects it immediately. He believes that only a Germany anchored to the West can survive.
05/13/1952	13th plenum of the Central Committee of the SED	Ulbricht ousts his most likely rival, Franz Dahlem, from leadership. He then announces the raising of 'work norms' by 10%
05/26/1952	Borders between East and West Germany and between East Germany and West Berlin are closed	Only the border between East and West Berlin remains open. Berlin becomes the only relatively safe way to escape to the West.
05/26/1952	German Treaty signed in Bonn	Confirms West Germany's sovereignty and paves the way for it to join the anti Soviet alliance system
07/30/1952	SED announces plans to build Socialism	East Germany is entering a phase of building Socialism, signalling its development into a full fledged Stalinist-Communist state. Discriminatory measures against churches, intellectuals, business people and "border-crossers" increase. *Note: this took place sometime in July (not specifically the 30th)
05/05/1953	Stalin dies
06/02/1953	Between the 2nd and the 4th, Soviets present Ulbricht with a compromise.	Soviets want to halt forced collectivism of agriculture, encourage small and mid sized enterprises, ensuring of universal and fair distribution of ration cards, and switching tolight and consumer oriented industry. The anti-church campaign is also to be stopped and civil rights are to be more respected. They hope to stem the tide of people leaving the GDR by taking these steps. Ulbricht is not happy.
06/11/1953	The SED Politburo issues a communique admitting mistakes	After initially resisting the demands of the Soviet compromise, the SED Politburo finally agreed. One thing missing though was any rescinding of the new work norms
06/16/1953	The Uprising	Workers building East Germany's new boulevard, Stalinallee, break out in demonstrations in response to news of 10% production quota increase. The Uprising begins
06/17/1953	Uprising protests spread across Germany	More than 1 million on strike and demonstrations in 700 communities. Workers demand better working/living conditions, free elections and unification
06/17/1953	Ulbricht is under Soviet protection	He spends the 17th and 18th at Red Army headquarters in Berlin-Karlshorst, with Otto Grotewohl as support for him grows weaker.
06/18/1953	Soviet occupation troops brutally suppress the Uprising	Many arrests are made and roughly 50 deaths result.
07/09/1953	Ulbricht outwits attempts to change the Politburo	Attempts to modify the Politburo from a single person secretariat to a collective leadership approach (and therefore remove Ulbricht from his single power position) fail as Ulbricht turns the tables and announces that Zaisser's and Herrnstadt's behavior amounts to an 'anti-party' attitude. Fearing appearing weak, the Soviets agree to support Ulbricht.
11/14/1953	Western Powers waive the need for the interzonenpass	Soviets soon follow but still require East German citizens to have permission to travel to the West.
05/05/1955	Federal Republic of Germany becomes a sovereign state	Effectively ending the occupation
05/14/1955	Eastern Communist nations sign Warsaw Pact
09/20/1955	GDR granted formal sovereignty by the Soviet Union
10/03/1957	Willy Brandt becomes Mayor of Berlin	He and his fashionably dressed Norwegian wife Rut are a kind of pre-echo of Jack and Jackie Kennedy.
12/11/1957	East German travelers prosecuted	Anyone found traveling without permission is prosecuted and given a prision term up to 3 years.
10/27/1958	Ulbricht says West Berlin is part of the territory of the GDR	In an address to a mass meeting held at Friedrichstadt-Palast theatre, Ulbricht attacks the West in general and West Berlin's very right to exist. Brandt responds by mocking Ulbricht as a Saxon Lenin-Imitation.
11/27/1958	Khrushchev holds a press conference about the 'malignant tumor' of Berlin	He says that he plans to 'do some surgery' and remove the tumor. He gives the West an ultimatum to sign a peace treaty within 6 months , liquidate the occupation regime and turn West Berlin into a demilitarized 'free city'. If the West doesn't agree, Krhushchev will unilaterally sign a treaty with the GDR and turn over all control of access to Berlin to the East Germans.
01/30/1959	British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, meets with Krushchev	He manages to get Krushchev to remove the time limit on the ultimatum. *Note: only month/year accurate
10/01/1959	GDR changes its flag	The flag was indistinguishable from the West until this point. Symbols of a hammer( for the workers) and a compass (for the intellectuals) inside ears of grain (for the farmers) are placed in the center of the flag.
09/07/1960	Wilhelm Pieck, President of the GDR, dies at 85 years old	Within weeks the post of president is abolished and a 'State Council' is set up to replace it. The chairman of the council is, of course, Walter Ulbricht. He is now essentially the head of state and more powerful than ever.
09/23/1960	Ulbricht suddenly announces Western Diplomats need permission to travel	Those diplomats accredited to the West German government must seek permission from the GDR Foreign Ministry in East Berlin before entering either the Eastern sector of Berlin or the territory of the GDR proper.
11/30/1960	Ulbricht and Khrushchev meet in Moscow	Khrushchev is displeased with Ulbricht's acting without consulting him. Khrushchev used the meeting to remind Ulbricht that he had an agreement with the Americans. Khrushchev suggested the Soviets would work with him to gradually crowd out the Western powers from West Berlin, but without a war.
01/31/1961	Ulbricht raises the subject of full Berlin border closure again	He presses Khrushchev to have it included on the agenda of the Warsaw Pact meeting in late March. He wants to stop the West from their "people-trafficking of innocent East German citizens being lured west by bribes, even kidnapped off the streets."
05/31/1961	17,791 East Germans fled to West Berlin	* only Month/Year accurate
06/03/1961	Khrushchev and Kennedy meet	Hoping to determine whether Kennedy was willing to go to war over Berlin, Krushchev wanted to be able to look Kennedy in the eye. Khrushchev failed to intimidate and Kennedy failed to charm. Khrushchev reinstates the 6 month ultimatum for the West to sign a peace treaty with East Germany or else...
06/15/1961	East German Leader Walter Ulbricht says "no wall"	During an international press conference, Ulbricht maintains that once the peace treaty is signed and the 4 powers status is nullified, the SED would assume control over all air as well as land routes to and from Berlin. Though no one ever mentions a wall, Ulbricht says that there are no plans to build a one.
06/24/1961	Ulbricht writes to Khrushchev	He suggest a meeting in Moscow to discuss the peace treaty and practical measure such a treaty would entail. He also mentions measures against 'border-crossrs', which he feels would be necessary before the treaty
06/29/1961	The Soviet Presidium meets to discuss Ulbricht's request	A meeting to discuss the 'border-crosser' question is set for August 3 in Moscow.
06/30/1961	19,198 East Germans flee to West Berlin	*Note: only month/year accurate
07/07/1961	State Security Minister, Erich Mielke holds a meeting at Stasi headquarters	He sets in motion initial measures to strengthen security on the main West German-East German border and the so-called 'ring around Berlin'. The ring was created after the Uprising and allowed the GDR/Soviet forces to close off all movement between East Berlin and East Germany proper in the event of a political crisis.
07/15/1961	East German People's Army put on a state of heightened alert	Commander-in-chief of the Warsaw Pact forces, Marshal Andrei Grechko, also puts the forces under the command of the Commander of the Soviet Forces in Germany.
07/25/1961	Secret meeting takes place at the GDR's Ministry of Defense in Strausberg	The agenda is the 'securing of the sector borders within Berlin and of the ring around Berlin'. The actual sealing of the border would involve only East German border police. Both the Red Army units and the East German NVA units (tanks and armored vehicles) would hold back, 1-2 km behind the sector border in case of problems.
07/25/1961	FK appears on tv to address the nation	His message to the East is: try to restrict access to West Berlin, or to take over the Western sectors, and we shall fight. As for the parts of Berlin already claimed by East Germany, Kennedy said nothing. He promises to increase troops from 875,000 to 1 million and to increase military budgets.
07/25/1961	Soviet and German staff officers draft a map	It shows the route of a barrier running through the heart of Berlin. * Note: not actual map
07/30/1961	Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator J. William Fulbright says East Berlin has a perfect right to close its border	He says that he can't understand why they ahven't already done so. For the Soviets, it's practically an invitation.
07/31/1961	12,578 East Germans flee within the first 2 weeks of the month	*Note: only month/year accurate
08/01/1961	Border partol police units together with the Transport Ministry, begin collecting materials	These include 18, 200 concrete posts, 150 tons of barbed wire, 5 tons of binding wire and 2 tons of staples. The plan was not just to seal off West Berlin from East Berlin but to create a barrier to insulate East Berlin .
08/02/1961	Between August 2 and 12: 15,036 refugees were registered at Marienfelde Refugee Center
08/04/1961	Four Power talks, Paris, France (Aug 4-9)	Meeting took a leisurely view but agreed that preparations should be made to discuss Berlin with the Russians in October or November. No date was set
08/07/1961	Ulbricht announces the plan	After returning home from his meeting in Moscow on the 5th, Ulbricht finally informs the entire Politburo of the Moscow discussions and of the plan to close the border on Sunday, August 13.
08/09/1961	Berlin Watch Committee meets	This committee coordinated American intelligence organizations in Berlin and pooled their information. They discussed measure that the GDR might take to stem the exodus. While the possibility of a border-sealing operation was mentioned, no one thought that it was technically possible.