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The division of Berlin was agreed as early as January 1944. While Berlin fell within Soviet-controlled
East Germany, the Western Allies felt it was only fair that the capital be under shared Western and Soviet
control. About one third of Berlin was occupied by the Communists while the Americans, British, and
French controlled the remaining two-thirds.
As the Cold War heated up, this divided Berlin became a flashpoint
The different sides of Berlin became
symbols of the success of West and East, with each superpower wanting to prop up their portion of the
city as a symbol of their ideology’s supremacy. The government of Communist East Berlin was therefore
given extensive power and resources to ensure their success. As a result, the people of East Berlin
experienced some of the harshest and most unforgiving conditions as the regime tried to protect and
promote itself at any cost.
With a legendary secret police force, brutal suppression of dissent, a constant military occupation, and
one of the most dangerous and impassable borders in history, the regime of East Berlin proved to be one
of the cruelest of all time.
The East Germans were no fans of the Soviets in turn. Even if they weren’t Nazis, the average German
was not a Communist either. Reports and experiences of the savagery of the Soviet advance had painted
the occupiers as monsters. Despite merging the existing German Communist and Social Democrat parties
into the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) to rule over it, the new Soviet-designed regime was
seen as a foreign occupation and was deeply resented.
I n this climate of distrust and hatred, it is no surprise that the regime answered those attitudes with fear,
brutality, and persecution.
From the very first months, the Communists worked for the destruction of the Germans. In the months
following the war, millions of Germans were expelled from newly liberated countries like Poland and
Czechoslovakia. Many of these refugees poured into Berlin where the Soviet authorities showed their
contempt by strictly limiting food and medical supplies to the swelling population. 12,000 Berliners died
of starvation or related issues in the first year of the occupation.
#eastberlin #coldwar #history #hitler
Sources:
Anna Funder, Stasiland: Stories From Behind the Berlin Wall, (2003)
Frederick Taylor, The Berlin Wall: A World Divided, 1961-1989, (2007)
Iain MacGregor, Checkpoint Charlie: The Cold War, the Berlin Wall, and the Most Dangerous Place on
Earth, (2019)
Jens Gieseke, (trans. David Burnett), The History of the Stasi: East Germany’s Secret Police, 1945-1990,
(2001; trans. 2014)
Nina Willner, Forty Autumns: A Family’s Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall,
(2016)
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