Memory in Brandenburg: 72 years after the GDR people uprising

Memory in Brandenburg: 72 years after the GDR people uprising

Steinstraße 61, 14770 Brandenburg an der Havel, Deutschland - On June 17, 2025, the city of Brandenburg commemorates the GDR people, which occurred 72 years ago, on June 17, 1953. Numerous citizens gathered on the courtyard of the Attorney General at Steinstrasse 61, supported by local politicians and historians, to remember the brave demonstrations. At that time, the city was a central place of resistance, where up to 15,000 people for freedom and against oppression by the SED regime took to the streets. The protests were led by construction workers, employees of the tugwerk as well as workers from the steel mill and the Thälmann shipyard, who closed together and the work laid down to find hearing.

Here in Brandenburg the demonstrators stormed the then district court, where they demanded the release of 42 political prisoners. The memorial event was organized under the direction of General Prosecutor Roland Wilkening, Mayor Steffen Scheller and Walter Paaschen, the chairman of the city council. Wilkening reported on his personal memories of the GDR and vehemently spoke out against the authoritarian regime. In his speech, Mayor Scheller emphasized the importance of the uprising and emphasized the long -term consequences until the peaceful revolution of 1989. "Freedom is not a gift. It is a task for each of us," said Scheller.

The popular uprising from 1953

On June 17, 1953, people in the GDR rose against state arbitrariness, which subsequently led to nationwide mass demonstrations. The main demands of the protesters included not only the withdrawal of the recently decided increase in work standards, but also the demand for free elections and an improvement in living conditions. The economic situation in the GDR was tense at that time; Care bottlenecks and food rationing put a significant impact on the population. The pressure on the government increased when on June 16, 1953 in East Berlin, around 10,000 people protested against increasing work standards and called on a general strike. This rebellion was only the beginning - over a million people gathered in more than 700 cities and municipalities.

In cities such as Halle, Leipzig and East Berlin, there were severe disputes in which the police tried to put down the demonstrations. Soviet troops rolled onto the streets while the SED regime tried to keep control. The state of emergency was imposed and the situation escalated quickly. The brutal missions called for at least 55 lives and many injuries. The events of June 17 remained alive in the memory of many people and led to repressive surveillance by state security until the turn of 1989.

a day of memory

While the uprising was described as a "contrary -evolutionary coup" in the GDR, the Federal Republic of Germany celebrated June 17 as the "Day of German Unity". The protests and the subsequent storm on the power centers are not only a turning point in the history of the GDR, but also a memorial for the coming generations. During the event, Roland Wilkening recalled the words of judge Benkendorf, who was tied up and insulted during the protests, and pointed out how important it was to defend the freedoms that many of the brave citizens had asked for at the time.

The memorial event today is not only a prerequisite for memory, but also a call to everyone present, for whom values ​​such as freedom and democracy actively enter. Because, as the mayor summarized: "We have the responsibility to preserve our freedom and defend ourselves against oppression." On this significant day it becomes clear that the demands for freedom and justice remain universal and have not lost their relevance even today.

You can find further backgrounds and information about the popular uprising at [NDR] (https://www.ndr.de/geschichte/standen-des-17-juni-1953- Panzer-against-parolen-in-dDDR. Education] (https://www.bpb.de/kurz-knapp/intergrund-aktuell/521815/der-17-juni-1953-im-ueberblick/) and [MeetingPoint Brandenburg] (https://meetingpoint-brandenburg.de/neuke/artikel/198672-freiheit-ist-kein-geschenk--ist-lei-scheben-wenken-an-DDR-up-up 72 years) read.