Commemoration in Potsdam: Memories of the Wall and its victims

Commemoration in Potsdam: Memories of the Wall and its victims

This week, an extensive commemoration of the construction of the Berlin Wall, which became a reality on August 13, 1961, is taking place in Potsdam. This measure was decided under the leadership of Walter Ulbricht, the ruler of the GDR. Employees and historians recall his infamous statement that “no one had any intention of building a wall” – a lie that was later described as one of the biggest of its kind, as Tagesspiegel reports. Just two months earlier, Ulbricht assured in a press conference that such plans did not exist, while the GDR was already moving forward with closing its border to West Berlin.

The background to this decision was the almost 300 escape attempts every day by GDR citizens who wanted to flee to the West. This migration movement presented the GDR with massive economic challenges, which ultimately led the leadership to close the border. For this reason, Ulbricht pushed for support from the Soviet leadership, as SWR reports. On August 11, 1961, the necessary measures to build the wall were initiated.

Commemorations and events

Several events take place as part of the commemoration weeks. On Tuesday, August 12th, a memorial event will take place in Berlin-Spandau at the corner of Heerstrasse and Bergstrasse, at which the Potsdam building councilor Bernd Rubelt will also be present. This is just part of the extensive program that culminates on Wednesday, August 13th, with a memorial service at the Griebnitzsee Wall Monument at 1 p.m. This is organized by the forum for the critical examination of GDR history in the state of Brandenburg, and Silvana Hilliger and Manfred Kruczek will appear as speakers, as Tagesspiegel informs.

The pompous memorial day ends at 2 p.m. at the Glienicke Bridge, which will also be attended by Hagenwegewitz, chairman of the city council, and Torsten Wiegel, cultural representative. In addition, a joint commemoration of the building of the Wall in Dallgow-Döberitz will be held in the evening. Potsdam's mayor Burkhard Exner will also take part in this event, which has been a constant reminder of the division and its consequences since 2014.

The construction of the wall

The construction of the wall itself was not just a decision of the GDR leadership, but was made in close coordination with the Soviet Union. Ulbricht had pushed for the border to be closed for years, and the decision was ultimately approved in Moscow, but at his express request. Historians argue that Ulbricht's demands and the economic pressure on the GDR were the decisive factors for this, according to the analysis on bpb.

The wall quickly became a symbol of the separation between East and West and the tyranny of the communist regime. Hundreds of people lost their lives trying to overcome the wall. These sad and painful memories are the focus of current commemorative events and are an urgent call not to forget history and to learn from it.