People's Uprising on June 17, 1953
The decision by the GDR government to increase worker norms in 1953, amid a food supply situation that was already critical, led to huge protests by the people. On June 17, 1953, the protests culminated in strikes and demonstrations in about 700 cities across the GDR. When the strikes were suppressed with the aid of Soviet tanks, countless people were killed or injured and about 10,000 were arrested. To this day, the uprising in the GDR on June 17, 1953 is regarded as a symbol of the people's resistance to the GDR government.
"...It would be hard to find an event of greater significance in German history...."
There was extensive coverage in the media in the Federal Republic about the suppression of the uprising by the GDR government and it caused great consternation among the general population. Since there was no scope for the federal government to intervene politically, symbolic acts such as the idea of making June 17, a national day of remembrance were of great significance.
"On June 17, 1953, the German people in the Soviet-occupied zone and in East Berlin rose up against Communist tyranny and suffered many casualties in expressing their desire for freedom."
As early as August 4, 1953, the Act on German Unity Day dated August 4, 1953 (Federal Law Gazette I 1953, p. 778) was passed, declaring June 17 an official public holiday, a Day of German Unity. On the first anniversary of the People's Uprising, on June 16, 1954, a memorial event took place in the German Federal Parliament at which Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer spoke of "reunification in peace and freedom as a moral obligation."
In the Federal Republic, in addition to the main memorial event in the German Parliament, other ceremonies were also held in the federal states. Every year, the Curatorium for an Indivisible Germany, which was founded in June 1954, organized regular events, poster campaigns, relay races, and the sale of stickers depicting the Brandenburg Gate. The proceeds from selling the stickers went into a fund in aid of, among other things, promoting cohesion between people in a divided Germany.
Berlin.- Straßenbahnhaltestelle Wiener Brücke.- Ausflügler vor Straßenbahn "5792" der Linie 87 nach Rahnsdorf, 17. Juni 1958 (1958) by Rudolf HesseGerman Federal Archives
As the years went by, the population of the Federal Republic increasingly saw June 17 as simply an opportunity for an outing, something which was used as critical propaganda by the media in the GDR.
A photo published by the General German News Service in the GDR was entitled: On June 17, 1958—like every year—many West Berliners, unmoved by all the June 17 hype by frontline politicians, took advantage of the day off work to spend a few hours in the various recreational areas of democratic Berlin.
"We are quite sure that what belongs together, and was once together, will come together again."
To mark the 10th anniversary of the People's Uprising, in 1963 Federal President Heinrich Lübke further elevated June 17 to the National Day of Remembrance for the German People (quotation from the proclamation by the Federal President on June 17, 1963, Federal Law Gazette I 1963, p. 397)
At the same time, however, more and more critical voices were being raised about the status of June 17 as an official public holiday and the way the day of remembrance was losing its significance. In a survey in 1963, the Institute for Public Opinion Research in Allensbach asked people about the historical background to the day of remembrance, the appropriateness of the celebrations, and its status as a non-working official public holiday.
The Federal Parliament and government also discussed how June 17 should most appropriately be marked in future. In a June 17 working group that was part of the Parliamentary Committee for Berlin and All-German Affairs, various different options were discussed.
"...that this day has virtually become something that society expects as of right..."
In preparation for a Cabinet meeting on February 7, 1968, Undersecretary Schnekenburger weighed the arguments for and against abolishing June 17 as an official public holiday. It is apparent that the question of where the proceeds from the resulting working day should go was a controversial one.
As early as 1967, the Federal Minister for the Interior had proposed a draft bill to the Cabinet that would abolish June 17 as an official public holiday. The draft was initially rejected, but, despite various reservations, it was reintroduced in February 1968.
Eingabe an den Bundesminister für gesamtdeutsche Fragen vom 18. Juni 1969 (1969)German Federal Archives
The Federal Ministry for All-German Affairs received numerous submissions from the general population questioning the official public holiday and its significance.
Note: For data protection reasons, names have been blacked out.
In 1969—and in subsequent years—the events of June 17 were commemorated during a regular working session of the German Parliament.
On June 17, 1969, Federal German Chancellor Dr. Kiesinger presented his second report on the state of the nation in a divided Germany. The Federal Government had issued this report for the first time in 1968 and continued to do so every year.
The debate about abolishing the official public holiday continued into the early 1970s. In a memo from the Chancellor's office it is apparent that one of the problems was that the social partners could not agree on how the loss of a day off work should be compensated for.
"Get to know your German neighbors in the East as well as your neighbors in the West."
On the anniversary of the People's Uprising in 1953, statements by the Federal Minister for Intra-German relations would regularly be published in press briefings. In 1981, Government Minister Egon Franke specifically called on Federal German citizens to travel to visit their neighbors in the GDR.
Gedenkveranstaltung im Deutschen Bundestag anlässlich des Volksaufstandes vom 17. Juni 1953 in der DDR, 17. Juni 1989 (1989) by Arne ScharmbeckGerman Federal Archives
On June 17, 1989, the German Parliament again marked the day with a memorial event.
None of those present could have foreseen that the event was taking place in this form for the last time.
“ … This year, German Unity Day has special significance for us: since the events of last autumn, a Germany united in freedom is no longer simply hoped for and desired; it is now a reality."
The events of autumn 1989 and the subsequent developments paved the way for reunification of the two German states, something that many people had no longer believed possible. The momentous changes are also reflected in the fact that, on June 17, 1990, a joint remembrance event was held by delegates to the People's Chamber in the GDR and the Federal Parliament, at the Schauspielhaus theater in Berlin.
Ein Straßenschild weist auf die Maueröffnung am 9. November 1998 hin. Das Original "Straße des 17. Juni" wurde überklebt. (1990) by Klaus LehnartzGerman Federal Archives
On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall came down, a symbol of both the lack of freedom and the division of Germany. Under the Unification Treaty of August 31, 1990 (Federal Law Gazette 1990 II p. 889), October 3 was named German Unity Day and an official public holiday. June 17 remains a national day of remembrance.
Vera Zahnhausen (Federal Archive)
Sources (holdings of the Federal Archive):
B 106 Federal Ministry of the Interior
B 136 Federal Chancellor's Office
B 137 Federal Ministry for Intra-German Relations
Picture 183 General German News Service—Zentralbild
B 145 Picture from the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government—picture archive
Link to Internet gallery June 17, 1953:
http://www.bundesarchiv.de/oeffentlichkeitsarbeit/bilder_dokumente/00749/index.html.de
July 2015
