Berlin: One Year of the Wall

Abstract

The anniversary of the erection of the Berlin wall and communist shootings along it a few days later resulted in demonstrations which in size and temper had not been seen since August 1961, or June 1953 or the mass assemblies of 1948. But the atmosphere of acute crisis soon passed, and West Berlin quickly returned to the new normalcy which had followed the closing of the sector border. Still the anniversary and the incidents which accompanied or followed it have provided a reminder of the explosive nature of the Berlin situation. They also suggest the importance of examining both the current position of West Berlin and some of the questions which the erection of the wall posed and which could, a year ago, only be answered in a speculative fashion. When the wall put an end to freedom of movement within the city, many observers understandably expressed doubts as to the continued viability of West Berlin. Deprived of its functions as refuge and shopwindow, and with the Western occupation powers confined to a defensive stance in the Western sectors alone and along the access routes, West Berlin's morale suffered a severe blow. It was easy to reach the conclusion that, in a popular journalistic phrase, West Berlin would gradually wither on the vine. Evidence to support this conclusion was not hard to find. Without natural resources of any description, West Berlin has always depended for its livelihood on its ability to produce and sell industrial goods. The labour shortage alone seemed calculated to produce disaster. Before August 13, 1961, there were some 60,000 registered Grenzgdngers employed in West Berlin, with probably another 10,000 or so not listed for currency equalization. Of the refugees who came flooding into Berlin from the Soviet Zone or East Berlin many (8.6 per cent, in 1961) remained in the Western sectors. The I06S of this reserve of labour, which included a number of skilled workers, was a severe blow to West Berlin's economy. To this was added the emigration to the Federal Republic which followed the crisis of confidence bred by the wall and the passive reaction of the occupying powers to this affront to four-power status. There has of course always been an exchange of population between West Berlin and the Federal Republic. But from August to December 1961 there was a net westward emigration. From the beginning of 1962, however, thanks largely to official encouragement, the net flow has been in the other direction to the tune of 200-250 a week, or some 12,000 on an annual basis. If maintained this would go far to replace the inflow from the east before August 13. Berlin offers much in the way of amenities that Ruhr towns, for example, do not. There appears to be no dearth of recruits for Berlin's