Remembering the Uprising of 17 June 1953

Abstract

On 17 June 1953 an uprising against the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED) took place in the German Democratic Republic. From East Berlin the uprising spread throughout the country to encompass over 700 localities including major cities, towns and rural areas (Dale, 2005, p. 9). Protesters called for the SED’s leader Walter Ulbricht and his government to resign, for free elections, better living and working conditions and the unification of Germany (Diedrich, 2003, p. 143). They had been angered by a sudden volte-face in SED policy. Since the summer of 1952 the SED had pursued a political course to ‘construct socialism’ in the GDR. This not only entailed investment in heavy industry at the expense of food and consumer goods, but also numerous repressive policies to eradicate the ‘class enemy’ among GDR citizens (Kowalczuk, 2003, pp. 28–59). These policies led to a significant decrease in living standards. Moreover, in the face of mounting repression, 120,000 citizens fled the country in the first four months of 1953 alone (Hagen, 1992, pp. 24–8). However, under pressure from the Kremlin (who foresaw the end of the GDR if these policies were not repealed), the SED announced on 11 June 1953 that its political course over the last 12 months had been a mistake and would be immediately reversed (Jesse and Mitter, 1992, p. 51). Yet this ‘New Course’ did not address industrial workers’ working quotas.