Soviet armored vehicle in Berlin

Description

Soviet armored vehicle in Berlin; Photo; Licensed article; Original: 2880×2160; Photographer: Unknown;a Licensed; Rights: © Bleek/zb Media. The photo shows Soviet tanks in Berlin on June 17, 1953, during the popular uprising in the GDR. On this day, hundreds of thousands of people in East Berlin and many other cities in the GDR protested against the government of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). The demonstrations began as workers’ strikes against rising work norms, but quickly developed into a broad uprising against the communist regime.

The GDR government was unable to suppress the protests on its own, which is why the Soviet Union intervened. Soviet tanks and military troops marched into East Berlin to violently crush the uprising. Numerous demonstrators were arrested, many were killed or injured. Martial law was imposed, and the protest was brutally ended.

The photo is a poignant symbol of repression in the GDR and Soviet control over East Germany. It shows the harsh reality of the Cold War: While democracy and freedom were propagated in the West, the East was ruled by a Soviet-backed authoritarian regime. June 17, 1953, was later declared “Day of German Unity” in the Federal Republic of Germany, as a reminder of the first major popular uprising against the communist dictatorship in the GDR.