Soviet Tanks in Berlin on June 17, 1953

Description

Soviet tanks in Berlin on June 17, 1953; Photo; Licensed article; Original: 2880×2160; Photographer: Unknown;
Licensable; Rights: a9 Bleek/zb Media. The photo shows Soviet tanks in Berlin on June 17, 1953, during the people’s uprising in the GDR. On this day, hundreds of thousands of people protested in East Berlin and many other cities of the GDR against the government of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). The demonstrations began as labor strikes against increasing 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, prompting the Soviet Union to intervene. Soviet tanks and military troops marched into East Berlin to violently crush the uprising. Numerous demonstrators were arrested, and many were killed or injured. Martial law was imposed, and the protest was brutally ended.

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