Soviet Tanks in Berlin on June 17, 1953

Description

Soviet tanks in Berlin on June 17, 1953; photo; licensed item; original: 2880×2160; photographer: unknown; licensable; 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 protested in East Berlin and many other cities in the GDR against the government of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). The demonstrations began as workers’ strikes against rising work standards 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 suppress the uprising. Numerous demonstrators were arrested, many were killed or injured. Martial law was declared, and the protest was brutally ended.

The photo is a striking 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, an authoritarian regime supported by the Soviet Union prevailed in the East. June 17, 1953, was later declared “German Unity Day” in the Federal Republic of Germany as a reminder of the first major popular uprising against the communist dictatorship in the GDR.