Читать книгу Where in the World is the Berlin Wall?. 170 Sites around the World онлайн

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According to statements by Jan Šejna, the Czechoslovakian deputy defence minister who defected to the West in 1968, Walter Ulbricht, the chairman of the GDR’s Council of State and head of the SED party, had already put forward the idea of building a barbed wire barrier through Berlin at a Warsaw Pact meeting on March 28^thand 29^th, 1961.¹⁹ Against this background, Ulbricht’s statement at the press conference on June 15^th, 1961, that no one had any intention of building a Wall becomes understandable; the events of August 13^th were to finally expose it as a lie. The fact that large quantities of construction materials such as fence posts and barbed wire were already being stored in Berlin in order to implement such barrier measures also points to longer-term planning. The decision to close the border was finally made in July and early August 1961.²⁰

After the Vienna summit and the dramatic supply crisis in the GDR, which in turn lead to increasing levels of people fleeing the GDR, Ulbricht decided upon a propaganda offensive. In it he demanded the solution of the Berlin question and the conclusion of a peace treaty. At the same time, Ulbricht urged the Soviets to close the borders immediately. Khrushchev made his decision (probabely on 20^th July), and insights into the intelligence agencies regarding the military strength of the western powers, American politics and planned defensive measures.²¹ The Warsaw Pact states would also be involved in the decision. From August 3^rd to 5^th, 1961, a conference of their party leaders was held in Moscow to discuss the problems associated with the proposal of a peace treaty and that of the open border with West Berlin. Walter Ulbricht was criticised by his counterparts for slow economic growth and high consumer spending in the GDR. Ulbricht underlined his own position that the border to West Berlin was to be held responsible and demanded it to be closed with immediate effect. However, the Warsaw Pact states feared incalculable economic sanctions in the event of a border closure, which would not only affect the GDR.