Berlin commemorates East Germany uprising

German officials gathered in Berlin on Friday to mark the 69th anniversary of a deadly uprising in former communist East Germany, officially called the German Democratic Republic (GDR). 

The memorial events to remember the June 17, 1953 popular uprising are taking place this year under the shadow of Russia's war in Ukraine.

'Freedom must be fought for again and again'

Berlin's mayor and several German government officials laid memorial wreaths at a cemetery in the German capital.

The somber memorials honored those who lost their lives 69 years ago, when people took to the streets across East Germany to protest against declining living standards and demand German reunification. The demonstration was met with a violent crackdown by the Soviet military and East German police.

Claudia Roth, Germany's minister of state for culture, said the anniversary of the uprising showed that democratic values and human rights must not be taken for granted and need defending.

"The pictures of Russian tanks in Ukraine painfully reminds us how vulnerable these values still are in the 21st century," she said.

Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey also noted the parallels between the Ukrainian people's fight against Russian troops, and the calls for democracy from the East German demonstrators.

"In the end, it was the brutal force of Soviet tanks that bloodily crushed the movement in the center of Berlin," Giffey said. "The lesson to be learned for our future from this is that freedom must be fought for again and again."

Democratic values "are still at stake today" in Ukraine, the Berlin mayor said.

What happened during the 1953 uprising?

The popular uprising began as a strike by construction workers, angered over increased demands on labor by the Soviet Union-backed SED government in East Germany

Unrest concerning various reform proposals from Moscow had been brewing since they were floated in May that year, and the national strike began on June 16, by which point the Soviet Union was already in the process of watering down its demands for increased productivity from the same number of workers. But the protests persisted and news of them also started filtering through on Western media.

By the morning of June 17, 1953, Soviet tanks had entered the environs of East Berlin ready to meet the tens of thousands of people taking to the streets in the GDR's capital.

Protesters also began demanding the resignation of the GDR government, the release of political prisoners, free elections and German reunification.

Protests and strikes were also held in over 700 cities and towns throughout the GDR.

The demonstration was especially notable as the first time a popular movement had challenged the communist government in an Eastern bloc state.

The East German government asked Soviet troops to aid East German police in quelling the uprising. Soviet tanks fired on crowds, killing and wounding many.

At least 55 people are confirmed to have died — but the actual death toll is believed to be as high as 250.

Several protesters are also thought to have been executed in the aftermath, while an estimated 15,000 people were arrested.

Former West Germany made June 17 a national holiday, called the "Day of Germany Unity," to commemorate the uprising.

The holiday was changed to October 3 after East and West Germany were reunited in October 1990.

rs/msh (dpa, epd)