East German uprising of 1953

East German uprising of 1953
Part of the Cold War

Soviet T-34-85 in East Berlin on 17 June 1953
Date16–17 June 1953 (1953-06-16 – 1953-06-17)
(sporadically until 24 June 1953)
Location
East Germany
Result Government victory
Belligerents
East Germany
Soviet Union		 Anti-Stalinist demonstrators
Commanders and leaders
 No centralized leadership
Units involved
KVP
Soviet Union GSOFG		 None
Strength
East Germany:
16 divisions
Berlin:
[1]		 1,000,000–1,500,000 demonstrators[2]
Casualties and losses
55–125+ killed[3]

The East German uprising of 1953 (German: Volksaufstand vom 17. Juni 1953 ) was an uprising that occurred in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 16 to 17 June 1953. It began with strike action by construction workers in East Berlin on 16 June against work quotas during the Sovietization process in East Germany. Demonstrations in East Berlin turned into a widespread uprising against the Government of East Germany and the ruling Socialist Unity Party the next day, involving over one million people in about 700 localities across the country.[4] Protests against declining living standards and unpopular Sovietization policies led to a wave of strikes and protests that were not easily brought under control and threatened to overthrow the East German government. The uprising in East Berlin was violently suppressed by tanks of the Soviet forces in Germany and the Kasernierte Volkspolizei. Demonstrations continued in over 500 towns and villages for several more days before eventually dying out.

The 1953 uprising was celebrated in West Germany as a public holiday on 17 June until German reunification in 1990, after which it was replaced by German Unity Day, celebrated annually on 3 October.[5]

  1. ^ "17. Juni 1953 — Chronik — Projektsite Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, DeutschlandRadio, Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung".
  2. ^ Dale, Gareth (2005). Popular Protest in East Germany. Routledge. p. 9.
  3. ^ Jones, Timothy (2017). "Berlin marks East German uprising of 1953". DW News.
  4. ^ Alison Smale (17 June 2013). "60 Years Later, Germany Recalls Its Anti-Soviet Revolt". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  5. ^ Dale, Gareth. "East German rising 17 June 1953". academia.edu. Jacobin Magazine. Retrieved 18 June 2017.