1893-1976
Eastern Europe
(372) documents
Germany
Western Europe
North America
1894- 1971
East Asia
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June 18, 1953
Soviet General, Tarasov, reports on the situation in the GDR and in the city of Berlin on the morning of 18 June, 1953. He primarily discusses the location and movements of sectors of the Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany.
June 17, 1953
Cable to the Soviet leadership describing the situation in East Berlin after the imposition of the curfew. The cable reports that at least 700 people have been arrested in East Germany, 300 of which were in the Soviet sector of Berlin. East German police and Soviet troops have taken control of the border of East Berlin to prevent "provocateur elements" from entering the Soviet sector.
November 30, 1987
Report on the course and results of the 20th Session of the Committee of Ministers of Defense of Warsaw Pact Member States held in Bucharest on November 24-25, 1987.
August 1, 1961
Transcription of a meeting in Moscow between Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and East German leader Walter Ulbricht on August 1, 1961. They discuss plans to close the border between East and West Berlin. The document shows Khrushchev’s and Ulbricht’s deliberations about the reasons for sealing the border in Berlin, the timing for sealing the border and some of the difficulties they expected to arise therefrom.
April 7, 1952
The second conversation between Stalin and the SED leadership during their trip to Moscow in April 1952. Stalin discusses the political and military situation in East Germany and asks about the status of economic development in the GDR. The SED delegation asks Stalin to approve the transfer of raw materials to East Germany.
May 15, 1953
The large-scale migration of GDR’s population to West Germany is becoming a major issue in Germany. The SCC in Germany, the SED, and GDR government discuss and outline measures for preventing this defection in the future.
June 19, 1953
According to the CIA report, as of the 19th of June, the situation in East Berlin has been repressed by Soviet troops and the East German police, and inter-sector traffic is strictly controlled. However, in other areas of East Germany, strikes and disturbances are still being reported.
August 8, 1953
Conant suggests that while US policy towards East Germany should, on principle, encourage the “spirit of resistance” brought about by the East German Uprising, it is believed that Communist authorities will continue to use brutal tactics to restrain such resistance, and therefore US initiatives towards the situation should be restrained as to not provide East German authorities an opportunity for more brutal repressions of the population.
Additional suggestions for US sponsored courses of action with regard to the popular uprising in East Germany and East Berlin. While the State Department (GER) did not include these suggestions in the press guidance paper prepared, GER officers suggested several additional ideas during conversation, which were included in the memorandum.
July 10, 1953
This CIA report contains a chronological breakdown of the nature and extent of the riots and demonstrations in East Germany, and descriptions of the Soviet reaction, East German capabilities, East German government reaction, and the Soviet policy reaction. According to the report, at this point, the USSR has not yet revealed any long-term policy reaction to the German situation.
