Document name: Der Aufstand vom 17. Juni 1953/ The Uprising on 17 June 1953
Document type: West German government report
Language: German
Date published: 1988
Place of publication: Bonn
Publisher: Bundesministerium für innerdeutsche Beziehungen
Archive code: 3B3 Bund-i
Details/ information: This document is a West German interpretation of the June 1953 Uprising, the only workers’ mass protest and open uprising against the East German regime before 1989. The uprising was a result of poor working and living conditions as well as political oppression in the East. Dissatisfied workers went on strike to protest the government’s policies and particularly their own lack of representation; they demanded to have a voice and active participation. The uprising ultimately failed because the ruling party, the Sozialistische Einheitsparteit Deutschlands/ Socialist Unity Party (SED) called for the support of the USSR’s Red Army, who used force and tanks to quell the uprising. The West German government interpreted the uprising from the beginning as the East Germans’ wish for German unification and made 17 June a public holiday.
Module it links to: GM1IMG Icons of Modern Germany
Topic: 17 Juni 1953 Uprising
- Gareth Pritchard, The Making Of The GDR: 1945-53, Manchester University Press 2000.
- Mary Fulbrook, Anatomy of a Dictatorship: Inside the GDR: 1949-1989, Oxford University Press 1995.
- 17th June 1953 Uprising memorial outside Detlev Rohwedder House: https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/EN/Standardartikel/Press_Room/Publications/Brochures/2011-01-27-detlev-rohwedder-building-flyer-pdf.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=8
Document name: Zahlenspiegel Bundesrepublik Deutschland/ Deutsche Demokratische Republik – Ein Vergleich./ Facts and Figures Federal Republic of Germany/ German Democratic Republic – A Comparison.
Document type: West German government report
Language: German
Date published: December 1978
Place of publication: Bonn/ Berlin (West)
Publisher: Bundesministerium für innerdeutsche Beziehungen
Archive code:
Details/ information: This report is a West German document detailing the figures for various aspects of life in both Germanies in 1978, including the population, birth and death rates, statistical information on the political system, economy, culture, and film among others.
Module it links to: GM1IMG Icons of Modern Germany
Links to the module: Honecker Era (1971 – 1989)
