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Berlin in the 1950s: The Berlin Crisis and Stunning Photos of Life in East and West Berlin

In the 1950s, Berlin was a microcosm of the Cold War. The eastern half of Berlin was controlled by the communist government of East Germany, whereas the western half was occupied and supplied by the United States and its allies.

Problems plagued Berlin’s communist section. Despite supporting communism after the war, many East Berliners became disenchanted with its lack of progress and freedom. East Germany’s government imposed ambitious production quotas and targets on its workers. The government subsidized food, clothing, and accommodation, but there were sometimes shortages or long queues. A lack of consumer goods and luxuries resulted from East Germany’s industrial priorities. East Germans were always aware of the Stasi (‘State Security’), one of the most pervasive and most significant secret police agencies in the Soviet bloc. From the early 1950s, East Germans found it difficult to travel abroad. From Czechoslovakia to the Baltic Sea, the border between East and West Germany was made up of barbed wire, fortifications, and guards..

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Midway through 1953, tensions between East German workers and their government intensified. The government demanded raises in work quotas but not in wages. There was a shortage of foodstuffs and essential consumer goods, including electricity rationing. In June, construction workers in East Berlin went on strike after the government threatened to cut their pay if they failed to meet production quotas. Approximately 40,000 people joined the strike, many of whom demanded a reduction in quotas and political reforms. Eventually, some protesters were bold enough to demand the removal of the East German government. The police and Soviet troops confronted the protestors on Unter den Linden (‘Under the Limes,’ a well-known street). The police opened fire on the crowd, killing at least 55 people, but the actual death toll may have been ten times higher. People were convinced that escape from the Soviet bloc was necessary due to the worsening situation. Political refugees from East Germany and other communist nations sought refuge in West Berlin. West Berlin’s borders were less heavily guarded than East Germany’s, so illegal crossings into the city were difficult but possible.

West Germany’s better living and working conditions attracted a steady flow of East German refugees. By 1950, more than 1.5 million Germans lived in West Berlin. They could relocate anywhere in West Germany or western Europe as soon as they arrived. During the 1950s, the number of refugees increased annually: from 144,000 (1959) to 199,000 (1960) and 207,000 (1961). Most westbound refugees came from the professional classes – doctors, lawyers, teachers, the college-educated. Concern about this exodus of Soviet citizens was growing in East Germany and the Soviet Union. It was of particular concern to the Soviet bloc that there might be a ‘brain drain’ of skilled and educated workers. Nikita Khrushchev issued a request to the Western powers in Berlin in 1958. Khrushchev announced that West Germany, America, Britain, and France should sign treaties to transfer control of West Berlin to East Germany. He gave them six months to complete this process. Following Khrushchev’s deadline, any future access to West Berlin would be under the control of East Germany. In 1957, the city center underwent rapid construction culminating in Berlin’s International Building Exhibition (Interbau). Two main elements of the exhibition are the Hansaviertel area, designed by a range of international architects in opposition to the socialist-era housing along Stalinallee and the Congress Hall (Kongresshalle) in Tiergarten park.

Khrushchev’s ultimatum made headlines, but the west called him on it. They stated their intention to remain in West Berlin, saying that they had the legal right. When Khrushchev’s ultimatum expired in May 1959, nothing happened. Khrushchev’s gambit failed, and he had to withdraw his demands. In mid-1959, the foreign ministers of the four powers met in Geneva to discuss German reunification, but nothing was decided. Khrushchev met with President Eisenhower in September 1959, which further eased the Berlin situation. The election of John F. Kennedy to the US presidency in November 1960 encouraged Khrushchev, who continued to issue implied threats about Berlin. Khrushchev informed Kennedy at a Vienna summit in June 1961 that he intended to sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany. This treaty would nullify the old Soviet-Allied agreement guaranteeing Berlin’s road, rail, and air access. The East Germans would then have to decide whether to allow access to Berlin, and they would almost certainly revoke it.

 

#1 Ten years after the end of the war, large swathes of Berlin still lay in ruins.

#3 The Berlin Wall was still some years away from being erected in the winter of 1956

#4 The ‘hunger rake’ memorial at Templehof Airport. The memorial commemorates the Berlin Airlift of 1948

#5 A snowy Berlin street scene in the winter of 1956.

A snowy Berlin street scene in the winter of 1956.

Translated, the sign reads 'Start of the Democratic Sector of Greater Berlin', marking the boundary of the Soviet sector.

#6 Strausberger Platz in Berlin, in the winter of 1956.

#7 The brutalist post-war Soviet buildings and near-deserted streets make some of the photographs almost surreal.

#8 Walking the dog in one of post-war Berlin’s many areas of waste ground.

#9 Berlin, winter 1956. Many of these images (like this one) were shot from inside moving vehicles.

Berlin, winter 1956. Many of these images (like this one) were shot from inside moving vehicles.

While sharpness and composition leave something to be desired, the spontaneous snapshot approach reveals unusual details, creating an atmospheric effect.

#11 Camera shake has rendered this snapshot of Berlin’s U-Bahn rather impressionistic.

#12 This is the Haus des Sports, on Stalinallee (now Karl-Marxallee) built for the World Festival of Youth and Students in 1951 and demolished in 1971.

#13 One of Berlin’s many wide boulevards, with wartime ruins still clearly visible.

One of Berlin's many wide boulevards, with wartime ruins still clearly visible.

The structure in the middle distance is the Brandenburg Gate, before the construction of the Berlin wall.

#14 Shot from inside a car, this photograph shows the Kurfürstendamm – one of West Berlin’s busiest commercial streets in 1956 (and today).

#16 A view of Berlin in the spring of 1957 (presumably from the top of the Berliner Funkturm), looking east along Neue Kantraße.

A view of Berlin in the spring of 1957 (presumably from the top of the Berliner Funkturm), looking east along Neue Kantraße.

The water in the middle of the picture is the northern part of the Lietzensee.

#17 A shot of one of the many new Interbau buildings, constructed as part of the 1957 International Building Exhibition.

A shot of one of the many new Interbau buildings, constructed as part of the 1957 International Building Exhibition.

This shot was taken from a cable car that was installed as part of the exhibition.

#19 Interbau’ was a housing development in West Berlin, constructed as part of the 1957 International Building Exhibition.

#20 A snapshot from inside our photographer’s convertible VW Beetle, taken in Berlin in spring/summer of 1957.

#21 Two little girls add a splash of color to this shot of what seems to be the Bismarck monument in Hamburg.

#22 Berliner Sparkasse (savings bank) – the current headquarters of Landesbank Berlin, in Alexanderplatz.

#23 The ‘Abteibrücke’ bridge, leading to the ‘Insel der Jugend’ (island of youth) in Treptower Park.

The 'Abteibrücke' bridge, leading to the 'Insel der Jugend' (island of youth) in Treptower Park.

The factory in the background is the Kraftwerk Klingenberg.

#24 This shot shows the same bridge from farther away, with Berliners enjoying a drink in the foreground.

#25 Jumping back in time, this picture was taken the previous winter, at the Soviet War Memorial at Treptower Park, in Berlin.

#26 A shop in Berlin – probably in the East (VEB stands for ‘Volkseigener Betrieb’ or ‘People’s Enterprise’).

#27 An evocative, possibly intoxicated handheld shot of Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm, a busy retail street in West Berlin.

#54 This view is looking into East Berlin from the western sector.

This view is looking into East Berlin from the western sector.

The border lies 40 metres past the notice. Despite what was commonly thought, the whole of the Brandenburger Tor was in East Berlin.

#55 Unter den Linden was the boulevard in East Berlin encountered after passing through the Brandenburger Tor.

Unter den Linden was the boulevard in East Berlin encountered after passing through the Brandenburger Tor.

This view looks further east into the communist sector.

#57 The People’s Police checking documents of people entering Potsdamer Platz S-Bahn.

#58 This cafe at Potsdamer Platz was just inside West Berlin, with the pavement in the West and the road in the East.

This cafe at Potsdamer Platz was just inside West Berlin, with the pavement in the West and the road in the East.

The man is reading NEUES DEUTSCHLAND, the communist East Berlin newspaper.

#59 Glienicker Bruecke (Glienicke Bridge) is on the edge of Berlin at Lake Havel, and was on the border with East Germany proper (not East Berlin). It was the scene of a number of spy exchanges during the Cold War.

#63 Tauentzienstrasse meets Kurfuerstendamm at the ruin of the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church, which can be seen in the distance.

Tauentzienstrasse meets Kurfuerstendamm at the ruin of the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church, which can be seen in the distance.

On the extreme left can be seen the edge of KaDeWe, the largest department store in mainland Europe.

#64 The bombed ruin of one of the twin churches in Gendarmenmarkt, East Berlin.

#65 Political posters near Friedrichstrasse station, looking north along Friedrichstrasse.

#66 The view looking north along Friedrichstrasse at the junction with Unter den Linden.

#67 Tauentzienstrasse, looking towards Wittenbergplatz.

#68 Scene somewhere near the Zoo in West Berlin.

Scene somewhere near the Zoo in West Berlin.

The building with the chequered motif in the centre-left distance later became the Hilton hotel.

#69 The bombed building was on the north side of Unter den Linden in East Berlin, very near the Brandenburger Tor, with the Reichstag beyond it being in West Berlin.

Written by Aung Budhh

Husband + Father + librarian + Poet + Traveler + Proud Buddhist. I love you with the breath, the smiles and the tears of all my life.

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