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Republikflucht
''Republikflucht'' (; German for "desertion from the republic") was the colloquial term in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) for illegal emigration to West Germany, West Berlin, and non-Warsaw Pact countries; the official term was ''Ungesetzlicher Grenzübertritt'' ("unlawful border crossing"). ''Republikflucht'' applied to both the 3.5 million Germans who migrated legally from the Soviet occupation zone and East Germany before the Berlin Wall was built on 13 August 1961, and the thousands who migrated illegally across the Iron Curtain until 23 December 1989. It has been estimated that 30,000 people left the GDR per year between 1984 and 1988, and up to 300,000 per year before the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. Legislation As of 28 June 1979, the wording of § 213 StGB was: (1) Unlawfully crossing the border of the German Democratic Republic or violating legislation regarding temporary residence within the German Democratic Republic as well as transit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were aligned with the Soviet Union and existed during the Cold War (1947–1991). These states followed the ideology of Marxism–Leninism, in opposition to the Capitalism, capitalist Western Bloc. The Eastern Bloc was often called the "Second World", whereas the term "First World" referred to the Western Bloc and "Third World" referred to the Non-Aligned Movement, non-aligned countries that were mainly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America but notably also included former Tito–Stalin split, pre-1948 Soviet ally Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia, which was located in Europe. In Western Europe, the term Eastern Bloc generally referred to the USSR and Central and Eastern European countries in the Comecon (East Germany, Polish Peo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Escape Attempts And Victims Of The Inner German Border
There were numerous escape attempts and victims of the inner German border during its 45 years of existence from 1945 to 1990. Refugee flows and escape attempts Between 1945 and 1988, around 4 million East Germans migrated to the West. 3.454 million of them left between 1945 and the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. The great majority simply walked across the border or, after 1952, exited through West Berlin. After the border was fortified and the Berlin Wall was constructed, the number of illegal border crossings fell drastically. The numbers fell further as the border defenses were improved over the subsequent decades. In 1961, 8,507 people fled across the border, most of them through West Berlin. The construction of the Berlin Wall that year reduced the number of escapees by 75% to around 2,300 per annum for the rest of the decade. The Wall changed Berlin from being one of the easiest places to cross the border, from the East, to one of the most difficult. The number of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Inner German Border
The inner German border ( or ''deutsch–deutsche Grenze''; initially also , zonal boundary) was the frontier between the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the West Germany, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) from 1949 to 1990. ''De jure'' not including the similar but physically separate Berlin Wall, the border was an irregular L-shaped line, long. It ran south from the Baltic Sea and then east to the border of Protection of Czechoslovak borders during the Cold War, Czechoslovakia. It was formally established by the Potsdam Agreement on 1 August 1945 as the boundary between the Allied-occupied Germany, Western and Soviet occupation zones of Germany. On the Eastern side, it was made one of the world's most heavily fortified frontiers, defined by a continuous line of high metal fences and walls, barbed wire, alarms, anti-vehicle ditches, watchtowers, automatic booby traps and minefields. It was patrolled by 50,000 armed GDR borde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government of the GDR on 13 August 1961. It included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, accompanied by a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, beds of nails and other defenses. The primary intention for the Wall's construction was to prevent East Germany, East German citizens from Emigration from the Eastern Bloc, fleeing to the West. The Eastern Bloc, Soviet Bloc propaganda portrayed the Wall as protecting its population from "Fascist (insult), fascist elements conspiring to prevent the will of the people" from building a Communism, communist state in the GDR. The authorities officially referred to the Berlin Wall as the ''Anti-Fascist Protection Ram ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
German Democratic Republic
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally viewed as a communist state and described itself as a Socialist state, socialist "workers' and peasants' state". The Economy of East Germany, economy of the country was Central planning, centrally planned and government-owned corporation, state-owned. Although the GDR had to pay substantial war reparations to the Soviets, its economy became the most successful in the Eastern Bloc. Before its establishment, the country's territory was administered and occupied by Soviet forces following the Berlin Declaration (1945), Berlin Declaration abolishing German sovereignty in World War II. The Potsdam Agreement established the Soviet occupation zone in Germany, Soviet-occupied zone, bounded on the east b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Illegal Emigration
Illegal emigration is departure from a country in violation of emigration laws. Countries often seek to regulate who departs a country for diverse reasons, such as stopping criminals from leaving, preventing labor shortages and capital flight, and averting brain drain. The simplest case is when a country prohibits certain persons from physically leaving. Another common situation is when a person legally goes abroad but refuses to return when demanded by their country of origin. Special cases are when one flees a country as a refugee escaping persecution or, after committing a crime, trying to escape prosecution. However, a person who enters another country as an illegal immigrant may be sent back, and if a criminal, a person may face extradition or prosecution in the other country. The position of the United Nations is that freedom to emigrate is a human right, part of the right to freedom of movement. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "Everyone has the ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
List Of Deaths At The Berlin Wall
There were numerous deaths at the Berlin Wall, which stood as a barrier between West Berlin and East Berlin from 13 August 1961 until Fall of the Berlin Wall, 9 November 1989. Before the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, 3.5 million East Germans circumvented Eastern Bloc emigration and defection, Eastern Bloc emigration restrictions, many by Berlin border crossings, crossing over the border from East Berlin into West Berlin. From there they could then travel to West Germany and other Western European countries. Between 1961 and 1989, the Wall prevented almost all such emigration. The state-funded Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung, Centre for Contemporary History (ZZF) in Potsdam has confirmed that "... at least 140 people were killed at the Berlin Wall or died under circumstances directly connected with the GDR border regime", including people attempting to escape, border guards, and innocent parties. However, researchers at the Checkpoint Charlie Museum have estim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
West Berlin
West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1990, the territory was claimed by the West Germany, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany), despite being entirely surrounded by the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany). The legality of this claim was contested by the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries. However, West Berlin de facto aligned itself politically with the FRG from May 1949 and was thereafter treated as a ''de facto'' city-state of that country. After 1949, it was directly or indirectly represented in the institutions of the FRG, and most of its residents were citizens of the FRG. West Berlin was formally controlled by the Western Allies and entirely surrounded by East Berlin and East Germany. West Berlin had great symbolic signi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
East Berlin
East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 until 9 November 1989, East Berlin was separated from West Berlin by the Berlin Wall. The Western Allied powers did not recognize East Berlin as the GDR's capital, nor the GDR's authority to govern East Berlin. For most of its administrative existence, East Berlin was officially known as Berlin, capital of the GDR () by the GDR government. On 3 October 1990, the day Germany was officially German reunification, reunified, East and West Berlin formally reunited as the city of Berlin. Overview With the London Protocol (1944), London Protocol of 1944 signed on 12 September 1944, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union decided to divide Nazi Germany, Germany into three occ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Border Troops Of The German Democratic Republic
The Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic () was the border guard of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1946 to 1990. The were the primary force guarding the Berlin Wall and the Inner German border, the GDR's international borders between West Berlin and West Germany respectively. The force belonged to the Ministry of National Defence (MfNV) from 1961, and was a service branch of the National People's Army until 1971 when it became directly subordinate to the MfNV. The Border Troops numbered approximately 47,000 personnel at its peak, consisting of volunteers and conscripts, the third-largest Warsaw Pact border guard after the Soviet Border Troops and Poland's Border Protection Troops. The 's main role was preventing , the illegal migration from the GDR, and were controversially responsible for many deaths at the Berlin Wall. History By December 1945, within six months of the end of the Second World War, each of the five states in the Soviet Zone ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Checkpoint Charlie Memorial
Checkpoint may refer to: Places * Border checkpoint, a place on the land border between two states where travellers and/or goods are inspected * Security checkpoint, erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary control * Random checkpoint, a police or military checkpoint that is moved to various locations * Weigh station, a highway checkpoint to inspect vehicular weights Arts and entertainment * Checkpoint (G.I. Joe), a fictional character in the G.I. Joe universe * Checkpoint (''Transformers''), two fictional characters in the ''Transformers'' universes * ''Checkpoint'' (novel), a 2004 novel by Nicholson Baker * ''Checkpoint'' (journal), 1969-1974 * ''Checkpoint'' (pinball), a 1991 pinball machine released by Data East * Checkpoint (video gaming), locations in a video game where a player character respawns after death * CheckPoint, a web series by sketch comedy group LoadingReadyRun Film and television * ''Checkpoint'' (1956 film), a British cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Flight And Expulsion Of Germans (1944–1950)
During the later stages of World War II and the post-war period, Reichsdeutsche (German citizens) and Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans living outside the Nazi state) fled and were expelled from various Eastern Europe, Eastern and Central European countries, including Czechoslovakia, and from the former German provinces of Province of Lower Silesia, Lower and Province of Upper Silesia, Upper Silesia, East Prussia, and the eastern parts of Province of Brandenburg, Brandenburg (Neumark) and Province of Pomerania (1815–1945), Pomerania (Farther Pomerania), which were annexed by Provisional Government of National Unity of Poland and by the Soviet Union. The idea to expel the Germans from the annexed territories had been proposed by Winston Churchill, in conjunction with the Polish government-in-exile, Polish and Czechoslovak government-in-exile, Czechoslovak governments-in-exile in London since at least 1942. Tomasz Arciszewski, the Prime ministers of the Polish government-in-exile, P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
