Berlin's Refugee Crisis, 1958 (Edexcel GCSE History)

How did Life Differ Between East and West Berlin? - Summary

From the end of the Second World War, Berlin was divided into four zones. In the 1940s, the USA, Britain, France and the Soviet Union each controlled sections of Berlin. Berliners could access every section of the city as all four nations governed together. By the 1950s, this way of government changed. As a consequence of the Berlin Blockade, a more formal divide occurred between East and West Berlin. The Western powers created the FRG (West Germany) whilst the Soviet Union formed the GDR (East Germany). Berlin fell within the GDR's territory, but the GDR and FRG split the city in two.

Life between East and West Berlin was very different. West Berlin, under the FRG, received Marshall Aid. The area became prosperous. West Berliners had access to well-paid jobs and a high standard of living. West Berlin had many theatres, cinemas and restaurants. In comparison, East Berlin was under the control of the Soviet Union. East Germans experienced many restrictions in their lives and had little access to consumerism. This difference between East and West Germany caused significant problems between the USA and the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s.

A flow diagram summarising the changes to Berlin from 1945 to 1950

What Caused the Refugee Crisis in Berlin by 1958?

• The more formal division between East and West Germany had consequences for Berliners

  • The FRG gave access to more rights and freedom

    • The FRG's economy was strong in the 1950s

    • The Western powers governed West Berlin as a democracy

  • The GDR had many issues

    • East Germans experienced food shortages

    • The Soviet Union's economic policies had not improved the East German economy

    • Many East Berliners lived in poor-quality houses and did not have freedom of speech or protest

    • The secret police, the Stasi, monitored for dissent. They arrested many East Germans, subjecting them to torture and imprisonment

• By the 1950s, many East Germans did not want to live under Soviet rule 

  • On 16th June 1953, East Berlin construction workers protested against the East German government

    • The protest spread across East Berlin and multiple towns across the GDR

    • The Soviet Union suppressed the revolt on 18th June 1953

  • Many East Germans began to leave

    • There was free movement between East and West Berlin

    • East Germans needed to reach East Berlin and travel to West Berlin

    • From West Berlin, East Germans could fly to the FRG

  • Fleeing East Germans created a refugee crisis

    • This means that there were too many people leaving East Germany. West Germany struggled to house these new citizens

    • East Germany had a significant decline in their population. There were not enough people to fill important job vacancies in the country

How Serious was the Refugee Crisis?

• The number of people escaping the GDR through East Berlin became an increasing issue by the end of the 1950s

• By 1958, approximately three million Germans had left the GDR

  • This was a sixth of the population of East Germany at this time

What were the trends of migration from the GDR?

A graph and table showing the number of East Germans leaving the GDR between 1949 and 1961. Data sourced from www.statista.com

Analysis of the information

• There were numerous years when the Soviet Union did not provide data on migrating East Germans

  • Due to censorship, the Soviet Union did not want to report the number of people actively leaving Soviet rule

• From 1955 to 1957, the Soviet Union reported significantly higher refugee figures than the West

  • At this point, Khrushchev wanted to prove how significant the refugee crisis was. Inflated figures would help in the Soviet Union's negotiations with the West and for Khrushchev to issue his ultimatum on the issue in 1958

• The source of Western data on migration was the number of East Germans who applied for refuge in the West

  • This is more likely to be accurate

The Impact of the Refugee Crisis on Cold War Relations

• The refugee crisis created a skills gap in the GDR

  • The majority of the refugees came from the middle classes, such as doctors, lawyers, teachers and engineers

    • The middle classes knew that West Germany would pay them higher wages than East Germany

  • Historians estimate that the loss of labour alone cost the GDR between $7 billion to $9 billion

  • Only 61% of the GDR's population was of working age compared to 70.5% before the Second World War

• The loss of workers became embarrassing for Khrushchev

  • It was a propaganda failure for the Soviet Union

    • Khrushchev wanted to show the world how strong and successful communism was

    • The refugee crisis showed that, given a choice, a significant percentage of citizens under communist rule would choose Western capitalism and democracy

  • The crisis forced Khrushchev to take decisive action

    • He needed to stop so many people from leaving East Germany through Berlin