Why did East Berliners flee to the west?

1989 is a year of great changes in the world. Under the severe economic situation, the Soviet Union began "political reform" and the socialist family in Eastern Europe disintegrated. 1989 in may, Hungary unilaterally opened the Hungarian-Austrian border, which opened the first gap for Germans and Germans to escape from Hungary to west Germany. A large number of Germans crossed the Hungarian-Austrian border and rushed into the then West German embassies in Poland and the Czech Republic. On September 30, German Foreign Minister Genscher announced that all German citizens of embassies such as Standing Wave and Czech Republic would be allowed to enter West Germany, which led to the overcrowding of West German embassies in Eastern Europe. By the end of 1989, about 340,000 East German citizens had flooded into West Germany.

In order to prevent the Germans from fleeing to the west, the German government ordered the closure of the border with the Czech Republic on June 3 10, and the relationship between East honecker and the "brother" countries in Eastern Europe became tense. 65438+ 10 7 is the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Mingde. On this day, large-scale demonstrations demanding "democracy, freedom and human rights" broke out in large and medium-sized cities such as East Berlin, Leipzig and Dresden. The situation in Germany is extremely serious. 10 10 18, honecker was forced to resign and krenz was elected as the first secretary. But krenz also failed to quell anti-government demonstrations. The domestic situation is even more difficult to control, and various opposition organizations have come out one after another, openly demanding that the ruling party of East Germany, the German Unified Socialist Party, step down, demand political pluralism, economic liberalization and hold free elections. Krenz's government adopted a compromise and tolerant attitude, so that 500,000 people took to the streets in Berlin, aiming at the German United Socialist Party and the East German government. Faced with the turbulent situation, the Democratic Party and the government are at a loss. 165438+17 October, the People's Republic of China (PRC) Council of Ministers resigned collectively. A day later, the Politburo resigned collectively. 165438+1On the evening of October 9 19, Sha Bozhi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, the new central press spokesman and the first secretary of East Berlin, said at a press conference held in the East Berlin press center: The central authorities have made a decision, and individuals can apply to travel abroad without giving reasons, which will be approved soon. Then the radio announced a similar decision. After watching TV and listening to the radio, East Berliners poured into the streets and rushed to the Berlin Wall. At this time, the border guards did not receive any notice. At 22 o'clock in the evening, the border guards of People's Republic of China (PRC) and Germany opened the railings, allowing thousands of people to rush to West Berlin "unimpeded", and the Berlin Wall was opened. Now, people recall the opening of the Berlin Wall and think it is so sudden and dramatic. In view of thousands of people flocking to the Berlin Wall in East Berlin, the Mingde government decided to open the Berlin Wall so that citizens of Mingde could go to West Berlin with their ID cards.

In the first few days of the Berlin Wall, in order to welcome the East German compatriots, West Berliners rolled out a big red carpet at the entrance of the border crossing and drove a free bus to welcome East Berliners. Some West Berliners are waiting for relatives and friends from East Berlin at the entrance with flowers. At that time, there was an endless stream of small motorcades from East Berlin to West Berlin, and so were people waiting in line to pass. On the day of 165438+ 10/2 alone, as many as 500,000 East Germans went to West Berlin. After receiving the news of the opening of the Berlin Wall, German Chancellor Kohl interrupted his visit to Poland and rushed to West Berlin. He made a speech at the rally in front of the city Council building, expressed his support for the citizens of the German People's Republic, and made a grand wish to them, asking them to live as rich as the residents of West Germany, and thanked Gorbachev and his western friends for their support.

The opening of the Berlin Wall has realized the desire of East Germans to freely enter and leave their borders for 40 years, and also fulfilled their dream of free exchange and reunion with West Germans and West Berliners. By the end of 1989, the total number of immigrants from East Germany to West Germany reached more than 340,000.

After the Berlin Wall was opened, the situation in East Germany became more turbulent, and hundreds of thousands of people flocked to West Germany and West Berlin every day. This new situation has raised the issue of reunification to a new height. 1989165438+1October13rd, the ninth session of the people's house of east Germany held its 1 1 th meeting, and the presidium of the people's house announced its collective resignation. /kloc-in 0/7, the East German coalition government headed by Moderow was established. Moderow put forward a series of proposals to reform East Germany, and proposed to establish a "treaty body" with West Germany. German Chancellor Kohl, with his keen politician's vision, felt that a series of events that shocked Europe and attracted the attention of the international community in East Germany since summer and autumn would eventually lead to the reunification of Germany. Therefore, after 10, Kohl put forward a "ten-point plan" for the reunification of Moderow on the basis of absorbing the relevant contents in the Treaty * * *, and put German reunification on the agenda.

The "Ten-Point Plan" put forward by Premier Cole has aroused strong repercussions in East and West Germany, and won the support and cheers of political parties, people and people in East Germany. On February 7th, 65438, 14, the parties and organizations in Mingde held a "round table meeting", and most people demanded reunification with West Germany. 12 19, Cole visited Mingde, and the two prime ministers held talks on the establishment of the treaty. On February 22, 65438, the Brandenburg Gate, which has been heavily guarded by the Sino-German border, was officially opened to pedestrians. People gathered in front of the gate from all directions, cheering and jumping, and colorful flags fluttered and brightly lit on the west side of the gate. On this day, hundreds of thousands of people gathered at the east and west sides of the city gate, and Cole and Moderow personally presided over the celebration ceremony.

1990 65438+1On October 28th, all parties in Mingde held the second "round table meeting" and unanimously decided to hold a "free election" in Mingde on March 8th of the same year. On October 29th, 65438/KLOC-0, Moderow made a hasty visit to Moscow. Gorbachev, who has always opposed German reunification, unexpectedly made it clear that Germans "have the right to reunification" and that "in principle, no one doubts this, and the times themselves are accelerating this process". Gorbachev's speech undoubtedly issued a license for German reunification. Then Moderow put forward the unification plan of the People's Republic of China (PRC) government, which is not much different from Cole's "ten-point plan", except that Germany will be "neutral" militarily after reunification, which is influenced by the Soviet Union.

On the issue of German reunification, both the Soviet Union and the western powers such as Britain, France and the United States adopted an attitude of opposition and passive resistance at the beginning. However, with the development of the situation of the people's morality, the attitude of the people's morality itself towards reunification has also changed. Under the situation that reunification has become an inevitable trend, first of all, the Soviet Union quickly changed its position. Starting from the overall goal of accelerating the peaceful evolution of Eastern Europe, the western powers also quickly adjusted their respective policies.

In the final analysis, the issue of German reunification is a German issue left over from World War II. Without the participation and attitude of the international community, the problem cannot be solved by the will of two Germans alone. The Potsdam Agreement of 1945 clearly stipulates that the victorious countries (the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union) are responsible for signing a peace treaty with Germany to achieve reunification. To this end, German Chancellor Kohl made every effort to create a unified and good internal environment, and at the same time conducted a series of shuttle diplomacy with Foreign Minister Genscher to gain the understanding, trust and permission of neighboring countries, the Soviet Union and the United States. 1990 In February, at the meeting of foreign ministers of NATO and Warsaw Treaty Organization held in Ottawa, German Foreign Minister Genscher put forward the "2+4" plan for the first time, that is, the foreign ministers of East and West Germany and the foreign ministers of the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain and France formed a foreign ministers meeting to discuss the issue of German reunification. This proposal quickly received a positive response, and the first round of talks was held in Bonn in May 1990.

In order to eliminate the worries and doubts of eastern and western countries and promote the process of German reunification, West Germany has repeatedly stated that the process of German reunification will be realized in the process of European reunification, and Germany will pay full attention to the security and interests of its eastern and western neighbors, as well as the security and interests of the Soviet Union, and has repeatedly stressed that it has no territorial claims on any neighboring country. Western countries, led by the United States, have also made some friendly gestures towards the Soviet Union. After the reunification of Germany, staying in NATO will not pose a threat to the security of the Soviet Union.

1990 July 15, Cole visited the Soviet Union again and held talks with Gorbachev in the Caucasus. Cole promised that Germany would provide large-scale economic and technical assistance to the Soviet Union and signed a treaty with the Soviet Union to establish new relations between the two countries. On this condition, in exchange for the support of the Soviet Union, the main obstacle to German reunification was eliminated. 1990 12 In September, the foreign ministers of the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain, France, West Germany and Germany held the last "2+4" talks in Moscow and signed the Treaty on the Final Settlement of the German Problem. According to the treaty, the four countries ceased their rights and responsibilities to Germany, and the unified Germany enjoyed full sovereignty. The signing of this treaty marks the unification of Germany in international law.

As early as1February 20th, 990, the governments of Moderow and West Germany began to negotiate economic and monetary issues between the two countries in West Berlin. /kloc-After the general election in March, 2008, Demezi Eires succeeded Prime Minister Mingde. /kloc-in may, 2008, Germany signed the first national treaty between the two countries, the treaty of economic, monetary and social union. /kloc-in July, 2000, the treaty came into effect, and the East German mark stopped being used, while the West German mark was used all over Germany. On August 3 1, Germany and Germany signed a treaty of political union, and decided to fully introduce the system of West Germany into East Germany. Mingde joined the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) on June 3, 65438/KLOC-0 according to Article 23 of the Basic Law of West Germany.

Shortly after the signing of the unification treaty between the eastern and western governments, the German Bundestag and the East German People's House

Hold separate meetings to consider the unification treaty. On September 20th, the German Bundestag voted 442 in favor, 47 against and 3 abstained, while the German People's House voted 299 in favor and 80 against, 1 abstained. The two houses ratified the German-German Unification Treaty by a two-thirds majority. On September 23rd, Federal President weizsacker signed the unification treaty. At this point, Germany and Germany achieved legal unification.

After the signing of the Treaty on National Unification and the Treaty on the Final Settlement of the German Problem, the conditions for Germany to achieve reunification in domestic law and international law have been met, and relevant parties have begun to actively make final preparations for the formal reunification of Germany and Germany. By 654381October 2, Mingde had made all preparations for joining the Federal Republic of Germany in accordance with Article 23 of the Basic Law. Government ministries have been taken over by the relevant ministries of the Federal Republic of Germany and stopped performing their original functions. The People's House for People's Virtue held its last meeting on the afternoon of June 5438+1October 2, after allocating the number of parliamentary groups to the Bundestag in proportion. The German army has been reorganized according to the requirements of the Bundeswehr and reached an agreement with the Warsaw Treaty Organization. From the date of German reunification, it will no longer enjoy its rights to China and fulfill its obligations to China. After the unification treaty was approved by the Parliament, the Federal Republic of Germany sent a large number of officials to People's Republic of China (PRC) government agencies for handover. The headquarters of the United States, Britain and France held their last meeting in Berlin, and the commanders of the three countries signed a document announcing the immediate end of the occupation of Berlin. 6543810.2, the governments of East and West Berlin held a joint meeting to announce the official unification of Berlin.

65438+ 10 2 at 6 pm, a dove of peace and "Good luck, Berlin! Germany, good luck! " A huge hot air balloon with "this word" printed on it was launched. At 7 pm, German leaders and representatives from all walks of life held a celebration meeting to join the Federal Republic of People's Republic of China (PRC) at the Berlin Theatre. Federal German President weizsacker and Chancellor Kohl were invited to attend. German Chancellor Angela Demaiziere delivered a speech. At the same time, the radio and television stations in West Germany respectively broadcast TV speeches by Demezieres Lies and Cole on the unification of East and West Germany. After that, Mingde Band played Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. At 23: 55 pm, the tricolor German flag representing workers, peasants and intellectuals, represented by hammers, ears of wheat and compasses, descended from the buildings of all state organs and government agencies in Brandenburg Gate and Mingde, and then the tricolor German flag was raised. At the same time, the national flag of Mingde in the United Nations was lowered. Finally, all overseas institutions of Mingde were closed. By 24: 00, Mingde, a country that has existed for nearly 4 1 year, has peacefully disappeared from Europe and the world stage.

10 year 10 3, Germany announced its formal reunification. Grand celebrations were held all over Germany, especially in Berlin. The reunification celebration began at 0: 00 sharp on the 3rd, and a grand flag-raising ceremony was held in the square in front of the Berlin Parliament Building. German President weizsacker, Chancellor Kohl and other German government officials, representatives from all walks of life in Germany and 2000 diplomatic envoys in Germany attended the flag-raising ceremony. In his speech, President weizsacker called on all German people to unite and jointly build their own country. More than 1 10,000 people attended the celebration in Berlin.