The June 23 funeral in West Berlin for victims of the uprising
Poster 11
Funeral service of June 23, 1953 at the town hall in Schöneberg, West Berlin, © akg-images
West Germany commemorates the victims of the uprising: all government buildings in West Germany fly their flags at half-mast as early as June 18. The West German government organizes a funeral with seven coffins for the seven victims on June 23 at the Schöneberg City Hall in West Berlin. Among them is an empty coffin for Willi Göttling of West Berlin; he was arrested on June 17, sentenced to death and executed on June 18. The empty coffin represents his remains, the exact location of which is unknown to this day.
While the East German press calls Chancellor Konrad Adenauer a “marionette of the West” and a warmonger, the West German press sees him as a democratically elected leader and thus the representative of the German people. For him free and fair elections are the only road to peace and the unification of Germany; with this, he agrees with the demonstrators’ demands. On June 24, the FAZ and SZ print quotes from his eulogy, in which he expresses his sympathies for the victims. “We commemorate our dead, who gave their blood for freedom.” He not only honors the victims, but also swears an oath to all of Germany: “We will not rest until all of Germany is united in peace and freedom.” (FAZ, June 24). His speech makes clear that the protests are a matter of importance to all of Germany.
Während im Gebiet der DDR noch der Ausnahmezustand gilt, läuft das Leben in Westberlin geregelt weiter. Die westdeutsche Bevölkerung solidarisiert sich jedoch schnell mit den Demonstrierenden und Opfern der Aufstände. Vielerorts wird in den darauffolgenden Tagen die Arbeit für einige Minuten niedergelegt, um ihrer zu gedenken. Auch der Westberliner Senat reagiert recht schnell auf die Ereignisse und benennt die Charlottenburger Chaussee in Anerkennung der Opfer schon am 22. Juni in die „Straße des 17. Juni“ um. Zur großen Trauerfeier in Schöneberg am 23. Juni erscheinen neben Bundeskanzler Dr. Konrad Adenauer auch Bundesminister Jakob Kaiser, Bürgermeister Ernst Reuter, der Westberliner Senat, hohe Vertreter der westlichen Besatzungsmächte und über 40.000 Westberliner. In seiner Rede gedenkt Bundeskanzler Adenauer der Opfer der Aufstände und klagt mit scharfen Worten die Machtverhältnisse in der DDR an. Er betont vor allem den Wunsch der ostdeutschen Bevölkerung nach Befreiung von Unterdrückung und der Willkürherrschaft. Die DDR-Regierung unter sowjetischer Weisung würde den Forderungen der ostdeutschen Bevölkerung nicht gerecht werden und stattdessen ihre Macht ausnutzen, um „ihre Wut und ihren Hass und ihre Angst an ihnen [der Bevölkerung] auszulassen.“ (FAZ, 24. Juni 1953) Die Demonstrationen und die damit einhergehenden Opfer der ostdeutschen Bevölkerung sind nun ein Grund mehr, noch bestrebter die Wiedervereinigung Deutschlands herbeizuführen. Adenauers Rede wird somit zu „einem Bekenntnis der deutschen Einheit und zur Forderung nach Befreiung der 18 Millionen Bewohner der Sowjetzone“ (FAZ, 24. Juni 1953). Um auch in Zukunft an die Bedeutsamkeit dieser Ereignisse zu erinnern, schlägt die CDU-Fraktion am 25. Juni vor, den 17. Juni als nationalen Gedenktag festzulegen. Dieser Vorschlag wird am 4. August 1953 gesetzlich durchgesetzt.
Über die Anerkennung und Ehrung der Opfer des 17. Juni 1953 wird ausschließlich von westdeutschen und westlichen Medien berichtet.
While the state of emergency is still in force in the GDR, life in West Berlin continues in a regulated manner. However, the West German population quickly showed solidarity with the demonstrators and victims of the uprising. In many places, work is stopped for a few minutes in the days that follow to commemorate them. The West Berlin Senate also reacted very quickly to the events and renamed the Charlottenburger Chaussee “Straße des 17. Juni” in recognition of the victims on June 22nd. At the big funeral service in Schöneberg on June 23, Chancellor Dr. Konrad Adenauer also Federal Minister Jakob Kaiser, Mayor Ernst Reuter, the West Berlin Senate, high representatives of the Western occupying powers and over 40,000 West Berliners. In his speech, Chancellor Adenauer commemorates the victims of the uprising and sharply criticizes the balance of power in the GDR. Above all, he emphasizes the desire of the East German population for liberation from oppression and arbitrary rule. The GDR government under Soviet direction would not meet the demands of the East German population and would instead use its power to „take out their anger and their hate and their fear on them [the population].“ (FAZ, June 24, 1953) The Demonstrations and the associated victims of the East German population are now one more reason to strive even harder to bring about the reunification of Germany. Adenauer’s speech thus becomes „a commitment to German unity and a demand for the liberation of the 18 million inhabitants of the Soviet zone“ (FAZ, June 24, 1953). In order to remember the importance of these events in the future, the CDU parliamentary group proposes on June 25 that June 17 be set as the national day of remembrance. This proposal is enforced into law on August 4, 1953.
The recognition and honoring of the victims of June 17, 1953 is reported exclusively by West German and western media.