“Berlin is the key to Germany. Germany is the key to Europe.”
–Joseph Stalin
Nearly two decades since its demise, the Berlin Wall has largely faded from our thoughts. But Frederick Taylor’s latest book revives memories of a time when it seemed the Wall would never fall.
Taylor provided a wonderful overview of the role of Germany in the modern world. At the epicenter of Germany was Berlin. Taylor sets the scene with an invigorating sprint through Berlin’s history, culminating in the defeat of the Nazis in 1945. With the Soviets occupying its eastern half, and American, French and British forces in the western sectors, Berlin was suddenly the embodiment of the post-war world’s great divide. West Berliners had to come to terms with the additional shock of finding themselves on a capitalist island deep inside a Stalinist republic.
Until I read Frederick Taylor’s book, I felt unequivocally that the Berlin Wall had no positive elements. At one level I was correct. That is, this wall prevented the free movement of people and ideas from 1961-1989. On the other hand, the wall provided perversely benefits. Specifically, the wall prevented the cold war from becoming a “hot” one. That is, in 1961 the Soviet Union was committed by any means necessary to maintaining the communist hold on Eastern Europe. East Germany was an integral part of this empire. Without the wall, so many East Germans would have immigrated to the West that the country would not have been viable.
On the other side, America under John Kennedy was stridently anti-Communist. Kennedy took seriously the words of his inauguration.
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
Fortunately, the fight over Berlin and indeed Germany never escalated into a nuclear confrontation. In 1961, the leaders of both sides were surrounded by military hawks. Fortunately, time passed. That is, by 1989 the Soviet Union under Gorbachev was willing to forego the Brezhnev doctrine. The Brezhnev doctrine simply stated that once a country becomes communist who must be military restrained from leaving the socialist camp.
One of the interesting aspects of the struggle over Berlin was “controlling its soul.” In a sense, there was a profound change in Western capitals about this city. From 1871 until 1945, Berlin was perceived as the citadel of militarism whether under the conservative monarchy of the Hohenzollerns or under the Nazis. Nevertheless, within four years of Germany’s defeat, America was prepared to engage in possibly a third World War to keep West Berlin from falling under Communist control. The Berlin airlift clearly demonstrated America’s willingness to take extraordinary measures to stop Communism. Stated differently we were willing to undertake a Herculean airlift and expend tremendous financial resources to save the former “capital of fascism.”
After World War II, two countries effectively emerged, West Germany (population approximately 50 million people) and East Germany (population approximately 17 million.) Even more interesting, West Berlin and East Berlin were created. West Berlin was located more than 100 miles within East Germany. Thus, there was a capitalist city with a population of over one million inside communist East Germany.
The success of West Germany and East Germany in turn highlighted two distinctly different economic and political systems. West Germany represented democratic capitalism. East Germany represented dictatorial Marxism.
The economic success of West Germany and West Berlin was a thorn in the side of communism. Once West Germany began to prosper, especially after 1948, many East Germans fled. Some 2.5 million East Germans immigrated to West Germany from 1948-1961. Over time the East German government prevented the exodus with the exception of Berlin. Losing some 250,000 people annually to the West put added intolerable burdens upon the East Germans.
Amid the tension and tragedy, there are some flashes of levity. Taylor recounts how Vice-President Lyndon Johnson arrived in West Berlin to boost morale in the days after the borders were closed. Following a hero’s welcome and much pressing of the flesh, Johnson asked West Berlin Mayor, Willy Brandt about the possibility of shopping for some quality porcelain during his visit. Brandt apologetically explained that as it was a Sunday, the shops were closed. “Well, goddammit! What if they are closed”, exclaimed the furious Texan. “You’re the mayor, aren’t you?” Johnson got his porcelain.
Despite public condemnation, the West privately acknowledged little could be done about the Berlin Wall. As mayor, Willy Brandt wrote an angry letter to Kennedy demanding a robust American response to the crisis. Harold Macmillan, the Prime Minister of Britain, was even less committed to Berlin than Kennedy. He felt Britain could not afford further military expenditures to save the city given his country’s weakened economic condition.
Taylor observes that during the 1980s, even as a deep freeze set in between the superpowers, the thaw between the two Germanys continued. During a visit to West Germany in 1987, East German leader Erich Honecker allowed himself a rare moment of melancholy, suggesting the borders between the two countries were not as they should be. By this time, East and West Berlin were divided by a sophisticated system of barriers, traps and checkpoints of which “the Wall” formed only the final frontier. Escape attempts had dwindled, and it seemed as if the East Germans had finally come to terms with life under a grim, brutal regime. But something was stirring.
No-one was prepared for the speed with which events moved. On the night of November 9 1989. Mikhail Gorbachev, who had loosened Moscow’s grip on its satellite states, slept soundly as thousands breached the Berlin Wall. Meanwhile, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, making a visit to Poland’s new Solidarity government, discovered he was “dancing at the wrong wedding.” Taylor’s description of that night is enthralling. His minute-by-minute account captures the confusion surrounding a botched East German press conference and the subsequent euphoria at the newly-open border.
The fall of the Berlin Wall marked a high point of democracy and capitalism. Within months, the domino theory worked as one communist country fell after another. The ecstasy of freedom seemed to know no bounds. We might want to remember “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.”
