'This will be our freedom!' The GDR uprising of June 1953

17.06.2024

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Xing
• LinkedIn

On June 6, 2024, the second lecture in a joint series of events organized by the BTU Brandenburg Representative Office and the town of Spremberg/Grodk took place at the Spreekino in Spremberg. This series of events is part of the Science Year 2024, which is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the motto "Freedom".

The lecture shed light on the dramatic events of the popular uprising in June 1953, when the SED regime was on the verge of collapse. More than a million people throughout the GDR demanded the end of the dictatorship; only the intervention of Soviet troops prevented a successful overthrow. The lecture looked at the background to this massive uprising and asked key questions: Why did so many people protest? Who took part? What did the insurgents hope for and why did they fail? The focus was particularly on the often overlooked but significant contributions of small towns and rural regions.

Another aspect of the lecture was the significance of the popular uprising for the culture of remembrance today. How can this historical event contribute to sharpening our concepts of dictatorship, protest and freedom?

New perspectives from Dr. Jens Schöne

Dr. Jens Schöne brought a new perspective to the discussion. Traditionally, the uprising of June 17, 1953 is often portrayed as a spontaneous reaction to the political and economic grievances in the GDR. The general opinion is that the popular uprising broke out suddenly and rather unexpectedly and that Berlin was the epicenter of the unrest.

Dr. Schöne countered this view with his own: In his lecture, he explained that the decision to revolt and the organization of the same could not have been spontaneously realized across the board from one day to the next in those days. In his view, it all began days earlier in small towns and rural regions and then culminated in Berlin. This view suggests that after the expropriation of the farmers and forced collectivization, as well as other decisions such as the increase in standards for workers, there was growing discontent that grew into a nationwide protest.

With this look at the historical events of 1953, Jens Schöne managed to draw the audience into an exciting and enriching discussion. It became clear that these insights were new to many members of the audience and the discussion was lively, leading to traditional narratives being questioned and the complex dynamics of the uprising being reassessed.

Continuation of the event series

As part of the Year of Science 2024, the city of Spremberg will offer further events on the topic of "Freedom" in collaboration with the Brandenburg Presence Office. The next event will take place on Wednesday, July 10 and will focus on biographical narratives about the decline of the GDR, German reunification and the subsequent transformation. All interested parties are cordially invited to take part in these free events.

Further information on the events can be found at: www.praesenzstelle-spremberg.de/wissenschaftsjahr.

You can watch the video of the lecture at the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usxx1RjbyUI

Contact us