‘Warning: RIAS poison’. In 1952, the Socialist Unity Party (SED) of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) publishes a poster condemning the broadcasts of RIAS (Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor), a US radio station whose studios are located in West Berlin.

On 10 February 1953, the Dutch UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart, forwards to the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) an initial report on the persistent mass influx of refugees from East Germany into the FRG and outlines the measures taken to house them.

In February 1953, Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart, the Dutch United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, draws up an Action Plan to assist the large number of refugees flooding into West Germany.

On 17 June 1953, the main political parties in West Berlin openly support the demands of the East Berlin strikers and call for the peaceful reunification of Germany.

Following the events of 17 June 1953, Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), expresses to the Bundestag his Government’s solidarity with the striking East German workers.

On 17 June 1953, General Pavel Dibrova, military commander of East Berlin, declares a state of emergency in the Soviet sector of Berlin.

On 18 June 1953, in a note addressed to the Soviet Control Commission in East Berlin, the Commandants of the US, British and French forces in West Berlin express their indignation at the Soviet troops’ brutal intervention to control the workers’ riots in East Berlin and throughout the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

On 18 June 1953, the Bavarian newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung describes the intervention of the Soviet armed forces the previous day to bring the workers’ riots in East Berlin under control.

On 20 June 1953, in his reply to the US, British and French Commandants in West Berlin, the Soviet Commandant justifies the repressive policy of the Soviet Union and accuses the Western Powers of supporting the rioters in the Eastern sector of Berlin.

In its editorial of 23 June 1953, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung considers the consequences of the workers' riot in East Berlin on 17 June.

On 24 June 1953, German weekly Der Spiegel comments on the scenes of unrest that were witnessed on 17 June in East Berlin.

On 23 July 1953, the US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, writes a letter to the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, in which he comments on the workers’ uprising in East Berlin and reaffirms the importance of working together for the reunification of a free and democratic Germany.

Map published by the Federal Ministry for All-German Affairs on the popular uprising of 17 June 1953 in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and in East Berlin.

On 16 and 17 June 1953, strikes and demonstrations in East Berlin and throughout the Soviet zone lead to the intervention of the police force of the German Democratic Republic (GDR): for the inhabitants of East Germany, this signifies the end of democracy.

The workers' riots on 16 and 17 June 1953 in East Berlin sounded the death knell for democracy for all East Germans.

Jakob Kaiser, Federal Minister for All-German Affairs, sees the workers' revolt in East Berlin on 17 June 1953 as an appeal to the free world for German reunification.

Le 18 juin 1953, au lendemain de la révolte ouvrière à Berlin-Est, le journal soviétique Pravda nous livre le point de vue soviétique des événements.

On 18 June 1953, the day after the workers’ revolt in East Berlin, the Soviet newspaper Pravda gives the Soviet viewpoint on these events.

On 16 and 17 June 1953, strikes and demonstrations by workers in East Berlin and throughout the Soviet occupation zone lead to the intervention of the police forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the tanks of the Soviet occupation forces. Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), protests on behalf of all Germans and sets the reunification of Germany as his ultimate political goal.