6 August 1961

In an interview on German television, the West German minister for All-German Affairs, Ernst Lemmer, describes as a lie the accusation by the GDR that the West German government is involved in human trafficking. Lemmer says that a regime that cannot keep its people in their native country has failed dismally. In conclusion, he says: "I am no fan of big words and, above all, I do not want to seem pathetic. But I can give my listeners in the Zone who are now connected with me mentally, optically and acoustically this assurance: the way to and from Berlin remains open!"

After Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin’s space flight on 12 April 1961, the second Soviet cosmic spaceship "Vostok 2" is launched into orbit around the earth at 9.00 a.m. Moscow time. Cosmonaut Major Gherman Stepanovich Titov orbits the globe seventeen times, covering more than 700,000 km by the time he lands on 7 August. His flight time is 25 hours and 18 minutes. The Central Committee of the CPSU decides to promote Titov from a candidate to a member of the Party. On 9 August, he is given a triumphal reception in Moscow’s Red Square; the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet awards Titov the titles "Hero of the Soviet Union" and "Cosmonaut of the USSR".