10 August 1961
In the period from 10.8.1961, 8 a.m. to 11.8.1961, 8 a.m., 1,709 refugees are registered in the Marienfelde refugee centre in Berlin.
In East Berlin, Walter Ulbricht receives the Marshal of the Soviet Union, I. S. Konev. In this way, the news becomes public that Konev - instead of Colonel-General I. I. Jacubovski - has been appointed the new supreme commander of the Group of Soviet Forces in the GDR. Konev is an experienced general from the Second World War and was involved in the conquest of Prague and Berlin.
At around 4.30 p.m., Marshal Konev gives a reception for the representatives of the Allied military missions in the headquarters of the Soviet Armed Forces in Wünsdorf near Zossen. One of the Western generals is concerned about the troop movements of the previous few days: "We have heard about large-scale military transports in the area under your command. Could you please tell us what this means?" Konev's answer: "Gentlemen, you can rest assured. Whatever happens in the near future, your rights will remain untouched and nothing will be directed against West Berlin." (see Spiegel No. 34/1966; Zolling/Bahnsen 1967, p. 120).
Walter Ulbricht gives a speech to the employees of the Oberspree cable factory. He uses it to describe how West Germany is carrying out a campaign of revenge against the GDR, Poland, the CSSR and the Soviet Union on a scale that could be compared only with the warmongering of Goebbels and Hitler’s psychological preparations for war. Ulbricht says that the signing of a peace treaty would allow the GDR to "maintain all sovereign rights in its territory to their full extent, including the sovereign rights that were transferred temporarily to the Soviet Union in 1955. They include the control of the transport of passengers and goods that takes place through the territory of the GDR to supply the garrison of the Western Powers in West Berlin."
When Ulbricht starts to speak scornfully about the demand for free elections, a worker interrupts him unexpectedly: "And even if I am the only one: free elections!" Ulbricht: "One moment, wait! Let's clear this matter up." The worker calls: "Then we'll see what the right way is!" Ulbricht: "What do you want to elect freely? That is the question asked by the working class and the question asked by the people! (...) The German working class has made unprecedented bloody sacrifices over the decades! The working class did not make these sacrifices so that German militarism can arise once more! (Long, tumultuous applause)" (Quoted from: Neues Deutschland, 12 August 1961).
The name of the worker, who was interrogated and shadowed by state security after this incident, is Kurt Wismach. On 13 August, he flees to West Berlin (see audio document on 18 August 1961).
In the evening, the parliamentary advisory committee of the Volkskammer (People's Parliament) meets to discuss the Volkskammer resolution scheduled for the next day. The resolution is not presented in written form, but orally by the head of the Department for International Relations of the Central Committee, Peter Florin. "As individual members of the advisory committee proposed some small changes to the text," reports Helmut Müller, who was one of those attending the meeting, "Friedrich Ebert, who was otherwise so conciliatory, reacted gruffly and insisted that the text presented be confirmed." (Müller 1999, p. 157). And that is what is done.
At a press conference in Washington, the American president, John Kennedy, voices his concern about the growing stream of refugees from the GDR, but does not insist on the right to freedom of movement in all of Berlin. Kennedy avoids making a statement on comments by Senator Fulbright on 30 July 1961. He expresses the hope that the United States would be in a position to reach a peaceful solution to the Berlin problem.
