GDR Defence Minister Hoffmann announces that directional anti-personnel mines (SM-70) are to be installed on the inner German border. The effectiveness of the SM-70 had been shown in the trial period: 75 percent of game hit by this type of mine suffered fatal injuries.
21 January
1971
Under the leadership of Erich Honecker, 13 of the 20 members and candidates of the SED Politburo approach CPSU General Secretary Brezhnev, asking him to hold a discussion with Walter Ulbrich obliging the latter to hand in his voluntary resignation.
21 January
1971
During "Green Week", the traditional agricultural exhibition in West Berlin – visited by the West German president among others – the GDR again hinders transit traffic to the divided city.
RIAS report on disruptions to Berlin traffic by the GDR during the "Green Week", 21 January 1971 (in German) (Source: Archiv Deutschlandradio, Broadcast: Rundschau am Abend)
31 January
1971
After a 19-year interruption, telephone connections are resumed between the two sections of Berlin on a limited basis.
