Emigration from the Eastern Bloc
In the first month after the Russian Revolution of 1917, the new Bolshevik regime instituted passport controls. This move forbade the exit of belligerent nationals from the country. The reasoning was partly that emigration was conflated with opposition to the socialist state. It also stemmed from a fear that emigration would inflate opposition armies. By 1920, travel abroad required approval from the NKVD and consent from the Special Department of the Cheka. In 1922, general rules for travel were issued by both the Ukrainian SSR and the Russian SFSR. These rules foreclosed virtually all departures, making legal emigration all but impossible. A system of border guards created through a special corps of the GPU ensured even illegal departure became nearly impossible by 1928. In 1929, strict controls decreed that any Soviet official serving abroad who went over to enemies of the working class would be executed within twenty-four hours of being apprehended.
During World War II, the Soviet Union began creating the Eastern Bloc by annexing several countries directly. These included Eastern Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and parts of Romania. By 1945, these additional annexed countries totaled approximately 465,000 square kilometers. Other states like Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany became satellite states under Soviet influence. The defining characteristic of communism in this bloc was the unique symbiosis of state with society and economy. Politics and economics lost their distinctive features as autonomous spheres. The Soviets mandated expropriation and estatization of private property. Communist regimes adopted brutal methods employed by Joseph Stalin and secret police to suppress opposition. Media served as organs of the state, completely reliant on ruling Communist parties. Economic mis-development resulted in extensive rather than intensive development paths. Empty shelves in shops provided open reminders of propaganda inaccuracies regarding economic progress.
Before 1961, over 3.5 million East Germans emigrated to West Germany through Berlin. This number represented approximately 20% of the entire East German population. Yuri Andropov wrote an urgent letter on the 28th of August 1958 about a significant 50% increase in refugees among the intelligentsia. The direct cost of manpower losses has been estimated at $7 billion to $9 billion. Walter Ulbricht later claimed that West Germany owed him $17 billion in compensation including reparations and manpower losses. By 1960, East Germany had only 61% of its working-age population compared to 70.5% before the war. Engineers, technicians, physicians, teachers, lawyers, and skilled workers were disproportionately affected. The drain potentially cost over 22.5 billion East marks in lost educational investment. Entire towns existed without physicians while crops went unharvested. Rural citizens disaffected after collectivization campaigns caused tens of thousands of farmers to flee. Over 10% of East Germany's arable land fell fallow resulting in food shortages.
On the 13th of August 1961, a barbed-wire barrier became the Berlin Wall separating East and West Berlins. Two days later police and army engineers began constructing a more permanent concrete wall. The completion closed the biggest loophole in the Iron Curtain. It brought an end to a decade during which divided capital was the easiest place for unauthorized crossings. Along with the wall, the zonal border became wide on its East German side. A tall steel-mesh fence ran along a death strip bordered by bands of plowed earth. This design slowed escapees and revealed prints of those trying to cross. Mined fields added another layer of danger. Even with these measures, only 5,000 people crossed the Berlin Wall between 1961 and 1989. Estimates for those killed attempting to escape range from 136 to just over 200. About 75,000 people were caught and imprisoned for Republikflucht attempts. The Soviet Union invested heavily in border controls with lengthy criminal rules regarding approaching border regions.
The Helsinki Accords of 1975 contained pledges to uphold rights to international travel and family contact. In East Germany, 7,200 first-time applicants applied in the late 1970s despite government downplaying this provision. West Germany negotiated the exodus of ethnic Germans from Poland in exchange for financial inducements including large loans. Romania received fixed amounts of 5,000 West Deutsche Marks per ethnic German permitted to leave. This amount increased to 7,800 DM in 1983 and to 11,000 DM in 1988. East Germany exported 70,000 political prisoners to West Germany receiving 70,000 DM per head. This netted East Germany 3.4 billion West Deutsche Marks during a period of financial crisis. More than 75% of emigrants between 1950 and 1990 did so under bilateral agreements for ethnic migration. About 10% were refugee migrants under the Geneva Convention of 1951. Applications could be denied without appeal on subjective grounds like national security or state interest.
On the 15th of June 1970, twelve mostly Jewish defectors attempted to hijack a plane to escape from the Soviet Union. They were assigned harsh sentences including death sentences for two leaders which were later commuted to fifteen years in labor camps. At least six skyjacking defection attempts were made from Armenia, the Soviet Union, and Lithuania from 1970 to 1971. Three hijackings of airliners by GDR citizens occurred with LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165 being most well-known in 1978. Some people who tried to escape used military vehicles to smash through the Berlin Wall. Republikflucht attempts constituted criminal acts carrying severe penalties. A propaganda booklet published by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany in 1955 stated leaving was an act of political and moral backwardness. Attempts involved considerable personal risk of injury or death. Famous defectors included MiG-25 pilot Viktor Belenko and chess grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi. Ballet stars Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov also defected to the West.
In August 1989, Hungary removed its physical border restrictions with Austria. The next month more than 13,000 East German tourists escaped to Austria. On the 9th of November 1989, tens of thousands of Eastern Berliners flooded Checkpoint Charlie crossing into West Berlin. Surprised border guards made many hectic telephone calls but no one dared issue orders for lethal force. On the 13th of June 1990 official dismantling of the Wall began in Bernauer Straße. By July 1, all border controls ceased when East Germany adopted West German currency. In Poland Solidarity captured 99 out of 100 parliamentary seats in April 1989. Romania's leader Nicolae Ceauşescu was executed after a brief trial three days following mass protests on the 25th of December 1989. The Romanian military changed sides turning against him during riots. Hundreds of Albanian citizens gathered around foreign embassies seeking asylum after regulations took effect on the 3rd of July 1990.
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Common questions
When did the Soviet Union institute passport controls after the Russian Revolution of 1917?
The new Bolshevik regime instituted passport controls in the first month after the Russian Revolution of 1917. This move forbade the exit of belligerent nationals from the country to prevent opposition and inflate opposition armies.
What was the total area of annexed countries that formed the Eastern Bloc by 1945?
By 1945, the additional annexed countries totaled approximately 465,000 square kilometers. These included Eastern Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and parts of Romania under direct Soviet control.
How many East Germans emigrated to West Germany before the Berlin Wall was built in 1961?
Before 1961, over 3.5 million East Germans emigrated to West Germany through Berlin. This number represented approximately 20% of the entire East German population at that time.
On what date did the construction of the Berlin Wall begin following its initial installation on August 13th 1961?
Two days later police and army engineers began constructing a more permanent concrete wall on the 15th of August 1961. The completion closed the biggest loophole in the Iron Curtain during a decade of divided capital.
When did Hungary remove its physical border restrictions with Austria leading to mass escapes in 1989?
In August 1989, Hungary removed its physical border restrictions with Austria. The next month more than 13,000 East German tourists escaped to Austria through this new opening.