Gedenkveranstaltung zum Volksaufstand vom 17. Juni 1953

On Monday, June 17, a memorial event will take place in the courtyard of the General Prosecutor’s Office at Steinstrasse 61 to commemorate the popular uprising of June 17, 1953. Starting at 11 a.m., the event will honor the events where thousands of people protested against oppression and for freedom.

Following the demonstrations around June 17, 1953, there were arrests and convictions resulting in prison sentences of up to four years. The GDR government responded with a state of emergency, curfew, intimidation, and the deployment of Soviet military. As early as June 12, 1953, up to 5,000 people demonstrated in Brandenburg an der Havel demanding the release of the transport entrepreneur Taege. On June 17, construction workers, employees of the tractor plant, steelworkers, and employees of the Thälmann shipyard went on strike. Thousands of people from Brandenburg took to the streets for freedom. The demonstrators stormed the district court at Steinstrasse 61 and secured the release of 42 political prisoners after previously storming the building of the SED district leadership. The event will feature speeches by Dr. Andreas Behm, General Prosecutor of the state of Brandenburg, Prof. Dr. Ulrike Liedtke, President of the Brandenburg State Parliament, and Dr. Maria Nooke, Commissioner of the state of Brandenburg for dealing with the consequences of the communist dictatorship. The program will also include performances by musicians from the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra and students from Brandenburg an der Havel will present a dramatic reading based on historical documents. Registration is required by June 14 through the following link: [www.gedenken.protokoll-bb.de]. As there are no parking spaces available at the event location, attendees are asked to use public parking areas at Neustädtischer Markt.