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Unternehmen Reisebüro
The Unternehmen Reisebüro, also known as the Girrmann Group, was one of the first and most influential groups helping people escape from East Berlin during the Cold War. It was started by students at the Eichkamp International student hostel of the Free University of West Berlin. The founders of the group were law students, Detlef Girrmann and Dieter Thieme. Their original purpose was to help their fellow students, but the program later expanded to helping anybody who had hopes of escaping East Berlin. Together these two students managed to set up an evolving network that helped thousands of East Berliners safely escape. After they were banned from crossing on August 23, 1961, they used students with West Berlin or foreign passports to contact students in East Berlin and ask them if they wanted to escape. Passports They searched out passports from foreign embassies and private citizens that could be used to help those wishing to escape. These students faced the extreme challen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East Berlin
East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 until 9 November 1989, East Berlin was separated from West Berlin by the Berlin Wall. The Western Allied powers did not recognize East Berlin as the GDR's capital, nor the GDR's authority to govern East Berlin. On 3 October 1990, the day Germany was officially German reunification, reunified, East and West Berlin formally reunited as the city of Berlin. Overview With the London Protocol (1944), London Protocol of 1944 signed on 12 September 1944, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union decided to divide Germany into three occupation zones and to establish a special area of Berlin, which was occupied by the three Allied Forces together. In May 1945, the Soviet Union installed a city gove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment, the struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare, propaganda campaigns, espionage, far-reaching embargoes, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race. The Western Bloc was led by the United States as well as a number of other First W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free University Of West Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and the humanities. It is recognised as a leading university in international university rankings. The Free University of Berlin was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period as a Western continuation of the Friedrich Wilhelm University, or the University of Berlin, whose traditions and faculty members it retained. The Friedrich Wilhelm University (which was renamed the Humboldt University), being in East Berlin, faced strong communist repression; the Free University's name referred to West Berlin's status as part of the Western Free World, in contrast to communist-controlled East Berlin. In 2008, as part of a joint effort, the Free University of Berlin, along with the Hertie School of Governance, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detlef Girrmann
Detlef is a given name of German origin. It is also spelled Detlev. People with this name Notable people with this name include: *Detlef Bothe (born 1957), East German sprint canoeist *Detlef Bothe (born 1965), German actor *Detlef Bruckhoff (born 1958), retired German footballer *Detlef Enge (born 1952), former East German football player *Detlef Gerstenberg (1957–1993), East German hammer thrower *Detlef Gromoll (1938–2008), German mathematician *Detlef Grumbach (born 1955), German author and journalist *Detlef Hofmann (born 1963), German sprint canoeist *Detlef Kästner (born 1958), East German boxer * Detlef Kübeck (born 1956), retired East German sprinter *Detlef Kirchhoff (born 1967), German rower *Detlef Kraus (1919–2008), German pianist *Detlef Laugwitz (1932–2000), German mathematician *Detlef Lewe (1939–2008), West German sprint canoeist *Detlef Lienau (1818–1887), German architect born in Denmark *Detlef Lohse (born 1963), German fluid mechanics researcher * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dieter Thieme
Dieter or dieter may refer to: * A person committed to dieting People Dieter is a German given name (), a short form of Dietrich, from ''theod+ric'' "people ruler", see Theodoric. Given name *Dieter Althaus (born 1958), German politician *Dieter Bohlen (born 1954), German music producer *Dieter Borsche (1909–1982), German actor * Dieter Brummer (1976–2021), Australian actor *Dieter Dengler (1938–2001), American Vietnam War veteran * Dieter Dierks (born 1943), German musician *Dieter Eiselen (born 1996), South African American football player * Dieter Gerhardt (born 1935), Soviet spy *Dieter Hallervorden (born 1935), German comedian *Dieter Thomas Heck (1937–2018), German television presenter, singer and actor * Dieter Helm (1941–2022), German farmer and politician *Dieter Hoeneß (born 1953), German football (soccer) player *Dieter Kühn (born 1956), East German football (soccer) player *Dieter Lüst (born 1956), German physicist *Dieter Meier (born 1945), Swis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1990, the territory was claimed by the West Germany, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) which was heavily disputed by the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries. However, West Berlin de facto aligned itself politically with the FRG on 23 May 1949, was directly or indirectly represented in its federal institutions, and most of its residents were citizens of the FRG. West Berlin was formally controlled by the Western Allies and entirely surrounded by the Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled East Berlin and East Germany. West Berlin had great symbolic significance during the Cold War, as it was widely considered by westerners an "island of free world, freedom" and America's most loyal counterpa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the Intelligence agency, state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maintaining state authority, i.e., the "Sword and Shield of the Party" (). This was accomplished primarily through the use of a network of civilian informants. This organization contributed to the arrest of approximately 250,000 people in East Germany. The Stasi also conducted espionage and other clandestine operations abroad through its subordinate foreign intelligence service, the Main Directorate for Reconnaissance, Office of Enlightenment, or Head Office A (german: Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung). They also maintained contacts and occasionally cooperated with West German terrorists. The Stasi was headquartered in East Berlin, with an extensive complex in Lichtenberg (locality), Berlin-Lichtenberg and several smaller facilities throughout the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dieter Wohlfahrt
Dieter Wohlfahrt (27 May 1941 in Berlin; died 9 December 1961) was an escape helper and the first non-German and non West Berlin resident to die at the Berlin Wall. Life Wohlfahrt grew up in the GDR in Hohen Neuendorf. After high school he studied from 1961 chemistry at the Technical University of Berlin. Through his father he had the Austrian citizenship. Because of his nationality he could move freely between the two parts of Berlin and used this opportunity to help students to escape. At first he helped them to escape through the sewers until blocking measures made this impossible. Then he started to cut holes in the border fence at secluded places. Death On 9 December 1961 he cut, along with others, a hole in a fence between Staaken and Spandau, to help the mother of an acquaintance to the appointed escape. However, the mother had betrayed the plans to the authorities of the GDR. The GDR border guards shot at Wohlfahrth and his companions. Wohlfahrt was hit by a bullet in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vespa
Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy to a full line of scooters and one of seven companies today owned by Piaggio. From their inception, Vespa scooters have been known for their painted, pressed steel unibody which combines, in a unified structural unit, a complete cowling for the engine (enclosing the engine mechanism and concealing dirt or grease), a flat floorboard (providing foot protection), and a prominent front fairing (providing wind protection). History After World War II, in light of its agreement to cease war activities with the Allies, Italy had its aircraft industry severely restricted in both capability and capacity. Piaggio emerged from the conflict with its Pontedera bomber plane plant demolished by bombing. Italy's crippled economy, and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manhole Cover
A manhole cover or maintenance hole cover is a removable plate forming the lid over the opening of a manhole, an opening large enough for a person to pass through that is used as an access point for an underground vault or pipe. It is designed to prevent anyone or anything from falling in, and to keep out unauthorized persons and material. Manhole covers date back at least to the era of ancient Rome, which had sewer grates made from stone. Description Manhole covers are often made out of cast iron, concrete or a combination of the two. This makes them inexpensive, strong, and heavy, usually weighing more than . The weight helps to keep them in place when traffic passes over them, and makes it difficult for unauthorized people without suitable tools to remove them. Manhole covers may also be made from glass-reinforced plastic or other composite material (especially in Europe, or where cover theft is of concern). Because of law restricting acceptable manual handling weights, Eu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volkspolizei
The ''Deutsche Volkspolizei'' (DVP, German for "German People's Police"), commonly known as the ''Volkspolizei'' or VoPo, was the national police force of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1945 to 1990. The Volkspolizei was a highly- centralized agency responsible for most civilian law enforcement in East Germany, maintaining 257,500 personnel at its peak. History The ''Volkspolizei'' was effectively founded in June 1945 when the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SVAG) established central police forces in the regions of Nazi Germany it occupied following after World War II.Thomas Lindenberger, ‘The German People's Police (1945 - 1990)’, in Hans Ehlert and Rüdiger Wenzke (ed.) ‘In the service of the party - Handbook of Armed Organs of the GDR’ (Berlin, 1998) pp. 98-100 The SVAG approved the arming of community-level police forces on 31 October 1945, but nevertheless remained a non-militarised force, and by 1946 the ''Volkspolizei'' comprised ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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