The Collapse

Praise for The Collapse

"A blow-by-blow account of the birth of modern Germany on November 9th, 1989, when, at an otherwise dull press conference in East Berlin, a government spokesman said that a new law permitting East Germans more freedom to travel would go into effect immediately. It changed Europe forever."

—Economist Best Books of 2014

"This is history writing at its very best, full of drama and pathos, yet immaculately researched and elegantly written."

—BBC History Magazine 2014 Best Books of the Year

"The Collapse challenges our narrative of the Soviet Union's collapse, 25 years after the Wall's fall. Sarotte deftly balances individual human agency and contingency with larger political forces to show that the Berlin Wall coming down was neither inevitable nor the result of global power shifts alone."

—Zócalo Public Square 10 Best Books of 2014

"It reads like a thriller, it's deeply researched and smoothly written. It will remind you how unlikely it was that the Soviet empire would collapse until one day it did."

—Fareed Zakaria, CNN GPS Book of the Week

"Sarotte runs a fine-tooth comb through the archives and gathers an impressive range of stories from the ordinary people at the heart of these extraordinary events. She is keen to dispel the kind of convenient 'hindsight bias' which claims that the peaceful fall of the Wall was inevitable or engineered by bigger forces than human beings who wanted a different life."

—Wall Street Journal

"[This] story has not previously been told . . . so vividly and comprehensively. [Sarotte] brings those dramatic days to life. . . . The events she describes are at times so unlikely and unfold so quickly that her plot would probably have been rejected in Tinseltown had she offered it during the Cold War."

—Economist

"Sarotte has produced a skillful, scrupulously documented, nuanced reconstruction of how a series of mistakes by East German leaders and officials . . . turned what was meant to be a carefully managed process of controlled opening . . . into the world's most celebrated festival of popular liberation."

—Guardian (UK)

"A fast-paced, fascinating account of the final weeks, days and hours of the wall."

—Telegraph (UK)

"Sarotte's lively and engaging book scrupulously details the events of November 9, 1989, when the world watched in shock as the Berlin Wall came down."

—Foreign Affairs

"[A]n authoritative and fast-moving account of the events that led up to the collapse of East Germany."

—Financial Times, Best Books of 2014: History

"Brief, intense, and gripping. . . . Sarotte's effort is magnificent. . . . This is history at its best."

—Winnipeg Free Press (CAN)

"The book that will haunt Vladimir Putin as long as he's in power."

—Washington Post's Post Everything Blog

"The most definitive account to date of the events that led to the demise of the German Democratic Republic, the reunification of Germany, and the end of the Cold War. . . . It is a scholarly work of considerable accomplishment, painstakingly researched, fastidiously documented. . . . This book is well-written, even fluid. Ultimately, it rewards the patient reader, who emerges with a deeper and richer understanding of one of the most astonishing and memorable events of the past quarter century."

—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Sarotte's wonderfully written book—backed up with reams of research and interviews—explains the factors that led to one of the most important moments in the twentieth century."

—H-Diplo

"An inspiring and often thrilling account."

—Booklist, starred review

"This gripping, important account of a long-misinterpreted event is one of the most surprising books about the Cold War."

—Publishers Weekly

"A rigorous sifting of evidence surrounding the final toppling of the sclerotic East German state. With extensive use of Stasi files, Sarotte finds that accident, rather than planning, caused the collapse of the Berlin Wall. . . . [T]his account amply conveys the universal amazement and excitement of the time."

—Kirkus

"[Sarotte] utilizes international reactions, publications, and interviews to highlight or offset her main narrative and in doing so creates a cohesive picture of a tumultuous nation whose oppressed yet hopeful citizenry sought the freedom they had been denied. Amply researched and emotive, this work shares the full narrative of events leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall in a way that both academics and lay readers will appreciate."

—Library Journal

"The Collapse is a riveting and important account of the political chaos in East Germany that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Mary Elise Sarotte is a distinguished historian with a playwright's eye who gives us fresh insights and telling anecdotes about one of the most important nights of the late twentieth century."

—Tom Brokaw

"A lucid, compelling account that illuminates the most astonishing event of the late twentieth century. With verve and impeccable scholarship, Mary Elise Sarotte tells a tale no novelist could have invented—the decline and fall of the Berlin Wall."

—Rick Atkinson, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of The Guns at Last Light

"Can you believe that the fall of the Berlin Wall was a mistake? That the event that changed the world was the result of a series of misunderstandings? Mary Elise Sarotte's fine, important book, based on painstaking archival research as well as extensive interviews, will not only convince you, but entertain you as well."

—William Taubman, Bertrand Snell Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Amherst College and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Khrushchev: The Man and His Era

"It's one of the most astonishing events in contemporary world history: the sudden fall of the Berlin Wall one autumn day in 1989. Mary Elise Sarotte tells the story with verve and insight, drawing on a wide array of previously untapped sources. The outcome, her gripping narrative suggests, was in no way inevitable, but resulted from a series of high-pressure decisions by individuals—many of them hitherto unknown—who might easily have chosen differently. A splendid book."

—Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam

"History the way it should be written: world historical change, seen through the eyes of the people who lived through it, and a top historian who can tell us what it all meant. Highly recommended for everyone with an interest in global affairs."

—O. A. Westad, author of Restless Empire: China and the World since 1750

"The fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the landmark events of the twentieth century, but this great change involved accidental and nonviolent causes. In wonderfully readable prose, Mary Elise Sarotte tells a compelling story of how history works its surprises."

—Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor and author of The Future of Power

"In The Collapse, Mary Elise Sarotte provides a needed (and highly readable) reminder that the peaceful culmination to 1989's dramatic developments was in no way inevitable."

—General Brent Scowcroft, former National Security Adviser

"Meticulously researched, judiciously argued, and exceptionally well written, The Collapse describes the fall of the Berlin Wall from an unprecedented perspective. Mary Elise Sarotte weaves together numerous German, American, and Soviet accounts, allowing the reader to crisscross the Berlin Wall on the eve and in the course of its collapse. It will come as a surprise to many that this climactic event in Cold War history resulted not from agreements reached in Washington, Berlin, Moscow, or Bonn, but from the uncoordinated actions of people on both sides of the Berlin divide. The Collapse makes it possible for those who made history in 1989 to speak in their own voices."

—Serhii Plokhy, author of The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union

"From a remove of 25 years, the fall of the Berlin Wall seems foreordained. In fact, as Mary Elise Sarotte shows, this historic moment was an improbable concatenation of events and decisions triggering in perfect if accidental sequence. Catastrophe at times was just seconds away. As someone who was in Leipzig and Berlin as the crucial events unfolded, I can say that Sarotte gets it exactly right, capturing the fear, confusion, courage, and growing excitement as hitherto ordinary people peacefully toppled the deadly barrier that symbolized the Cold War."

—Mike Leary, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist

"In her compelling and fast-paced narrative, Mary Elise Sarotte reminds us that the end of the Cold War was not foreordained, but that courageous acts by East German dissidents, offhand comments by GDR officials, and the actions of one perplexed border guard changed the course of twentieth-century history. This is essential reading for those who want to understand the role of contingency and human agency in the unexpected opening of the Berlin Wall."

—Angela Stent, author of The Limits of Partnership: US-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century

The

Collapse

The Accidental Opening

of the Berlin Wall

Mary Elise Sarotte

A Member of the Perseus Books Group

New York

Copyright © 2014 by Mary Elise Sarotte

Hardcover first published in 2014 by Basic Books, a Member of the Perseus Books Group

Paperback first published in 2015 by Basic Books

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, contact Basic Books, 250 West 57th Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10107.

Books published by Basic Books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810–4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail special.markets@perseusbooks.com.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover as follows:

Sarotte, Mary Elise.

The collapse : the accidental opening of the Berlin Wall / Mary Elise Sarotte.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-465-05690-3 (e-book) 1. Berlin Wall, Berlin,

Germany,1961-1989. 2. Germany (East)—Politics and government—1989-1990. 3. Berlin (Germany)—

History—1945-1990. I. Title. II. Title: Accidental opening of the Berlin Wall.

DD881.S215 2014

943.087'8—dc23

2014026435

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Dianne and Al, Steve, and Mark

It is not always going from bad to worse that leads to revolution.

What happens most often is that a people that puts up with the most oppressive laws without complaint, as if it did not feel them, rejects those laws violently when the burden is alleviated. . . .

The evil that one endures patiently because it seems inevitable becomes unbearable the moment its elimination becomes conceivable.

—Alexis de Tocqueville1

Contents

List of Maps and Photos

Abbreviations in the Captions, Maps, and Text

Note on Names

Introduction: Discovering the Causes of the Collapse

Part I: The Struggle within the Soviet Bloc and Saxony

Chapter 1 A Brutal Status Quo

Chapter 2 Marginal to Massive

Chapter 3 The Fight for the Ring

Part II: The Competition for Control in East Berlin

Chapter 4 The Revolution Advances, the Regime Plays for Time

Chapter 5 Failure to Communicate on November 9, 1989

Part III: The Contest of Wills at the Wall

Chapter 6 The Revolution, Televised

Chapter 7 Damage Control?

Epilogue Violence and Victory, Trust and Triumphalism

Acknowledgments

Brief Timeline of Major Events Highlighted in the Text

Additional Information About, and Abbreviations in, the Notes and Bibliography

Interviews

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Maps and Photos

Maps

Map 1. Cold War Europe

Map 2. Divided Germany in 1989

Map 3. Leipzig City Center and Ring Road

Map 4. Divided Berlin in 1989

Photos

The Berlin Wall and the Brandenburg Gate

The Death Strip

Abandoned Vehicles

Anniversary Deployment

Sequence of Surveillance Photos

Protest in Leipzig, October 9, 1989

Press Conference in East Berlin, November 9, 1989

Bornholmer Checkpoint Between East and West Berlin

Stasi Sketch of Bornholmer Complex

Harald Jäger

The Wall Opens

The Brandenburg Gate, November 10, 1989

Crossing the Death Strip

Fading from Memory

Abbreviations in the Captions,
Maps, and Text

ABC US broadcast network

ADN East German news service

ARD West German broadcast network

CBS US broadcast network

CDU Christian-Democratic Union (political party in West Germany; separate political party in East Germany; merged in 1990 in united Germany)

CIA US Central Intelligence Agency

CSCE Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe

CSSR Czechoslovak Socialist Republic

DM Deutschmark (the currency of West Germany in 1989)

DPA German Press Agency (West German news service, initials in German)

EC European Community

EU European Union

FDP Free Democratic Party (West German, then German; also known as the Liberals)

FRG Federal Republic of Germany (generally known in English as West Germany; see note on names)

GDR German Democratic Republic (generally known in English as East Germany; see note on names)

ID Personal identity paperwork

MfS East German Ministry for State Security (also known as the Stasi, initials in German)

NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NBC US broadcast network

NSC US National Security Council

RHG Robert Havemann Society (initials in German)

SBM Berlin Wall Foundation (initials in German)

SED East German Socialist Unity Party (the East German ruling party, initials in German)

UK United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

US United States

USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

ZDF West German broadcast network

Note on Names

Writing a book in English based on audio and video recordings, documents, and interviews that were mostly in languages other than English creates a challenge in the use of certain names. For example, this book uses the common English-language terms "East Germany" and "West Germany" despite the fact that those precise names are used only rarely in German-language sources from the time period, which generally refer instead to East Germany as the German Democratic Republic, or GDR, and West Germany as the Federal Republic of Germany, or FRG. The exact names are not trivialities, given that what, exactly, the two Germanys called themselves and each other was a constant source of contention. In the interest of producing a clearly written text for the English-language reader, however, I have adopted the common English terms despite their differences from the original sources, as well as using the acronyms GDR and FRG for variety. It is additionally worth noting that, starting on October 3, 1990, the newly reunified Germany kept the former West German name of "Federal Republic of Germany" for itself, so references to the FRG after that date describe all of the united country instead of just the western half of the divided one. Similar to my use of East and West Germany is my use of "East Berlin" for clarity, even though the GDR regime generally avoided referring to its half of divided Berlin by that name. Instead, it preferred to use either "Berlin"—thus implying, incorrectly, that it held sway over the entire city—or the more formal "Berlin Capital of the GDR." Finally, I have relied on common English-language names of not just places but also people, such as "Joseph Stalin" for the former leader of the Soviet Union.

Introduction

Discovering the Causes of the Collapse

To put it in a nutshell, causes cannot be assumed in history any more than in any other field. They must be discovered.

—Marc Bloch1

On November 9, 1989, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, television viewers tuned to NBC were about to see an amazing sight. The network's anchorman, Tom Brokaw, was just beginning to broadcast the NBC Nightly News live from West Berlin. Two days earlier, he and his producers had decided that the show's staff should travel to the divided city at the epicenter of Cold War Europe. The crew had built a high broadcast platform directly in front of the point where the Wall cut the iconic Brandenburg Gate off from the West. Brokaw and his team had also rented a cherry picker, to raise NBC's camera operators and their equipment to a height with a commanding view, and enormous floodlights, to ensure that the nighttime scene was well lit. NBC was the only television broadcaster from any country with such a setup at this location, the most visually significant site in the city. The decision to go to West Berlin and to stake out this spot was about to pay off more handsomely than the network could ever have expected.

As the Nightly News began, the audience got its first look at Brokaw on the raised platform. His dark blue wool coat stood out in sharp relief against the Wall behind him. Thanks to the camera angle, viewers could also see the Brandenburg Gate, partly illuminated by the lights from West Berlin and partly hidden behind the Wall in the shadows of East Berlin. On the western side of the Wall, beneath Brokaw's platform, a massive, raucous crowd filled all visible areas. Some crowd members were even taking advantage of the unusual shape of the barrier at this site—it was shorter and stockier than elsewhere, reportedly in order to prevent enemy tanks from breaking through to the gate—to climb up and to stand on it.2 The climbers already on top were struggling to keep their footing as water cannons targeted them from the eastern side.

The overall effect was striking. The spray from the upward-gushing columns of water from the East brilliantly reflected the light from the West. It looked roughly as if someone had transported an illuminated fountain from Las Vegas to the middle of divided Berlin. Stunned viewers heard Brokaw describe the scene by saying, "What you see behind me is a celebration." The jubilation, he explained, was the result of an unexpected decision. As "announced today by the East German government . . . for the first time since the Wall was erected in 1961, people will be able to move through freely!"3

Brokaw and his crew could not sit back and relish the exclusive broadcast from the gate, however. Rather, his team had to stay alert as it became increasingly clear that the story was not a straightforward one. If the East German regime had announced that people could move freely across the Wall, why was it using water cannons to prevent them from doing just that? Divided Berlin was six hours ahead of New York, meaning that it was cold, dark, and late at Brokaw's location. Drenching visitors in water in the middle of a November night, or knocking them off the roughly eight-foot-high Wall altogether, did not seem to be much of a way to say "welcome." NBC's cameras also recorded images of some celebrants on the eastern side being forcibly dragged away.

Why were East German security forces using water cannons and hauling off peaceful celebrants? Why was NBC the only television network from any country with a broadcast platform set up in front of the Brandenburg Gate? Above all, why was the Berlin Wall opening in the middle of the night and in such a bizarre manner? Did the word "opening" apply at all? Until that evening, no one expected that the Wall would fall. Instead, well into 1989, escaping East Germany remained a fatal exercise. The last killing by gunshot had occurred in February of that year; the last shooting at the Wall, a near-fatality in broad daylight, had taken place in April; and the last death during an escape attempt on the larger East German border had happened just three weeks earlier.4 And the border between the two Germanys was, of course, only a part of the larger line of division between the two military blocs in Europe, both armed with thermonuclear weapons. Up to the night of November 9, 1989, as in the preceding years and decades, the East German ruling regime had maintained forceful control over the movement of its people.

The regime had not, in fact, intended to part with its control on the night of the ninth. The opening of the Wall was not the result of a decision by political leaders in East Berlin, even though a number of them would later claim otherwise, or of an agreement with the government of West Germany in Bonn. The opening was not the result of a plan by the four powers that still held ultimate legal authority in divided Berlin: the United States, the United Kingdom, and France in the West, and the Soviet Union in the East. The opening was not the result of any specific agreement between the former US president, Ronald Reagan, and the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. The opening that night was simply not planned.