The East German Republic Day Parade of 1984 was a parade on Karl-Marx-Allee in East Berlin on October 7, 1984 commemorating the 35th anniversary of the establishment of East Germany. [1] Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko attended the celebrations. [2] [3]
Timeline for preparatory activities in East Berlin: [4]
East Berlin was the de facto capital city of the German Democratic Republic from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the 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 recognise 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 reunified, East and West Berlin formally reunited as the city of Berlin.
Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko was a Soviet Belarusian communist politician and diplomat during the Cold War. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1957–1985) and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1985–1988). Gromyko was responsible for many top decisions on Soviet foreign policy until he retired in 1988. In the 1940s Western pundits called him Mr Nyet or "Grim Grom", because of his frequent use of the Soviet veto in the United Nations Security Council.
Dmitriy Fyodorovich Ustinov was a Marshal of the Soviet Union and Soviet politician during the Cold War. He served as a Central Committee secretary in charge of the Soviet military–industrial complex from 1965 to 1976 and as Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union from 1976 until his death in 1984.
A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the late 19th century fought in formation. Massed parades may also hold a role for propaganda purposes, being used to exhibit the apparent military strength of a country.
Ivan Ignatyevich Yakubovsky was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, twice made a Hero of the Soviet Union and serving as commander-in-chief of the Warsaw Pact from 1967 to 1976.
Otto Winzer was an East German diplomat who served as East Germany's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1965 to 1975.
Wilhelm Zaisser was a German communist politician and statesman who served as the first Minister for State Security of the German Democratic Republic (1950–1953).
Friedrichshain is a locality of the borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in Berlin, Germany. From its creation in 1920 until 2001, it was a freestanding city borough. Formerly part of East Berlin, it is adjacent to Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg and Lichtenberg.
Karl-Marx-Allee is a monumental socialist boulevard built by the GDR between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin Friedrichshain and Mitte. Today the boulevard is named after Karl Marx. It should not be confused with the Karl-Marx-Straße in the Neukölln district of Berlin.
(This article incorporates information from the German Wikipedia)
The Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 also known as the Parade of Victors was a victory parade held by the Soviet Armed Forces after the defeat of Nazi Germany. This, the longest and largest military parade ever held on Red Square in the Soviet capital Moscow, involved 40,000 Red Army soldiers and 1,850 military vehicles and other military hardware. The parade lasted just over two hours on a rainy June 24, 1945, over a month after May 9, the day of Germany's surrender to Soviet commanders.
The Main Directorate for Reconnaissance was the foreign intelligence service of the Ministry of State Security (Stasi), the main security agency of the German Democratic Republic, from 1955 to 1990.
Heinz Hoffmann was Minister of National Defense in the Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic, and since 2 October 1973 member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party (SED).
The 10th anniversary celebrations of founding of the People's Republic of China were held on October 1, 1959. The main event was held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. A grand banquet with many international dignitaries had been organized on the preceding evening.
The Berlin Stalin statue was a bronze portrayal of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. A Komsomol delegation had presented the sculpture to the East Berlin government on the occasion of the Third World Festival of Youth and Students in 1951. The monument was formally dedicated on 3 August 1951 after temporarily placement at a location on a newly designed and impressive boulevard, Stalinallee, being constructed at the time in what was then the Berlin district of Friedrichshain. Stalin monuments were generally removed from public view by the leadership of the Soviet Union and other associated countries, including East Germany, during the period of De-Stalinization. In Berlin the statue and all street signs designating Stalinallee were hastily removed one night in a clandestine operation and the street was renamed Karl-Marx-Allee and Frankfurter Allee. The bronze sculpture was smashed and the pieces were recycled.
The East German Republic Day Parade of 1988 was a parade on Karl-Marx-Allee in East Berlin on October 7, 1988 commemorating the 39th anniversary of the establishment of East Germany. Minister of Defense of the GDR Army General Heinz Kessler inspected the parade and Army General Horst Stechbarth commanded the parade as the Deputy Minister of Defense. The leader of East Germany Erich Honecker and the Prime Minister of the GDR Willi Stoph attended the parade. The Central Band of the National People's Army performed the military marches.
The East German Republic Day Parade of 1974 was a military parade of the National People's Army on Karl-Marx-Allee in East Berlin on 7 October 1974, the GDR's Republic Day, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of East Germany. This parade was held in the presence of Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev.
The East German Republic Day Parade of 1989 was a parade on Karl-Marx-Allee in East Berlin on 7 October 1989 commemorating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of East Germany. This was the last East German Republic Day Parade and the last major East German political event with the regime falling mere weeks later. In Germany, this parade is remembered as the end of "the great period of military parades".
Republic Day was an official holiday in East Germany, celebrated annually on 7 October from 1949 to 1989. Republic Day commemorates the anniversary of the establishment of the German Democratic Republic on 7 October 1949. On Republic Day, the Government of the GDR awarded many people the National Award of the GDR.
Horst Stechbarth was an East German politician and high-ranking military officer in the National People's Army, holding the rank of Army General (Armeegeneral). He was the Chief of the NVA's Landstreitkräfte and the ex officio Deputy Minister of Defense of the GDR. He was also a member of the Politbüro of the Central Committee of the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED).
With Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko looking on, contingents of the National People's Army, border guards, motorized units, Soviet-made T-72 tanks and missiles moved down the broad Karl Marx Allee Sunday.
