 head in April 1948, in the form of the Berlin Blockade.
The blockade itself was the result of a series of disagreements over the administration of Berlin as well as over the future development of Germany. Both sides used the process of granting incrementally greater authority to Germans and German institutions as leverage in negotiations. The end result was the 1949 creation of two separate German states, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) and East Germany.
The Western Allies did not immediately recognize the East German state. The West German state, they contended, was not intended as a permanent solution to the German question. By and large, the Western Allies and the new West German government viewed the division of Germany as the result of deliberate Soviet policy and continued to claim the right to represent all Germans. The Soviets, on the other hand, appeared to consider the question closed. They granted East Germany immediate recognition as a sovereign, constitutional state, whereas West Germany was deemed a self-governing Allied Protectorate.
Despite the appointment of Wilhelm Pieck as East Germany's first president, Ulbricht remained the driving force in the government's development. His policies were slavishly Stalinist. Under the slogan of "constructing socialism," he purged the SED, established the infamous Ministry for State Security (Stasi), and introduced a Marxist-Leninist curriculum in the schools. State investment focused on creating heavy industry at the expense of consumer goods, while collectivization was the goal in agriculture. In addition, the East German government continued to make reparations payments to the Soviet Union in the form of goods and capital stock. Poor economic conditions combined with an increasingly totalitarian political structure caused many East Germans to flee the country. The East German government closed its border with the West in May 1952, but the exodus continued, as Berlin remained an open city. On average, more than 175,000 people per year left East Germany for West Germany between 1949 and 1953.
Open rebellion against the SED regime, however, did not coalesce until June 1953. The failure of the government to rescind an increase in the expected levels of production—in line with Soviet policy since the death of Josef Stalin in March 1953—spurred mass strikes in Berlin. Demonstrations in the capital on 16 June 1953 spread to the rest of the country the following day, until the Soviet Army sent tanks to quell the disturbances. Ironically, the uprising strengthened Ulbricht's position, as the Soviets were now clearly committed to supporting his regime.
Ulbricht nonetheless instituted limited reforms aimed at placating East Germans. The SED dropped its Five-Year Plan and adopted a more balanced Seven-Year model, collectivization was temporarily abandoned, and the centralized economy shifted its focus to providing more housing and basic consumer goods. Without fundamental reforms, however, the East German economy continued to lag far behind that of West Germany. Ulbricht's solution to this slow growth was to increase the tempo of socialization in the late 1950s, resuming collectivization and pressing business owners into cooperatives. The regime also stepped up its communist indoctrination efforts. East German youths were pressed to join the police and armed forces (East Germany had become part of the Warsaw Treaty Organization in 1955) to demonstrate their commitment to socialism. In the meantime, the flow of refugees moving through Berlin from East to West accelerated.
The solution to this problem, proposed by Ulbricht and approved by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, was to close the border in Berlin as well. On the night of 12–13 August 1961, East German police units began constructing the Berlin Wall. Labeled an antifascist bulwark by the SED regime, the wall's construction was seen in the West as an admission of defeat. It served its purpose, however. Not only did it stop the drain of talent and manpower, but it also allowed the East German government