Updated 14 Dec 08 and 30 Jun 19.
This section provides a chronology of events that shaped the period that “Berlin 1969” describes. This website carries the catch-phrase “on the hinge of history” or “midpoint of the Cold War” because 1969 was midway between the Allied discussions in 1944 of the expected Occupation and the 1994 farewell parades of the Allies. Or, it was midway between the end of the Berlin Blockade in 1949 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, events which were much more dramatic than the diplomatic and military symbolism. It was the year in which the Warsaw Pact and Comecon finally began to function as a multi-state entity, rather than being only an extension of Soviet power. A few world events and events before and after this period are included as references for readers unfamiliar with this now-obscure period. Some sources or alternative chronologies on-line for this period are listed below as links. Notes listed in green are the author’s personal observations. This page will be updated from time to time.
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Events into 1969.
Events of 1970.
Events of 1971 on.
For a German-language look at these years from a Berlin perspective, visit:
Radio Brandenburg 1961-1999 for extensive archival video.
Print sources include print publications of:
The Allied Museum, Berlin.
The Press and Information Office of
the Land Berlin.
The Land Berlin Central Office for
Political Education.
Your AFTV Program.
Verkehrsamt Berlin.
Bering, Henrik; Outpost Berlin; edition q, inc.; Carol Stream, Illinois; 1995; 266 pages.
Giangreco, D.M. and Griffin, Robert E.; Airbridge to Berlin; Presidio Press; Novato, California; 1988; 247 pages.
Riess, Curt; Berlin Berlin – 1945-1953; Non-Stop Bucherei Gmbh; Berlin-Grunewald paperback; 1953.
Ryan, Cornelius; The Last Battle; Collins; London; 1966; 463 pages.
Sarotte, M.E.; Dealing with the Devil — East Germany, Detente & Ostpolitik, 1969-73; The University of North Carolina Press; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; 2001; 295 pages in paperback. Also published in hardcover.
Also of interest:
Kurlansky, Mark; 1968 The Year that Rocked the World; Random House; New York; 2005; 441 pages. The trade paperback also has study questions, but if you’re a Class of ’68 graduate, you won’t do the questions because you have a demonstration to get to.
History of U.S. relations with Germany.
Richard Huffman’s Baader-Meinhof pages focus on German terrorists.
Go to Troubled Times table of contents.
