Thirty years ago, in June 1953, Communist East Germany was shaken by a revolt of some two million people who suddenly defied the Soviet tyranny. For three days, the workers warred against their oppressors; they dynamited factories, tore open prison gates, fought Russian tanks with rocks, and faced machine guns with sticks. Some 300,000 men laid down their tools in one of the biggest strikes ever to occur behind the Iron Curtain.
The first demonstrations started on Tuesday, June 16, when a group of East Berlin construction workers were told their work quotas had been increased by another 10 per cent. At the same time, wages would be lowered by almost a third, and there would be no extra food for them.
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