Today is day 161 of my exile.
Exile 161.
Nineteen sixty-one.
In Germany, the year is defined by an open wound of the Cold War. Berlin is the flashpoint of a divided world, where political systems confront each other in the smallest of spaces. The German question remains unresolved and becomes a test case for international power relations.
In August, construction of the Berlin Wall begins. It is the result of years of tension, massive emigration from the GDR, and growing insecurity within its leadership. The decision does not emerge in a vacuum, but from the interplay of Soviet security interests, Western alliance politics, and Berlin’s unique situation.
For the Federal Republic, the year marks a turning point. Hope for free movement within the city ends abruptly, families are separated, life paths are cut off. At the same time, integration into NATO and Western economic spheres solidifies in the West, while division becomes political reality.
Internationally, the East–West conflict continues to intensify. In Vienna, Kennedy and Khrushchev meet without any tangible rapprochement. In Cuba and Southeast Asia, new lines of conflict emerge, showing how global the rivalry between systems has become.
The construction of the Wall is not a singular act in German history, but part of a worldwide confrontation in which security, ideology, and power collide. It emerges from fear, calculation, and the failure of shared solutions. Its consequences shape Germany and Europe for decades.
Exile 161.
A year in which concrete becomes politics and history takes on lasting form.
Exile Chronicle
All previous (from 130 – earlier entries are on X/Twitter) and ongoing entries of my Exile Chronicle are collected and documented here:
👉 https://marlas.army/exil-chronik/
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