It would later develop into the Berlin Wall that divided West Berlin from the capital city of the German Democratic Republic.
It lasted 28 years, falling as a result of peaceful means in 1989.
The German Democratic Republic referred to the Wall as an Antifaschtischen Schutzwall - an anti-fascist protection wall.
The Catholic Church was one of the few, if only, organisation that spanned the Wall. The cardinal bishop of all Berlin lived in Bebel Platz, off Unter den Linden and the diocese of Berlin included both East and West.
During the period of the Wall the German Dominicans were particularly generous to Dominicans in Warsaw Pact countries.
On a regular basis, indeed, every few weeks, a truck-load of provisions were sent from the Dominican Priory in Berlin's Oldenburger Strasse to the Dominican Priory in Cracow.
The Christian churches in the West, but specifically the German churches, gave generous financial support to countries east of the rivers Elbe and Oder.
No comments:
Post a Comment