Aug. 20, 1962 - Angry mobs of West Berliners stoned and pursued Soviet Army vehicles today and clashed with the West Berlin police in bloody street fights near the wall that runs along the East-West border. Scores of West Berlin policemen and civilians were injured today in riots at the corner of Kochstrasse and Charlottenstrasse, a block from the Friedrichstrasse, where the U.S. Army maintains a checkpoint for foreigners. No U.S. servicemen were injured. Under a bombardment of stones hurled at them by the shouting crowd of several thousand Berliners, strong units of the city’s police wielded truncheons and finally broke up the demonstration with the help of two powerful water cannons. The riots, which the police said were the worst in years, followed three nights of similar demonstrations. The demonstrations were a manifestation of anger and emotional uproar at the killing of Peter Fechter, a young refugee, by East German guards last Friday.
Commentaires