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Steinstücken, 1989 -- surrounded by the Berlin Wall

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When the Cold War split the German capital of Berlin in half, between East and West, one neighborhood was trapped in the middle. Steinstücken was officially part of the American Sector in Berlin during the Cold War, but it was completely surrounded by Soviet Zone territory. The Americans couldn’t even send soldiers or supplies to the village without risking a confrontation, and possibly even combat, with the Soviets and later the East Germans.

The little hamlet, home to just 300 people, was caught in a tug-of-war between two superpowers for more than 20 years. American soldiers and diplomats kept Steinstücken out of Communist hands, but the village’s residents were not idle and showed great courage and determination in resisting Communist pressure. Despite experiencing the Cold War confrontation right in the front and back yards, they nonetheless managed to live relatively normal lives, and built a bond with the Americans that stays strong to this day.

Donald Smith is a retired Army Reserve officer, who served with the Army in Germany from 1986 to 1989. He has a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Virginia and a masters' degree from the Defense Intelligence Agency's Joint Military Intelligence College (now the National Intelligence University). Currently he teaches Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Army personnel at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. He has been published in Military History magazine, World War II magazine, Civil War Times magazine, and the U.S. Army's Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin. This is his first book. Signed copies of the book will be available for sale. For those who don't want to wait until November to purchase a copy, please visit Don's Amazon profile.

Light refreshments will be served.

German American Heritage Museum
719 6th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

Zoom registration: $5

Steinstücken: A Little Pocket of Freedom – Presentation with Author Don Smith on Nov. 7 at 6 pm ET

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