East Berlin uprising June 17, 1953 vs. Walter Ulbricht and his GDR created Oct. 1949 in response to the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany in May 1949. Ulbricht had forced on East Germans a harsh program of rapid industrialization, causing social unrest and riots. Stalin opposed Ulbricht's policies, urged him to slow down and compromise, but the unrest continued. After Stalin's death March 5, Lavrenti Beria proposed to abandon Ulbricht and offer to the west a unified capitalist but neutral Germany. The riots of June ended this plan. Molotov and Malenkov sent in tanks, and with the help of Nikita Khrushchev, arrested Beria and had him shot. Ulbricht remained in power. < < --- > >