19. Ulbricht continued to pursue his policy of construction of Socialism
The policies which created the conditions leading to the June uprising continued to be favored by Ulbricht following the crises of 1953. Despite being thoroughly denounced by the Soviets, Ulbricht wanted to build a socialist society with himself as to its head. The June uprising did not deter him from pursuing that goal, though it forced him to reevaluate his tactics. His government came to the realization that Sovietization could not be accomplished through a speedily executed force-feeding. Instead, it required time and most importantly, the retention of talented workers and professionals. The trade unions were to be given the image of greater representation of the needs of the workers, though, in fact, they remained under the firm control of the SED. East German society needed to appear as equivalent to West German, if not superior.
In order to accomplish such a feat, it was clear to Ulbricht that the draining of workers to the West must cease. With the approval of the Soviets, Ulbricht increased monitoring of the borders with the West. In July 1953, less than a month after the uprising, Ulbricht dissolved the individual states within the GDR, establishing the central government as the sole authority. Police units answerable to the SED and Stasi operatives patrolled the access corridors to the West. By the end of 1953, most refugees fleeing from the GDR did so through Berlin. They provided a dual problem for Ulbricht as he attempted to cover up the extent of the uprising. They denied their skills to the GDR, and provided additional information to the West as to the depth of dissatisfaction within.