THE NATIONS: Victory at Berlin

Sound trucks rolled through the streets, blaring out the news; the city's great ordeal was drawing to an end. Berlin's early skepticism thawed. The people finally realized that a victory had been won.

Last week General V. I. Chuikov, Soviet commander in Germany, ordered restoration of "transport, trade and communications services" at 12:01 on Thursday morning of this week. Chuikov's order was repeated on the Moscow radio. At the same moment, the Western counter-blockade would end.

At Helmstedt, main crossing point on the Soviet-British frontier, workmen and soldiers had hurriedly installed radio...