dissent within east germany and the road to 1989

8/4/2019 Dissent Within East Germany and the Road to 1989

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Dissent within the DDR (East Germany) and the Road to 1989Each year after the expulsion of W olf Biermann (the poet and balladeer) in November 1976,incidents of dissent would sporadically break out in the DDR. It wasn 't just the province ofdissident intellectuals or w riters, such as Robert H avem ann and Stefan Heyrn, or the roguepolitician (R udolf B ahro), though they m ainly w ere the focus of opposition to the regim e in theseyears. T here w ere also other avenues for protest, as for exam ple in the clashes betw een the policeand young people on the A lexanderplatz after a rock concert on 7 O ctober 1 977 w hich reportedlyl ef t s eve ra l dead.Few doubt that the extraordinary period of Polish history from 1978-81 - ushered in w ith theelectio n ofa P olish P op e (K arol Wo ty la) and the rem arkab le rise o f th e free trade u nio n S olidarity -had a profound effect on those w ithin the DDR who opposed the authoritarian nature of thegovernm ent in East Berlin. If Poland could be shaken in this w ay, w hy not the D DR? By the sam etoken, it w as difficult to see H onecker's governm ent being pushed from pillar to post by a m otleya ss embly o f w ork ers re pre se nta tiv es - a s K an ia 's g ov ernme nt h ad b ee n in Wa rs aw .A nother vehicle w ould have to be used to put pressure on the governm ent to alter its stance on anum ber of issues. W hether by accident or design the peace m ovem ent seem s to have becom e thepreferred option w ith the church doing its best to protect the fledgling m ovem ent. F rom the tim ethat H onecker acknow ledged in a m eeting of church, state and party leaders on 6 M arch 1 978 thatth e chu rch w as an in dep end ent org an ization w ith so cial relev ance in a so cialist society , its statu sw as elev ated w ith in th e DDR . F rom 9 -1 9 N ovem ber 1 980 the ch urch organ ized th e first all-G erm an'Peace W eek.' On 13 February 1982 5,000 East Germans attended a Peace Forum held at theK reuzkirche in D resden. T his led on to the first 'Peace W orkshop ' w hich m et in B erlin in July 1 982w ith roughly the sam e num ber of participants. A nother step on the road to change cam e w ith theSynod of the Protestant C hurch in H alle taking peace as its them e (24-28 Septem ber 1 982). A s thep eace m ov em ent g rew so on C hristm as E ve 1 982 some 20 0-3 00 activists attem pted to h old a silen tvigil for peace in the city centre of Jena - but the police intervened and took m any of them intocustody. Som e sense of w hat m ay be at hand cam e on 1 4 F ebruary 1 983 w ith roughly 1 00,000 E astG erm ans dem onstrating for peace in D resden - the anniversary of the carpet-bom bing of that finecity by the RA F in 1 945. This w as not an isolated incident since in these early m onths of 1983 theso-called Fr ie de n Ko nk re t (peace C oncrete) w as estab lish ed in B erlin - the first n atio nal netw orkw ith re pre se nta tiv es o f a ll u no ffic ia l p eac e g ro up s in th e DDR.U ndoubtedly the W est G erm an 'G reen' m ovem ent encouraged those in East G erm any w ho feltsim ila rly o n m ilita rism , th e C old Wa r, n uc le ar d ete rre nce a nd e nv iro nm en ta l issu es to sta nd u p an dbe counted at this tim e. A s the SS20 versus C ruise & P ers hin g II m is sile d eb ate p lu ng ed th e w orldinto another hostile phase of the Cold W ar, so the num bers of those w illing to speak out on theseissu es g rew in th e DDR . P etra K elly, G ert B astian , A ntje V ollm er & a numb er of o ther promin entW est G erm an m em bers of the G reen m ovem ent dem onstrated for peace and disarm am ent on theA lexand erplatz in M ay 1 98 3. T heir activities w ere q uick ly sn uffed o ut b y th e p olice w ho to ok th emin to c us to dy b ef or e r ele as in g th em la te r.


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On 23 Ju ly ab out 2 00 E ast G erm an s h eld a silent d em onstratio n in Jen a as p art o f their cam paig n tobe allow ed to leave the D DR. O n 1 Septem ber 1983 the W om en for Peace m ovem ent initiated ah ea dlin e-s na tc hin g e ve nt in E ast B erlin . S om e 7 0 p eo ple a ttemp te d to fo rm a h um an c ha in b etw ee nth e Am erican an d S ov iet em bassies in the DDR ca pital in o rd er "to rem ind b oth nu clear p ow ers ofthe ir r esponsibi li ty for wo rld peace. "Later in the same month some 500 women attended a meeting in the Berlin-LichtenbergAuferstehungs (Resurrection) Church to discuss the link between the arm s race and maledom ination. This passed off peacefully. Encouraged by the trend tow ards free expression ofsensitive issues, Barbel Bohley, U lrike Poppe and 30 other women - all dressed in black -dem onstrated at A lexanderplatz against the m ilitary service law of M arch 1 982 w hich m ade itpossible for w om en to be called up for m ilitary service in case of need. Som ehow they avoidedarrest, but they w ere not so fortunate on 1 2 D ecem ber w hen Bohley and Poppe w ere taken into Ucusto dy fo r b ein g in vo lv ed in peace in itiatives and th e settin g u p of an auton om ou s n ursery . (B othBohley and Poppe were set free by the DDR authorities on 24 January 1984 in response tomount ing int erna tional p re ssure cal li ng for the ir r el ea se .)On that very same day (24 January 1984) twelve East Germans entered the W est GermanP erm anen t M issio n in E ast B erlin and ind icated th eir inten tion o f rem ain in g o n th e p rem ises un tilth ey w ere a llo wed to leave fo r th e BRD (West G erm an y). T heir req uest w as gran ted . Itencouragedother like-m inded individuals to plan to do the sam e. O n 6 April 1984, for instance, 35 EastG erm ans left the W est G erm an Em bassy in Prague after 5 w eeks and returned to the D DR afterreceiving an assurance that they w ould be perm itted to move to the BRD. On 27 June 1984 theWe st G erm an P erm an ent M ission in E ast B erlin w as clo sed after 5 5 E ast G erm ans h ad en tered th ecom pound in an effort to extract the sam e concessions from the D DR authorities. They left them is sio n th re e d ay s la te r.In re sp on se to th e DDR's d ec isio n to d ep lo y m ed ium ra ng e n uc le ar m is sile s from th e Wa rsaw P ac t'sa rs en al o n its te rr ito ry ( 10 Oc to be r 1983 ) a nd s ta tio n lo ng -r an ge in te r-c on tin en ta l b allis tic m is sile sin the DDR (1 5 M ay 1 984), the E ast G erm an peace m ovem ent w as provoked into further activity. UA t the E uropean N uclear D isarm am ent C onference in Perugia (Italy) from 1 7-21 July 1 984 theDDR peace activists criticized repression in their country, excessive church influence on theu no fficial p eace m ov em ent an d in dicated that th e n um ber o f p eace activ ists in th e DDR h ad fallend ram atically as th e au th orities h ad allow ed a large n um ber o f them to leav e the co un try . In fact, on9 N ovem ber 1 984 the W est G erm an governm ent announced that 36,1 23 citizens of the DDR hadbeen allowed to m igrate to the BRD in the first nine months of the year. This was clearly ag ov ernm en t in itia tiv e to g et rid o f w ha t it s aw a s a tro ub le som e m in ority w ho c ou ld h av e o th erw is ee ith er s tirre d u p th eir fe llow DDR c itiz en s to a do pt a n a nti-g ov ernm en t lin e, o r b ee n s ee n a s m arty rsto th e c au se h ad th ey b een in ca rc er ate d by th e a ut ho ritie s in r es pons e to th eir a nti -s ta te a cti vit ie s.A lthough little is heard of the peace m ovem ent in the DDR in 1 985, the rise to pow er in the SovietU nion of M ikhail G orbachev w as greeted in the follow ing year by the establishm ent of about 20

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d ifferen t g rass-ro ots p olitical g ro up s in th e DDR. In creasin g su sp icio n th at the ch urch h ad b eenin filtra te d b y th e Stasi and was merely a compliant tool for the authorities was shown in thefou nd in g by human rig hts activists o f the Initiative for P eace an d H um an R ig hts (IFM ) in th e earlym onths o f 1 986 . S eek in g an in dep en den t lin e from th at o f th e ch urch w hich its lead ers distru sted,th e IFM en tered in to the p olitical a ren a b y p ub lishing the illeg al jou rn al Grenzfall in S ep tembe r1 986. In the sam e m onth the unofficial Environm ental Library w as founded in Berlin w here itb eg an to p ub lish the illeg al tract Umweltbldtter (Envir onmen t Lea fle ts ). T h is a nti- ch ur ch f ee li ngstiffened in June 1987 when environm ental, wom en's and Third W orld groups organized analternative "C hurch D ay from B elow " at the sam e tim e that the Protestant C hurch D ay w as held inE ast B erlin (2 4-2 8 J un e 1 98 7). T he ir h ostile s ta nc e w as sh own in th eir d ec la ra tio n th at lith e c hu rc hh as alread y lo st p art o f its b asis - th e w ork ers - an d it is ab out to lo se th e rest. IIEarlier in the sam e m onth on 8 June 1 987 to be exact, after a rock concert staged in W est B erlinclose to the B erlin W all could be heard across on the D DR side, East G erm an youths protesteda ga in st th e e xis te nc e o f th e Wa ll a nd c la sh ed o pe nly w ith th e p olic e.O n 1 2 Ju ne 1 987 P resid en t R eag an called up on G orb ach ev to tear d ow n th e B erlin W a ll. W h atev erG orba chev m ay h av e p rivately felt ab out th e Wa ll, the E ast G erm an lead ersh ip w as d eterm ine d toretain it. H onecker knew w hat uncertainty had been felt by the U lbricht governm ent in the yearsbefore the W all had been built in 1 961 . A fterw ards the DDR leadership felt far m ore secure aboutholding onto pow er and could begin to fashion a distinct E ast G erm an identity know ing that thee re ctio n o f th e Wa ll h ad e sse ntia lly s to pp ed th e flow o f y ou ng , ta le nte d E ast G erm an s from le av in gthe D DR to go to the W est.In S eptem ber 1 987 th e first o rg anized g ro up o f w ould-b e emigres, th e Wo rk in g G ro up o f C itiz en 'sR ights, was form ed. A t the sam e tim e the League of Protestant Churches in the DDR began toq uestio n th e p olitics o f nu cle ar d eterren ce an d the v alu e o f m ilitary se rv ice . O n 1 8 N ov em ber theE nvironm ental L ibrary in E ast B erlin w as raided by the secret police w ith printing equipm ent,docum ents and books either being confiscated or destroyed. W hen new s of this raid leaked out,m ore th an th irty peo ple w ho h ad g ath ered at th e p rem ise s to sh ow so lid arity w ith th e lib rary w erearrested, as were the E .L. personnel too. V igils for the release of these people were then heldthroughou t the coun try.G orb ach ev v isited Wash in gto n, D .C . in early D ecem ber 1 987 . In th eir talk s to geth er R eag an a ndGorbachev arranged an arm s deal - the INF Treaty - in which it w as agreed to remove allintermediate nuclear weapons from Europe. They now began on START (Strategic A rmsReduction Talks) - the effect of which w as hoped to be a 50% reduction in air, ground and sea-lau nch ed interc on tinen ta l w eap on s. G orb ach ev beg an calling for th e elim in atio n o f all n uc learw eapons by the tum of the century. H e said he w ished to see disarm am ent from the A tlantic to theUrals.1 988 opened w ith a dem onstration in East Berlin on 1 5 January to m ark the anniversary of the

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murd er in 1 91 9 o f th e rev olu tio naries K arl L ieb kn echt and R osa L ux em burg . M an y DDR humanrights activists were arrested - which is ironic since many are carrying placards bearingL ux em bu rg 's own w ord s "F reed om is alw ays th e freed om o f th e o ne w ho th in ks d ifferen tly ." M a nyp romin en t DDR o pp ositio n activ ists w ere su bseq uen tly ex pelled to th e BRD am on g th em B arb elB oh ley, F reya K lier, S tep hen K raw czyk, W erner F isch er, W o lfg ang & Lotte Tem plin. On 19N ovem ber the S oviet m ag azine Sputn ik - a leading exponent of glasnost & p erestro ik a - wasban ned in the DDR , as w ere five new w av e S ov iet film s.In June 1988 the E EC and C om econ signed a declaration of m utual recognition - am ounting to aform al ack now led gem ent of o ne ano ther. In th e sam e m onth P ro fessor D achich ev, an ad viso r toM ikhail G orbachev, announced from the Soviet em bassy in B onn that the B erlin W all and theb arb ed -w ire w hich d iv id ed th e city w ere terrib le relics o f th e C old Wa r. H e sp ok e o f th e Wa ll & th ew ire as psycho lo gical as w ell as p hysical bu rd ens w hich w ou ld h ave to b e g rad ually elim inated . UHon eck er, ag itated b y th is statem en t, q uick ly w en t o n reco rd as statin g th e so vereig n rig ht o f th eDDR to retain th e B erlin W a ll fo r th e n ex t fifty to o ne h un dred y ears.G eo rge H . B ush w as elected U .S . P resid ent in N ovem ber 1 988 . Pravda a dm itte d th at th e S ov ie tsh ad u nd ere stim ate d R ea ga n a nd h ad v iewe d h im in a n o ve rsim p lifie d lig ht.

1989 & the fall of the WallIn January 1 989 the K rem lin announced its in tention of starting that year to scrap its stocks ofchem ical w eapons kept in the U SSR. The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe(CSCE) which had been in session since N ovember 1986 was pushed towards a successfulcon clusion (its task w as to review the H elsin ki A ccord s of A ug ust 1 975 ). A ll 33 E urop ean states(w ith the so litary ex ceptio n of A lb ania) tog ether w ith the U SA an d C an ada w ere w illing to sign afin al d oc um e nt c le arin g th e w ay fo r a c ut in c on ve ntio na l a rm s. G o rb ac he v's c on cep t o f ' a C ommonE uropean H om e" - a nuclear w eapons free E urope - w orried governm ents both in the W est (U K,F ra nc e) a nd th e E as t (DDR , C ze ch oslo va kia ) w ho still b elie ved in th e p olic y o f n uc le ar d ete rre nc e. uIn 1989 the general m ood in Europe w as such that the m ovem ent for change overw helm ed theDDR au th orities. T hin gs b eg an to g o b ad ly fo r H on eck er's g ov ernm en t from early in Jan uary. O n1 1 Jan uary tw en ty DDR citizen s left the W est G erm an P erm anen t M ission in E ast B erlin , w hereth ey h ad b een stayin g fo r alm ost a fo rtn ig ht, after b ein g g iv en assu ran ces th at th ey w ou ld n ot facep ro secu tio n. O n th e sam e d ay th e H un garian P arliam en t d escrib ed th e 1 95 6 u prisin g as a "p op ularre be llio n" a nd v ote d to a llow a mu ltip arty s ys tem to o pe ra te in th e c ou ntry .O n 6 February D DR border guards shot and killed a 20-year old E ast G erm an m echanic w ho w asattem pting to cross the B erlin W all. T his new s contrasted m arkedly w ith that em anating fromPola nd c on ce rn in g th e first R o un d T ab le ta lk s b ein g sta ge d b etw ee n g ov ernm en t a nd o pp ositio n.

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On 1 2 Ma rch , a t th e S prin g In du strial F air in L eip zig , w ou ld -b e emigres demonst ra ted to h igh ligh ttheir cause before the international media gathered for this high profile event m uch to thec on ste rn atio n o f th e DDR o ffic ia ls w ho whe ele d in th e p olic e to a rre st th e p ro te sto rs .O n 1 0 A pril the P eace Prayer at the N ikolaikirche (P rotestant L utheran C hurch of St. N ikolas) inL eip zig w as he ld u nd er th e au sp ices o f v ario us g rass-ro ots g rou ps fo r th e first tim e sin ce Ju ne 1 98 8- 900 turned up for it.Hungary began tearing down its barbed-w ire border fences w ith Austria on 2 M ay 1989. Thisd eg ree o f o pen ness w as m issin g in th e DDR where loc al electio ns h eld o n 7 Ma y w ere co nsp icu ou sfor the prevalence of m ajor cases of fraud perpetrated by the S ED . O n 4 June Poland held the firstfree electio n w ith o pp ositio n c an did ate s stan din g in a Wa rsaw P act co un try (S olid arity w on 9 9 o f1 00 seats in the S enate and all 1 61 seats open for contest in the S ejm (the 460 -seat low er house ofparliam ent). O n the sam e day in C hina the authorities institu ted a brutal crackdow n of a m assd em on stratio n fo r p eace an d demo cracy in T ian anmen S qu are in B eijin g w ith an estim ated 3 ,00 0-2 0,0 00 d emonstra to rs k ille d. O n 5 J un e Neue s Deut sch land c ommen te d o n th e b lo od ba th in B eijin gb y s ta tin g th at " it w as a n ec es sa ry a nswe r to th e c ou nte rre vo lu tio na ry u ph ea va l o f a m in ority ."In response to G orbachev 's popular visit to W est G erm any on 1 2 J une 1 989, H onecker flew off tom eet the Soviet leader in M oscow on 28 June. U .S . President George Bush visited Poland on 9Ju ly . A cle ar a nd u nm istak ab le sen se o f d eten te w as in th e air.In th e m on th o f A ug ust h un dred s o f DDR c itizen s u sed th eir summ er h olid ay s to leav e th e co un trya nd v isit th eir 'fra te rn al s oc ia list frie nd s' in H u ng ary a nd C ze ch os lo va kia . O nc e th ere th ey e nte re dth e We st G erm an emb assie s in th ose co un tries an d re fu sed to leav e. B y 8 A ug ust 1 31 E ast G erm an shad sought refuge in the W est G erm an Perm anent M ission in East Berlin . It was closed due toovercrowding. O n 14 A ugust the W est Germ an Em bassy in Budapest was closed for the sam ereasons - m ore than a hundred D DR citizens being on its prem ises. O n 20 A ugust about 660 D DRc itiz en s u se d a b ord er c he ck po in t fe stiv ity b etw ee n Hu ng ary a nd Au stria to m a ke g oo d th eir e sc ap efrom th e c ommun is t sta te . T he y w ere a ssis te d in th is e xp lo it b y c omp lia nt H un ga ria n b ord er g ua rd s.On 23 August the W est G erm an Em bassy in Prague was also closed for overcrow ding reasons(a ga in mo re th an a h un dre d DDR c itiz en s w ere liv in g in th e c ompou nd ).On 24 August 1989 Tadeusz M azow iecki, a Solidarity official, w as elected as the first non-communist prim e m inister of a W arsaw P act country. F our days later in the E ast B erlin G olgothaP arish fo ur P ro te stan t p astors an d on e m em ber o f th e IFM sig ned a d eclaration o f in ten t to fo un d aS oc ia l D emo cra tic P arty in th e DDR .On 4 Septem ber the m ajority of about 1 ,200 participants of the by-now traditional "M ondaydemo nstratio n" at th e N ik olaik irch e in L eip zig d em an ded ex it v isas, w hile some 3 00 d eb ated w ithP ro te sta nt p asto r S ch orlemm er o n th e p ossib ility o f ren ew in g so cialism . R ep re sen tativ es o f th esocialist opposition in the DDR m et in B ohlen and decided to w ork for "a united left in the DDR ."

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Thre e d ay s la te r th e E as t G erm an p olic e ru th le ssly b ro ke u p a d emonstra tio n p ro te stin g th e e le ctio nfraud of 7 M ay and arrested 40 people. H onecker's D DR governm ent authorized (1 1 S eptem ber)th e p olic e to a rre st a n u ns pe cifie d n umbe r o f th os e a tte nd in g th e tra ditio na l Mond ay e ve nin g Ma ssat N ik olaik irche in L eip zig . O n the sam e d ay a g ro up o f 3 0 o pp ositio n in div id uals from acro ss th eD DR form ed a new group called N ew Forum & s ig ne d a n a pp ea l e ntitle d "D ep artu re '8 9." NewForum published its first m anifesto on 1 2 S eptem ber. O n the sam e day a second civic m ovem entD em oc racy N ow agreed to a founding statem ent "G etting Involved" in w hich it put forw ard theth es is o fa f undamen ta l d emocr at ic r es tr uc tu rin g o f th e c ountr y.E lsew here in the Soviet bloc things w ere happening fast: on 1 0 Septem ber 1 989, for exam ple,H un gary d ecid ed in p rin cip le to let th ousan ds o f E ast G erm an s w ith valid do cumen tation leav e fo rthe W est. A start w as m ade next day w hen betw een 6.500-8,000 D DR citizens w ere allow ed tole av e th e c ou ntry a fte r H un ga ry u nila te ra lly a ba nd on ed p art o f a tra ve l a gre em en t it h ad p re vio usly Uw ith the DDR . A ustrian railw ay s sen t ex tra train s to th e A ustro -H un garian b orde r to brin g ou t th eE as t G erm an s w ho w ere liv in g temp ora rily in te nt s ettleme nts in H un ga ry . T his le d to a n a va la nc heof m ore E ast G erm an s seek in g escap e from the communist w orld. R ad io B ud ap est an no un ced tha tw ith in 2 4 h ou rs 1 6,0 00 E as t G erm an s h ad e nte re d H un ga ry a cro ss th e C ze ch b ord er.O n 1 9 Septem ber the W est G erm an em bassy in W arsaw w as closed because of overcrow ding byD DR refugees. In the D DR itself the Synod of the A lliance for Protestant Churches in the D DRissue d a statem en t callin g fo r "n ecessary refo rm s." A t th e same tim e o pp osition fig ures so ug ht toregister N ew F 01 1lm in v ario us d istric ts th ro ug ho ut th e c ou ntry . T he se a ttemp ts w ere thwa rte d b yth e M in is try o f th e In te rio r o n th e g ro un ds th at su ch a cts w ere "h ostile to th e s ta te ." (2 1 S ep temb er).O n 2 5 S ep tem ber 1 98 9 t he larg est d em on stratio n in th e DDR sin ce 1 95 3 to ok place in L eip zig afte rth e trad itio nal M o nd ay P eace P rayer. A bou t 8 ,00 0 p eo ple dem and ed refo rm s an d rec og nition ofNew F01 1lm . O n 30 Septem ber 6,299 E ast G erm an refugees - som e of w hom had spent w eeks in theWe st G erm an embassies in P rag ue a nd Wa rsaw - receiv ed p erm issio n to le ave fo r th e We st. A s th issealed train pa ssed thro ug h DDR territory w itho ut sto pping , m ajo r clash es o ccu rre d b etw een th ep olice a nd th e E ast G erm an peo ple q ueu in g b y th e sid e o f th e railw ay tra cks w ho w ere d esp erate to Ug et o n th ese train s to freed om . O n 2 O cto ber th e N ik olaik irch e in L eip zig b ecam e tem po rary h om eto some 2 0,0 00 d em on strators at th e Mo nday P eace P ray er. O nce ag ain th e DDR au th orities w erestu ng into actio n - th ey n ow b an ned v isa-free trav el to C zec ho slo vak ia (3 O cto ber). E ven so th eyco uld n't d o an yth in g abo ut th ose w ho h ad alread y cro ssed the C zech bo rd er. T his m uch w as m ad eclear on 4 O ctober 1 989 w hen m ore than 7,600 D DR refugees w ere taken by special trains fromP ra gu e to We st G erm an y. O nce ag ain v io len t clash es b etw een p olice an d DDR citizen s o ccu rreda longs ide the r ai lway t ra cks .By this stage Honecker's regim e in East Berlin were very worried that the 40th anniversarycelebrations of the founding of the DDR w ere going to be disrupted by these riotous assem blies.This w ould be bad enough at the best of tim es, but w ith G orbachev about to m ake his visit to theDDR the possibility that the conservative authorities m ight be show n to have lost control of the

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situation was deemed to be intolerable. Gorbachev arrived on 6 October. On the following day atthe official reception in the Palace of the Republic, Honecker spoke glowingly of the successes ofsocialism. Gorbachev was far more guarded and stated ruefully "dangers await only those who donot react to life."On 7-8 October 1989 tens of thousands of people went out onto the streets in East Berlin, Dresden,Leipzig, Plauen, Jena, and Potsdam to demonstrate for political change and more individualfreedom. They were confronted by a police force that used the most repressive methods to beatthem into submission. Thousands were now summarily arrested. This did not deter the people anylonger and next day even more were back on the streets throughout the country. In Leipzig about75,000 turned up for the Monday Peace Prayer on 9 October despite threats by the SED leadershipto suppress any demonstrations with force. Although the police had been issued with orders toshoot to kill ifneed be, Egon Krenz, a Sorb by origin and the person responsible for security affairs,cancelled these instructions at the last minute. Instead of a bloodbath, the police merely halted thetraffic outside the Nikolaikirche and along the streets leading up to it so that the procession couldpass safely on its way!On II October the Politburo of the SED tried to strike a more humane tone and announced plansfor a more attractive brand of socialism. By 14 October N ew F orum had about 25,000 members,Democracy Now about 1,000. Both organizations sought nationwide political structures. On 16October about 150,000 flocked to the Peace Prayer demonstration in Leipzig. Next day (17October) the first union members to defect from the FDGB (the official German trade unionmovement) to form their own independent trade union occurred in East Berlin at the Wilhelm Pieckworks. This had a certain symbolism since this factory was named after the DDR's first president!Hot on the heels of this change 4,000 students at the Humboldt University in East Berlin begandiscussing the need for reform and rejected the leadership of the Free German Youth (FDJ) whichsought to lead the movement.Next day 18 October 1989 Erich Honecker resigned as leader of the DDR. Egon Krenz, a memberof the Politburo and Central Committee secretary for security issues, was unanimously elected asthe general secretary of the SED. Although he spoke of reform, this did nothing to ameliorate thepassion of the people. On 21 October 1989 tens of thousands of DDR citizens took to the streetsonce more. Two days later about 300,000 demonstrated for reforms in Leipzig after the MondayPeace Prayer. On the same day (23 October) Hungary declared itself an independent republic.On 24 October the DDR People's Chamber elected Krenz as Chairman of State Council andchairman of National Defence Council. At least 12,000 East Berliners demonstrated against Krenz& the SED. Thereafter various forums and debates took place in East Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig andKarl Marx Stadt pitting SED functionaries against prominent dissidents in the final days ofOctober. Further demonstrations took place in Rostock (25,000 present), Erfurt (15,000) and Gera(5,000). On 30 October more than 400,000 people demonstrated in various cities throughout theDDR for political reform, free elections and freedom to travel. During October alone more than

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2 4,0 00 DDR c itiz en s h ad e sc ap ed a cro ss th e H u ng aria n-A u stria n b ord er in to th e We st.W hile K renz w ent to M oscow on 31 O ctober and rejected any ideas about political pluralism andG erm an unification, he returned a changed m an far m ore reform -m inded than w hen he had set outfor the Soviet capital. Back home in the DDR the situation was fast getting out of hand. On 2N ovem ber the F DGB chief, H arry T isch, as w ell as the M inister for E ducation M argot H onecker,resigned. N ext day the DDR decided to allow visa-free travel to C zechoslovakia to resum e. T hise na bled DDR citizen s to leav e th e co un try v ia C zech oslo vak ia. In tw o d ay s m ore th an 1 5,00 0 to okup this option. K renz announced som e elem ent of reform , but failed to address the issue of theleading role of the party in the state. O bviously K renz didn 't w ish to alter the S ED 's elite and all-pow erful status in the D DR if he could help it. B ut change w as happening and fast. M any of theold party elite in the SED w ere pressurized to resign on 3 N ovem ber. E rich M ielke (81 ), w ho hadb een t he Stasi b os s, a nd Kurt H ag er (7 7), th e SED p arty id eo lo gu e, w ere fo rc ed to re sig n. UO n 5 N ovem ber about 1 m illion people dem onstrated at the A lexanderplatz in East Berlin - thela rg es t p ub li c d emons tr atio n in DDR h is to ry . N ext d ay th e s ta te u nv eile d its la te st o ff er in g, n ame ly ,tha t a new trav el law allow ed DDR c itize ns fre ed om to trav el o utsid e the co un try fo r 3 0 da ys a y ear.D esp ite th e n ew trav el law , th e m ass ex od us co ntin ued . N ow th e C ou nc il o f M iniste rs u nd er P rim eM inister W illi S toph collectively resigned (7 Novem ber). Next day - 8 N ovem ber - the SEDp olitb uro did th e sam e. N ew F orum n ow rece iv ed offic ial reco gn ition from th e sta te as a p oliticalorganization.O n 9 Nov emb er G u nth er S ch ab ow sk i, th e E as t B erlin F irs t P arty S ec re ta ry , a nn ou nc ed immed ia tefre e tra ve l rig hts fo r e ve ry c itiz en . T his w as a n amb ig uo usly w ord ed s ta teme nt. H e d id n't m e an th atthe border controls and the B erlin W all w ere irrelevant but that w as w hat the E ast G erm an peoplethought he had m eant. A s such, they rushed to the B erlin W all to pass through its crossing points.H uge n um bers co ng reg ated in th e o pen air be fo re th e fo ur ch eck po in ts an d the E ast G erm an b orde rguards believing that Schabow ski m eant that they w ere not to stop anyone w ishing to leave theDDR did nothing to prevent m ovem ent from E ast B erlin into W est B erlin . E uphoria burst out aspe op le b eg an clim bin g u p o nto th e Wa ll an d d an cin g o n it. H und red s of th ou san ds sp illed th rou gh Uthe border crossings into W est B erlin . O ver the next fortnight m ore than 8 m illion E ast G erm ansvisited the B RD and W est B erlin - the nightm are of the W all had ended.

AftermathO n 1 3 N ovem ber 1 989 H ans M odrow , the form er first district party secretary of D resden, w aselected prim e m inister of the now rather chastened D DR . In response m ore than 200,000 EastG erm a ns d emons tra te d p ea ce fu lly in L eip zig a fte r th e Mond ay e ve nin g P ea ce P ra ye r. A w ee k la te rthe n um bers in L eip zig sw elled to 2 50 ,00 0 w ith 40 ,0 00 m ore d em on stra to rs in K arl M arx S ta dt an dvast num bers in D resden, C ottbus, E ast B erlin and in other tow ns and cities across the country."W ir sind ein V olk" (W e are one people) now becam e the slogan as opposed to the form er "W irsin d d as V olk " (W e are th e p eo ple).

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B y m id -N ov em ber H elm ut K ohl, the We st G erm an C hanc ello r, ag reed to a p ack ag e o f su bstantialaid fo r th e DDR bu t o nly u nd er certain con dition s - n am ely , a fu nd am en tal cha ng e in th e eco nomicand political system of the DDR (1 6 N ovem ber). T his w as am plified on 20 N ovem ber to m ean freee le ctio ns, a p lu ra l p arty sy stem, th e e lim in atio n o f ' th e le ad in g ro le o f th e p arty ' a nd th e in tro du ctio nof a m arket econom y. On 28 Novem ber K ohl in a speech to the Bundestag unveiled a 10-pointin it ia tive dubbed Deutschlandpoli t ik for a new G erm an C onfederation to be achieved through anumber o f s ta ge s l as ti ng s ev er al y ea rs .B y late N ovem ber the SED Party has lost its leading role in the DDR and w as fast disintegrating -som e 200,000 or m ore DDR citizens (70% of them w orkers) had apparently left the S ED over theprevious tw o m onths. B y 3 D ecem ber both the C entral C ommittee and the P olitburo resigned enmasse. K renz, ineffectual as ever, w as forced out as first secretary. G regor G ysi becam e the newchairman of the SED on 8 December (elected by 95% of the 2,700 delegates to the SED PartyC ong ress in E ast B erlin). L ater in th e m on th (1 5-1 7 D ecem ber) th e S ED ch an ge d its name to S ED -PD S (Party for D em ocratic S ocialism ). O n 1 7 D ecem ber the E ast G erm an C hristian D em ocratscalled for unity of the G erm an nation at the opening of their party congress. T his aim w as echoedby the W est G erm an Social D em ocrats at their congress in W est B erlin on 1 8 D ecem ber. A seriesof round table discussions betw een the governm ent and the opposition led to a num ber of form erSED le ad ers & o th er p romin en t in div id ua ls b ein g s ub je ct to c rim in al in ve stig atio n a nd p os sib leproceedings for corruption. O n C hristm as E ve the sym bolic B randenburg G ate w as reopened toa llow a cc ess b etw ee n b oth p arts o f th e o nc e d iv id ed c ity o f B erlin .O n 1 1 January 1990 the People's A ssem bly of the D DR set the date (6 M ay 1990) for the first freeelections in the country. Two days later the East G erm an Social Dem ocrats (SDP) renam edthem selves the SPD (S oc ia lts tisc h e Pa rle ; D e utsc h la nd ). All political parties decided to runse pa ra te c amp aig ns fo r th e u pc om in g e le ctio ns. O n 2 2 Ja nu ary 1 99 0 a pp ro xim ate ly 2 00 ,0 00 p eo pled emons tra te d fo r G erm an u nific atio n in L eip zig & other cities in the D DR. On 28 January HansMo drow ag reed to fo rm a 'g ov ernmen t o f n atio nal resp on sib ility' co ntain in g eigh t m em bers of th eo ppo sitio n. S hortly afterw ard s Mo drow's g ov ernmen t ann ou nc ed th at it w ou ld bring fo rw ard thedate of the elections from 6 M ay to 1 8M a rch 1 990.B y 30 January both G orbachev and G ysi both felt that unification w as by now inevitable. Prim eM in ister M o drow cam e o ut in fa vo ur o f u nificatio n o n I F eb ru ary 1 990 a nd pro posed a 4-p oin t p lanfor the creation of a unified G erm an state. In gearing up for the com ing D DR elections the SED -PDS now dropped the form er and discredited part of its title and reappeared as the PD S (3-4February 1 990). O n 7 February K ohl's governm ent in B onn indicated that any currency unionbetw een the D DR and B RD could only take place after the D DR 's econom ic and judicial systemhad become fully compatible w ith that of W est Germany's. On 10 February Kohl visitedGorbachev who agreed to respect Germ an self-determ ination and the prospect of eventualunification. B ack from Moscow , K ohl m et M odrow on 1 3 F ebruary and they agreed to the settingup of a commission of experts to prepare for currency union. N ext day in O ttaw a the four foreign

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m inisters of the wartim e allied pow ers (U S, U K, France, U SSR) and the two Germ an foreignm inisters agreed on a 'tw o-plus-four' form ula for the future of G erm any. A fter the electionsrep resen tativ es o f th e tw o G erm an states w ou ld m eet to fo rm ulate th eir p lan s. A fterw ard s th e fo urw artim e allies w ould m eet to approve those plans w hich w ould be then subject to approval by areco nv en ed C SCE (C on feren ce o n S ecu rity an d C oo peratio n in E uro pe) later in th e year. K oh l w asclearly in favour of speedy reunification under A rticle 23 of the W est G erm an B asic Law . Thiswould enable the East German Lander to apply to become part of an expanded W est Germanfed eral state a nd b e su bje ct immed ia tely to th e co nstitu tio n an d laws o f th e BRD (We st G erm an y).A fter a sto rm y cam paig n in w hich th e West G erm an p arties assisted th eir sister p arties in th e DDR ,the first free elections in East German history took place on 18 M arch 1990 with 93% of theele cto rate p artic ip atin g. T his resu lte d in th e e xp ecta nt v icto ry fo r th e C en tre-R ig ht c oalitio n. O n cethe votes w ere tallied the results were as follows: CD U 40.9% ; SPD 21 .8% ; PDS 16.3% ; D SU U(G erman Social Union) 6.3% ; A lliance of Free Democrats 5.3% ; A lliance 90 (New Forum ,Dem ocracy Now, In itiative for Peace and Human Rights 2.9% ; Greens 2.0% ; DemocracyAw ak en in g (DA ) 0 .9%; O th ers 3 .6%. T here w as n o d ou btin g th e scale o f th e C en tre-R ig ht v icto ry.Itw as to lead to the leader of the D DR ls C DU Party, Lothar de M aiziere, becom ing East G erm anPrime M inister in succession to Hans Modrow on 12 April 1990. He formed a coalitiong ov ernmen t o fCDU , S PD , D SU , OA , an d lib erals.T his prov ed to be a stim ulus to early currency union w hich to ok place on 1 July 1 990 w ith th e W estG erm an DM replacing the D DR ls OM at the favourable rate of exchange of I: I. Overn igh t E as tG erm an shop shelves w ere stocked w ith a w ide range of W est G erm an goods at the m uch higherW est G erm an prices. B asic subsid ies w ere now rem oved from all foodstuffs so prices of stapleg oo ds ro se sp ectacu larly. E ast G erm an s w ith ou t BRD w ag es w ere n ot in a g oo d p ositio n to p ay th ep rices o f th e m an y attractiv e g oo ds o n d isp lay in th eir lo cal sto res. O n th is sam e d ay th ere w as alsoa m erg in g o f th e tw o state s so cia l se cu rity sy stem s.On 6 July 1990 a NATO summit meeting issued its 'London Declaration' essent ia lly declar ingpeace on the W arsaw Pact. E dvard Shevardnadze had said on a visit to B onn in early M ay that as Ufar as the Soviet Union was concerned, the Cold W ar was over. NA TO had lowered the state ofalert in W estern Europe for the first tim e since the C old W ar began. K ohl and G orbachev m et inM oscow in July to discuss G erm an reunification. G orbachev announced on 16 July that he nolonger objected to a united G erm any being w ithin N ATO . H e also indicated that W arsaw Pacttroops w ould be w ithdraw n from DDR territo ry in a series o f p hases stretch ing over a four-yearperiod.A s the summer of 1 990 proceeded, the extent of the econom ic disaster in the D DR becam e m orean d m ore o bv io us. A part from th e b illio ns o f d eb t it h ad in cu rred (a g reater p er-cap ita fig ure th anth at o f P olan d), th e scale o f its en viro nm en tal d isaster w as also stag gerin g. It w as estim ated at th etim e that at least 72 billion w ould be needed to clean up the m ess of East G erm any's energy andheat p roduc ti on . Th is f igu re ha s r is en appr ec iab ly subsequen tl y.

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Lothar de M aiziere becam e an increasingly harassed figure - accused of being a m ere puppet ofK oh l - h e co uld d o little to reassu re h is co alitio n m em bers th at E ast G erm an s rem ain ed in co ntro l o ftheir own destiny. Irked by his conservatism , the SPD m em bers of his governm ent w ithdrewleav ing him hold ing power w ith a m in ority g overnment. Amid these tum ultuo us scenes, the E astG erm an parliam ent end orsed the decisio n tak en by h is governm ent to en d the DDR o n 3 O ctober.A pp ro val w as g iven form ally by the C SC E, an d so on 3 O ctober 1 99 0 t he o ld DDR w as lost forev erand th e new united G erm an y w as b orn. O ne is entitled to ask, how ever, w hether th e new G erm anyh as b een an u nq ualified su ccess. Wh at d o yo u th in k?P ro f. m (2 4 Augu st 2 00 7)

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dissent within east germany and the road to 1989

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