After 23:00, the border was opened at one border checkpoint, at Bornholmer Straße, and soon the other checkpoints followed. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wende_und_friedliche_Revolution_in_der_DDR Nézd meg! The most importand party of the Alliance was the CDU, and their chairman, Lothar de Maizière, became the new Minister-President of the GDR. April (Freitag) Das Versprechen: Zusammenfassung. Weltkrieges? [71] Over 200,000 members of the SED had left the party during the previous two months. Besetzung Stasi-Bezirksverwaltung 1989. There were mass arrests and beatings at the Leipzig demonstrations on 11 September and going through until 2 October. Only the United States government, under George H. W. Bush, offered the West German chancellor support by setting out its own interests in any potential German reunification the day after Kohl's plan. [49], Celebrations for Republic Day on 7 October 1989, the 40th anniversary of the founding of the GDR, were marred by demonstrations. After 9 November there was not only a wave of demonstrations across the GDR but also a strong shift in the prevailing attitude to solutions. Denkmale in Erfurt (69): Mit der Besetzung der ersten Stasi-Bezirksverwaltung gab Erfurt am 4. After the entry into the cabinet on 5 February 1990, all nine new "ministers" traveled with Modrow to Bonn for talks with the West German government on 13 February. Since October 1989, there were lots of demonstrations against the SED and for democracy and human rights. Prayers were said for people who had been mistreated by the state authorities, so the meetings took on a political character. The traveled to west Germany by trains which went through the GDR. Those who were to be imprisoned in them ran into six categories; including anyone who had ever been under surveillance for anti-state activities, including all members of peace movements which were not under Stasi control. [44], As a result of new hopes inspired by the mass exodus of East Germans via Hungary, several opposition groups formed in Autumn 1989, with the aim of bringing about the same sorts of reforms in the GDR that had been instituted in Poland and Hungary. It was first used[verification needed] in reference to the Peaceful Revolution on 16 October 1989 in Der Spiegel. Günter Simon: Tisch-Zeiten, Aus den Notizen eines Chefredakteurs 1981 bis 1989 . : forandringen) markerede begyndelsen af genforeningsprocessen mellem Østtyskland og Vesttyskland i kølvandet på den østtyske revolution og Berlinmurens fald 9. november 1989.Processen kulminerede 3. oktober 1990, da de tidligere DDR-delstater blev en del af Forbundsrepublikken, der dermed blev 25% større og gik fra 11 til 16 delstater. „Der 19. Gorbachev informed West German foreign minister Genscher that Kohl was behaving "like a bull in a china shop". In theory, watching it was banned, but it was tolerated as it couldn't be prevented. [32][33], On 10 August 1989, Hungary announced it would be further relaxing its handling of first-time East German border offenders, which had already become lenient. When this information was broadcast, it was picked up in East Germany, instigating protests. They are referred to as "Monday demonstrations" as that was the day they occurred in Leipzig, where they started, but they were staged on several days of the week. When Mitterrand realized that controlling development from outside was not possible, he sought to commit the West German government to a foreseeable united Germany on two matters: on the recognition of Poland's western border and on hastened European integration through the establishment of a currency union. When they came to the picnic, they were given gifts, food and Deutsche Mark, and then they were persuaded to come to the West.” But with the mass exodus at the Pan-European Picnic, the subsequent hesitant behavior of the Socialist Unity Party of East Germany and the non-intervention of the Soviet Union broke the dams. The policy of this new government lead finally to German reunification in October 1990. Only a day earlier, Kohl had set out new conditions for closer collaboration with the GDR leadership: the SED's abandonment of its monopoly on power, the allowing of independent parties, free elections, and the building up of a market economy. Konvolut „ Wende 1989 – Ende der DDR/Wendekinder". "[54], Günter Mittag, who was responsible for managing the economy, and Joachim Hermann [de], editor of the Neues Deutschland and head of propaganda, were also removed from office. This caused concern for the nascent East German protest movement, that had demonstrated against electoral fraud in May. The Peaceful Revolution (German: Friedliche Revolution) was the process of sociopolitical change that led to the opening of East Germany's borders with the west, the end of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the transition to a parliamentary democracy, which enabled the reunification of Germany in October 1990. November 1989 vor dem Rathaus Schöneberg in Berlin [45] New Forum acted as an umbrella organisation for activist groups across the country. They prayed for peace and freedom, and after that, they went out and demonstrate. 9. Nevertheless, the result of the election was proclaimed as 98.5% "Yes". Rather than stifle the East Germans' protests, the Tiananmen Square demonstration was further inspiration for their desire to instigate change. Das Fernsehmagazin "Elf 99" entwickelte sich - trotz der Programmvorgabe eines „sozialistischen Infotainments“ - im Herbst 1989 zum medialen Schrittmacher der Wende in der DDR. Jahrhunderts und stellt den „bislang größten militärischen Konflikt"[1] in der Geschichte der … [72] Krenz was succeeded as head of state by Manfred Gerlach. The results of elections were generally about 99% "Yes" in favour of the list. [2][31] After the demolition of the border facilities, the patrols of the heavily armed Hungarian border guards were tightened and there was still a shooting order. On 30 September 1989, the West German Foreign minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, came to Prague and told the East Germans in the embassy's garden that they could go. However, when Modrow committed to a one-nation Germany a few days later, the United Left withdrew its acceptance due to "a breach of trust" and rejected being involving in the government. The New Forum were doubtful about his ability to bring about reform, saying that "he would have to undertake 'tremendous efforts' to dispel the mistrust of a great part of the population. Start your search here! When numerous East Germans were arrested for protesting the 40th anniversary celebrations, many of them sang The Internationale in police custody to imply that they, rather than their captors, were the real revolutionaries. [17], Poor sewerage and industrial infrastructure led to major environmental problems. In early December 1989, he and Gorbachev sought to ensure "that the whole European process develops faster than the German question and that it overtakes the German development. This happened through non-violent initiatives and demonstrations. Between 1963 and 1988, the Stasi recorded that 14,737 people were returned to East Germany after failed escape attempts via the borders of other Soviet bloc countries. [2] [31] After the demolition of the border facilities, the patrols of the heavily armed Hungarian border guards were tightened and there was still … Oktober 2009 um 16:07 Uhr Chronik: Die Wende in der DDR 1989/90. To expand the trust in his own government for the transitional phase until free elections, on 22 January 1990 Modrow offered the opposition groups the chance to participate in government. On 10 February 1990, Kohl and his advisers had positive talks with Gorbachev in Moscow. U-turn [also fig. [17], In practice, there was no real choice in GDR elections, which consisted of citizens voting to approve a pre-selected list of "National Front" candidates. [47], East Germans could see news about the Tiananmen Square democracy demonstration between April and June 1989 on West German television broadcasts. 3 December 1989 - The Socialist Unity Party's stepping down. [37] In particular, it was examined whether Moscow would give the Soviet troops stationed in Hungary the command to intervene. 8. Wende ("the turn-around") refers to a historical process in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the years 1989 and 1990, after the Soviet reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev. The oppositional forces wanted the documents to be kept, and so they occupied all the Stasi offices in the country in December 1989 and January 1990. Nach der „Wende" studierte er, ohne Abschluss, Soziologie an der Freien Universität Berlin (1990-1993) und später Dramaturgie an der Filmhochschule „Konrad Wolf" in Potsdam-Babelsberg. The National Front was, in theory, an alliance of political parties, but they were all controlled by the SED party, which controlled the Volkskammer, the East German parliament. Applications to leave were often not approved and could take years to process. He said that he wanted to start a "Wende", but the demonstrants still wanted the SED to give up all power. Between the first and eighth of October 1989, 14 so-called "Freedom Trains" (German: Flüchtlingszüge aus Prag [de]) carried a total of 12,000 people to Hof, in Bavaria. From Nikolai Portugalow, an emissary of Gorbachev's, Teilschik learned that Hans Modrow's suggestion of a treaty between the German states had prompted the Soviets to plan for "the unthinkable". General opinion was that the fate of the GDR rested with the attitude of the Soviet Union. [29] Almost a year later, on 2 May 1989, the Hungarian government began dismantling its border fence with Austria. Although Krenz, 52, was the youngest member of the Politburo, he was a hardliner who had congratulated the Chinese regime on its brutal crushing of the Tiananmen Square demonstration. Kohl stressed that the driving factor behind the developments was the GDR populace and not the FRG government, which was itself surprised by the events and had to react. Between 1961 and 1988 about 383,000 people left this way. Schreiben nach der Wende: Ein Jahrzehnt deutscher Literatur, 1989-1999 (Studies in contemporary German literature) ISBN 10: 3860572148 ISBN 13: 9783860572146 Used [39][40][41], About 100,000 East Germans then travelled to Hungary, hoping to also get across the border. The average income per capita was only $12,000 in 1989,[10] compared to a $19,000 per capita income for the same year in West Germany. August 1989 war ein Test für Gorbatschows“ (German - August 19, 1989 was a test for Gorbachev), in: FAZ 19 August 2009. It was a net exporter of technology. The communist Socialist Unity Party of Germany lost their power and a democratic government was established. [74] Party official Günter Schabowski announced at a press conference on the evening of Thursday 9 November 1989 that East Germans were free to travel through the checkpoints of the Berlin Wall and the Inner German border. [28] However, the majority of attempts were thwarted and those caught were arrested and sent back to face the East German legal system. Although the East German government asked for these people to be deported back to the GDR, Hungary, which had signed the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees on 14 March 1989, refused. [3][31] After the pan-European picnic, Erich Honecker dictated the Daily Mirror of August 19, 1989: “Habsburg distributed leaflets far into Poland, on which the East German holidaymakers were invited to a picnic. [44][50], Although there were almost 500,000 Soviet troops stationed in the GDR, they were not going to help suppress any demonstrations. [57], The protesters called for an open border with West Germany, genuine democracy, and greater human rights and environmental protections. From December 1989, the GDR government of Prime Minister Hans Modrow was influenced by the Central Round Table, which put into action the dissolution of the Stasi and prepared free elections. [12], The policy of non-interference in Soviet Bloc countries' internal affairs was made official with Gorbachev's statement on 26 October 1989 that the "Soviet Union has no moral or political right to interfere in the affairs of its East European neighbors". The communist Socialist Unity Party of Germany (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, shortly SED) lost their power and a democratic government was established. Terrified of an East German version of the mass lynchings of Hungarian secret police agents during the 1956 Revolution, Stasi agents throughout the GDR fortified their office-buildings and barricaded themselves inside. [21], Citizens demanded their legal right to observe the vote count. It was founded by the artist Bärbel Bohley along with the Jens Reich and Jutta Seidel. [66], The plans contained exact provisions for the use of all available prisons and camps, and when those were full for the conversion of other buildings: Nazi detention centers, schools, hospitals, and factory holiday hostels. Because of its hostile response to the reforms implemented within its "socialist brother lands", the SED leadership was already increasingly isolated within the Eastern Bloc when it permitted the opening of the border at the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989. 1.) Former chancellor Willy Brandt coined the expression "What now grows together, belongs together" on 10 November 1989. In 1989 the amount was 100 Deutsche Marks once per annum. 4. On 18 October, the main leaders of the SED decided that their chairman, Erich Honecker had to resign. [76] Over the next few days streams of cars queued at the checkpoints along the Berlin Wall and the inner German border to travel through to West Germany. In the next days and weeks, thousands of people visited West Germany. [63], The first wave of demonstrations ended in March 1990 due to the forthcoming free parliamentary elections on 18 March. 1989 - März 1990 Montagsdemonstrationen Die montäglichen Demonstrationen in Leipzig tragen mit zur Wende in der DDR bei. Soon, more and more East Germans went to the embassies of West Germany in Warsaw and especially in Prague. Every detail was foreseen, from where the doorbell was located on the house of each person to be arrested to the adequate supply of barbed wire and the rules of dress and etiquette in the camps...[67], However, when Mielke sent the orders, codenamed "Shield" (German: Schild),[65] to each local Stasi precinct to begin the planned arrests, he was ignored. A fundamental shift in Soviet policy toward the Eastern Bloc nations under Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s was the prelude to widespread demonstrations against the Socialist Unity Party, which had ruled East Germany since the country was founded on 7 October 1949. [11], Having initiated a policy of glasnost (openness) and emphasized the need for perestroika (economic restructuring), in July 1989, Gorbachev permitted the Warsaw Pact nations to initiate their own political and economic reforms within the terms of the treaty. [23] About 3.5 million people left the GDR for West Germany before the building of the Berlin Wall and the Inner German border in August 1961. Instead of the chant "we are the people", the new refrain was "we are one people!" After the fall of the Berlin Wall, in demonstrations calling for German reunification, this morphed into "Wir sind ein Volk" ("We are one people"). Die Friedliche Revolution führte zum Mauerfall und zur Wiedervereinigung Deutschlands. Link „Wie kam es zur Wende“ aufarbeite n. Das Versprechen zu Ende sehen. However, prior to the 7 May 1989 election there were open signs of citizens' dissatisfaction with the government and the SED was concerned that there could be a significant number of "No" votes. From 1986, its products were often seen as inferior and orders delivered to the Soviet Union were increasing rejected due to poor quality control standards. The last one killed was a 19-year-old man, shot at the Bulgarian-Turkish border in July 1989. Reinhold Andert: Rote Wende, wie die Ossis die Wessis besiegten, Elefanten Press Berlin 3.) … If we don't grasp the initiative now, then the process already set in motion will spontaneously and eruptively continue onward without us being able to have any influence upon it". The numbers attending grew and on 4 September 1989, it became a demonstration of over 1000 people in front of the church. Die Wende 1989 - 1990 The Peaceful Revolution was the process of sociopolitical change that led to the opening of East Germany's borders with the west, the end of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany in the German Democratic Republic and the transition to a parliamentary democracy, which enabled the reunification of Germany in October 1990. From 1–8 October, 14 "Freedom Trains" took 12,000 East German refugees from Prague across GDR territory to West Germany, to cheers from East Germans as they passed. Some were also shot and killed by border guards. [53][61] After the demonstration on 9 October, in which the security forces were completely outnumbered by the 70,000 protesters and unable to hinder them, the demonstrations in Leipzig and elsewhere remained relatively peaceful. [Note 4] When the Chinese regime brutally crushed the demonstration on 3–4 June, several hundred and possibly several thousand protesters were killed. Bis Montag: Parteienvortrag vorbereiten: „Wer wir sind, was wir wollen“ Zwei Plakate machen The number of applications for an "Ausreiseantrag" (permission to leave the country) had increased and there was discontent about housing conditions and shortages of basic products. Most parts of East Germany could pick up West German television. Modrow renamed the Ministry into Amt für Nationale Sicherheit ("Office of National Security"; AfN). The … The talks were largely unproductive, with Kohl unwilling to make any decisive appointments with the pivotal election only weeks away. [1] Previous uprisings - East Germany (1953), Czechoslovakia (1953), Poland (1956), Hungary (1956) and the Prague Spring (1968) - were harshly put down by Soviet troops. About 70,000 people went peacefully through the city centre, and the police or the State Security (Stasi) did not do anything to stop them. [20], In the weeks before the election, opposition activists called for it to be boycotted, and distributed a leaflet criticising Erich Honecker's regime. 2018-12-10: U.S. Attorney Takes First Step toward Prosecuting Explosive Destruction of World Trade Center on 9/11. The socialist reform program of Modrow's government lacked support both domestically and internationally. According to John Koehler, Plan X had been in preparation since 1979 and was, "a carbon copy of how the Nazi concentration camps got their start after Hitler came to power in 1933. Der Ruf "Wir sind das Volk" erschallt bald im ganzen Land. [73], After Hungary and Czechoslovakia allowed East Germans to cross to the west via their borders, there was nothing the GDR government could to do to prevent people leaving. Many people camped in the garden of the West German embassy in Budapest, in parks and around the border areas. Just before that press conference, Egon Krenz had given Schabowski a sheet of paper about the new travel law. Die Ausreise aus der DDR in der Erinnerung von Übersiedler-Eltern und -Kindern, Häftlingsdeals mit der DDR Menschen gegen Maisladungen, "The Cold War's Forgotten Victims: Avenging East Germans Killed in Bulgaria", The Hopes of East German Refugees (August 8, 1989), Snipping away at the Iron Curtain: when Hungary opened its Austrian border - archive, 1989, Hungary allows 7000 East Germans to emigrate West, States Parties to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol, Historic East German refugee train rolls again, West German TV: the class enemy in the front room, China's pro-democracy protests struck hope and fear in East Germany, How 'Gorbi' Spoiled East Germany's 40th Birthday Party, Security Forces Storm Protester in East Germany, We Are the People' A Peaceful Revolution in Leipzig. Retired people were more likely to have their applications accepted as the state would avoid the burden of paying their pensions. On the day the Berlin Wall fell, West German chancellor Kohl and his foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher were on a state visit to Poland, which was cut short for the new situation. The Wende events were part of the fall of Communism all over Eastern Europe, for example in Poland, Hungary or Czechoslovakia. Extensive advertising for the planned picnic was made by posters and flyers among the GDR holidaymakers in Hungary. visuelle Wende {f} visual turnspec. Die Wende (da. As the reformist Gorbachev was paraded along Unter den Linden, cheering crowds lining the street called out "Gorbi, Gorbi," and "Gorbi, help us." The idea of opening the border at a ceremony came from Otto von Habsburg and was brought up by him to Miklós Németh, the then Hungarian Prime Minister, who promoted the idea.