GDR weekly demonstrations

The Monday demonstrations in the German Democratic Republic ( German: Montagsdemonstrationen ) are a series of mass protests of peaceful citizens in the cities of the German Democratic Republic in 1989 (to a lesser extent in 1990 ). The purpose of the protest was a change in the political leadership of the country, democratization of society and a number of other requirements.

Demonstration in Leipzig October 16, 1989

The first demonstration took place in Leipzig , and was repeated on the evening of every subsequent Monday, gradually the demonstrations began to be held in other major cities of the GDR, the movement was joined by Dresden , Halle , Karl-Marx-Stadt , Magdeburg , Plauen , Arnstadt , Rostock , Potsdam , Schwerin . The demonstrations ended in March 1990, shortly before the first free elections in the GDR.

The first demonstration took place on Monday, September 4, 1989 in Leipzig, when after a sermon by pastors of the Lutheran Church of St. Nicholas Christian Führer and Christoph Woneberg ( German Christoph Wonneberger ) 1,200 people, most of whom did not fit in the church building, marched under the slogan “We - the people! ”( German: “ Wir sind das Volk! ” ) With the requirements of civil liberties and the opening of the borders of the GDR ^[1] . The demonstration, which took place a week later, provoked a reaction from the authorities; more than 50 people were arrested .

A month later, 70,000 people entered the central square of Leipzig. On October 16, the demonstration gathered 120,000 people, and after a week, according to some sources, about 320,000 people, which made up the majority of the city’s population. The troops introduced into the city in order to avoid bloodshed were left in the barracks ^[2] . In parallel, demonstrations were held in other cities of the GDR, where from 300 to several tens of thousands took to the streets.

The key, unifying role in the protest movement was played by the church; dissatisfied with the ongoing processes in the country, citizens felt comprehensive support from both the Protestant and Catholic churches; according to Markus Meckel , Foreign Minister of the GDR in 1990, “it was the only place for free communication and thought” ^[3] .

As a result of mass protests, the SED leadership resigned (October 24 - Erich Honecker , November 7 - Willy Stoff , November 13 - Horst Sinderman , Egon Krenz , who replaced Erich Honecker as Secretary General of the SED Central Committee and Chairman of the State Council of the GDR , was also removed 3 December 1989). Grigor Gisi became Chairman of the SED, Manfred Gerlach , Chairman of the State Council of the GDR, and Hans Modrow , Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

Demonstrations had a tremendous impact on the political processes going on in the GDR, they first formed as democratic associations, and then as parties such organizations as the New Forum , the Social Democratic Party , and Soyuz 90 , which played one of the decisive roles in the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of the two Germanys .