"Revolution in 1989" Leipzig Travelogue by Leipzig

GDR: German Democratic Republic (East-Germany)

FRG: Federal Republic of Germany (West-Germany)

SED: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands = Socialist Unity Party of Germany

Erich Honecker: leader of the SED and head of the state

Hans-Dietrich Genscher: Foreign Minister of the FRG

Stasi: East-German secret service – imagine, it was the best and well-structured secret service in the world!

St. Nicolas Church: oldest and biggest church in Leipzig, please read my MUST SEE ACTIVITIES for more info

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Please click to enlarge:

<table width="480" border="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" align=”center”><tr><td width="80"><a href="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr5mark1975V.jpg"><img src="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr5mark1975V.jpg" border="0" width="96" height="56" alt="5 Mark note"></a></td><td width="96"><a href="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr10mark1971V.jpg"><img src="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr10mark1971V.jpg" border="0" width="96" height="56" alt="10 Mark note"></a></td><td width="96"><a href="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr20mark1975V.jpg"><img src="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr20mark1975V.jpg" border="0" width="96" height="56" alt="20 Mark note"></a></td><td width="96"><a href="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr50mark1971V.jpg"><img src="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr50mark1971V.jpg" border="0" width="96" height="56" alt="50 Mark note"></a></td><td width="96"><a href="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr100mark1975V.jpg"><img src="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr100mark1975V.jpg" border="0" width="96" height="56" alt="100 Mark note"></a></td></tr></table>
<table width="480" border="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" align=”center”><tr><td width="96"><a href="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr5mark1975R.jpg"><img src="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr5mark1975R.jpg" border="0" width="96" height="56" alt="5 Mark note"></a></td><td width="96"><a href="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr10mark1971R.jpg"><img src="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr10mark1971R.jpg" border="0" width="96" height="56" alt="10 Mark note"></a></td><td width="96"><a href="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr20mark1975R.jpg"><img src="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr20mark1975R.jpg" border="0" width="96" height="56" alt="20 Mark note"></a></td><td width="96"><a href="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr50mark1971R.jpg"><img src="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr50mark1971R.jpg" border="0" width="96" height="56" alt="50 Mark note"></a></td><td width="96"><a href="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr100mark1975R.jpg"><img src="http://www.ddr-im-www.de/Bilder/ddr100mark1975R.jpg" border="0" width="96" height="56" alt="100 Mark note"></a></td></tr></table></center>
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In the second half of the 1980s Leipzig had gone downhill. Due to economic mismanagement and recklessness toward the environment, whole parts of the town were dilapidated, rivers reeked of industrial waste, and historic buildings were only one step away from depletion, while the businesses themselves found it increasingly difficult to maintain quality standards. I remember in the winters of 1985 and 1987 the air was every day grey and the falling snow came black down. In those winter days the air was caustic and tasted like coal and sulphur.
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Already in 1982, citizens had begun to congregate for prayers and silent protests at the St. Nicolas Church in the city centre every Monday.

Stand in line - although it wasn't sure that you would get what you want
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Prices for food and rents were very low. Luxury consumer goods were quite expensive. The currency of the GDR was Mark. In the whole republic all prices were fixed by the state!
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income: An East-German worker earned in average 40% of a West-German worker's salary. (
Note: everyone in the GDR had a job!)
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School: In the GDR holidays were much shorter than in the FRG, and pupils had to go to school 6 days a week! Schools offered an evening program for pupils.
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Some examples:
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Food :
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1 bread: 0,78 M
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1 roll: 0,05 M
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1 piece of butter: 2,50 M
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vegetable & meat produced in the GDR or countries of the East-block were very cheap. You hardly got bananas and I'd never seen Ananas or Kiwis before reunification.
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rents Flats were property of the state. Rents were extremly low - 30,00 - 50,00 M! Except the very new buildings, no flat had heaters (coal oven only). Just a few had a bathroom - most of time the toilet was outside your flat.
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Luxury products :
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1kg coffee: 60,00 M
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Black/White TV: 3500,00 M (only two national programs plus one program in Russian language. If you had luck you could receive programs from West Germany too)
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Telephone Less than 10% of all households had a telephone - my parents got their first telephone in 1986
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Cars When you turned 18 you ordered a car. When you turned 30 you got it for an extremly high price.

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In May 1989 opposition activists point for the first time to the falsification of a municipal election, thus heightening the domestic crisis. In these months a civil rights organisation called "Neues Forum" was founded. As churches were considered relatively safe from observation, they became centres of the democratic opposition and civil rights organisations as well as for silent, non-organised civilian protests.

Hungarian Soldiers begin dismantling the border to Austria
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Meanwhile, Hungarian soldiers begin dismantling the border reinforcements. In September, six border-crossing points are opened in the direction of Austria. Thousands leave the GDR; some 7,000 alone flee to the West German Embassy in Prague. In a dramatic mission, Hans-Dietrich Genscher obtains permission for their transit to the west.

"The Tragedy of Prague" - GDR-refugees enter the embassy of the FRG

citizens of the GDR try to enter the embassy of the FDR in Prague

The embassy of the FRG in Prague

Leipzig, Sept. 25th 1989 - Tröndlingring/Gördelerring - the first demonstration on the city circle
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By September 1989, several hundred Leipzig citizens participated in the Monday prayers at St. Nicolas. On September 25th, about 8,000 people went to a march in the streets forming a ring around Leipzig's city centre demanding democratic changes.

Police men at Karl-Marx-Square(today Augustusplatz)
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On October 7th, the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the German Democratic Republic, police used water cannons and rubber truncheons against protesters in Leipzig's city centre, who had again called for democratic changes in the state and government, while the media libelled them as criminals.

Police, Army and Stasi at Karl-Marx-Square (today Augustusplatz)

On the following Monday, October 9th, the situation threatened to escalate. The state had not concept on how to handle the situation, and panicked. Around Leipzig, armed forces with tanks were put on the alert; camps were prepared where members of opposition groups were going to be held, and hospitals were to prepare for casualties.

This photos was taken in front of the Main Station on October 23rd 1989

Situation on the borders in October 1989

This photos was taken at Tröndlingring on October 23rd 1989
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On 16 October more than 100,000 people demonstrate in Leipzig against SED rule; they are joined in this cause by people who take to the streets in many other cities in the GDR.
On 18 October Erich Honecker gives up. Egon Krenz succeeds him in office as Chairman of the State Council. The people are disappointed: Krenz is considered Honecker's "crown prince". On the eve of his appointment, 300,000 people demonstrate in Leipzig. They call for free elections, freedom of speech and of the press, freedom of assembly and freedom to travel. The number of people who take their demands to the streets grows rapidly.
On October 30th, 300,000 people joined the march around Leipzig's city centre; 500,000 demonstrators were counted early in November. Demonstrations and marches took place in other cities as well, such as Berlin, Jena and Dresden.

Berlin Wall - November 9th 1989
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At 6.57 pm on 9 November 1989, Politbüro member Günter Schabowski faces the press and reads haltingly ("from a piece of paper someone slipped me" he admits later) a decision taken by the Council of Ministers: "Private trips abroad can be applied for...without pre-conditions.... Exits on a regular basis can be made via all GDR border crossing points to the Federal Republic of Germany or to Berlin (West)." Release of the announcement is not authorized by the GDR government; this was not supposed to happen until the morning of 10 November.

This picture do not need any comment - Berlin - November 9th 1989

Berlin - border - Bornholmer Straße

Leipzig - occupied building of the Ministery of National Security

Augustusplatz in Leipzig - Willy Brandt is speaking to hundred-thousands of citizens on February 25th 1990
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In March 1990, the first - and last - democratic elections were held. The newly elected government prepared the State treaty between F.R.G. and G.D.R., which ended the history of two separate German states on October 3rd, 1990.

Entrance to the Ministery of National Security

Millions of files about citizens were found in 1989

With that cutter they tried to eliminate the files

A prison cell for political prisoners

Big Brother is watching you! With that equipment they were able to hear what you say on telephone

If you need more information about this event, you should visit the Stasi-Exhibition in Leipzig.
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Texts are partly copied from

http://www.chronik-der-wende.de/
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http://www.lipsia.de/
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Photos are taken by my self or are copies of postcards and booklets. The Berlin photos are copied from http://web.uvic.ca/
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I’m sorry about bad quality of some photos but you’ve to know that it was strictly forbidden to take any photos! Everyone who has taken photos was in fear of becoming arrested by the Stasi.