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Chronicle 1989

"The Wall … will still be standing in fifty and even a hundred years' time": that's what Erich Honecker is still saying at the end of January 1989. And the GDR does seem stable to most people at the time, even though the dilapidated condition of industrial plants, the old parts of cities and the roads, as well as the air and water pollution, all herald the imminent economic disaster. more
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    • 1 October

      1989

      The founding members of the group Neues Forum announce that they will protest to the Interior Ministry about not being allowed as an organisation. more
    • 2 October

      1989

      "Monday demonstration" in Leipzig
      A "Monday demonstration" in Leipzig with up to 20,000 participants. The slogans include: "Freedom, equality, brotherhood," "We’re staying here," "Gorbi, Gorbi," "Allow Neues Forum," and "Freedom for the prisoners." more
    • 2 October

      1989

      A day before, in Beijing, the 40th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China has been solemnly celebrated Egon Krenz is there on behalf of the SED Politburo. more
    • 2 October

      1989

      Arrival of GDR refugees in Ahlsfeld, October 1989
      A commentary attributed to the Allgemeiner Deutscher Nachrichtendienst (ADN) calls after the East German citizens emigrating via Prague: "We won’t shed any tears over them." "Excludes itself from our society", Neues Deutschland, 2 October 1989 (in German)
    • 3 October

      1989

      The GDR virtually closes its borders by stopping visa-free travel to the CSSR; the next day, this measure is extended to transit travel to Bulgaria and Romania as well. This results in protests and even threats of strike action in the areas bordering on the CSSR. Temporary ban on visa-free travel between the GDR and the CSSR", Neues Deutschland, 4 October 1989 (in German)
    • 4 October

      1989

      Arrival of GDR refugees in Ahlsfeld, October 1989
      Once more, around 7,000 East German citizens who have again occupied the Prague embassy are allowed to travel to West Germany in special closed trains. more
    • 6 October

      1989

      In the newspaper "Leipziger Volkszeitung," under the headline "No more tolerance for subversion," an article published under the name of the commander of the combat group contingent "Hans Geiffert," Günter Lutz, says that, with regard to the forthcoming "Monday demonstration," the combat groups are ready and willing "to protect what we have created with the work of our own hands and to put an end to these counter-revolutionary actions. If necessary, with weapon in hand."
    • 6/7 October

      1989

      Mikhail Gorbachev arrives to take part in celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the GDR in Berlin on 6 November 1989
      State ceremonies for the 40th anniversary of the GDR, attended by Mikhail Gorbachev, who is greeted with calls of "Gorbi, help us". The West German TV programmes "Tageschau" and "Tagesthemen" report on the events of the day.


      In a tête-à-tête between the two general secretaries, Honecker boasts about the GDR’s successes, especially praising the SED’S housing programme and East Germany allegedly leading worldwide position in the field of micro-electronics. Gorbachev, who is well aware that the GDR is really nearly insolvent, feels that he is being made a fool of.


      "I was horrified. I talked with him for three hours. … And he kept on wanting to convince me about the wonderful achievements of the GDR."
      In a spontaneous interview at the Neue Wache in East Berlin, Mikhail Gorbachev says the sentence "Danger only lies in wait for those who do not react to life!" Speaking to the SED Politburo, he modifies this sentence: "If we lag behind, life will punish us straight away."


      It is not Gorbachev, but his press secretary Gennadi Gerassimov, who in the evening turns this into the saying, "Life punishes those who come too late!"
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    • 7 October

      1989

      On the evening of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the GDR, thousands of people in the centre of East Berlin demonstrate for political reform
      On the evening of 7 October, young people demonstrate in front of the Palace of the Republic. On this evening and the next, the Volkspolizei carry out attacks and make mass arrests in East Berlin and other cities. more
    • 8 October

      1989

      Erich Honecker tells the First Secretaries of the SED district leaderships that demonstrations of the day before "were directed against the constitutional basis of our socialist state." more
    • 9 October

      1989

      "Tag der Entscheidung" (Decision Day) in Leipzig: 70,000 people demonstrate peacefully for reforms. more
    • 9 October

      1989

      Vigil and discussion in the East Berlin Gethsemane Church, 9 October 1989 (Photo: akg-images/AP)
      Since the start of October, vigils have been held at East Berlin's Gethsemane Church for political prisoners. Thousands of GDR citizens support these actions and come to the services or take part in the discussions. Information is also collected and passed on about demonstrations and arrests. The church thus becomes a communications centre for the opposition. more
    • 10 October

      1989

    • 10/11 October

      1989

      "Sunday discussions" with the theme "Open Doors – Open Words" begin in front of the "Rotes Rathaus" and in the "Kongresshalle". Günther Schabowski, First Secretary of the SED district leadership, holds discussions with the demonstrators, October 1989
      At the end of an unusually heated two-day crisis meeting, the SED Politburo announces that the party is ready to enter into a dialogue with the people. more
    • 16 October

      1989

      More than 100,000 people demonstrate in Leipzig. They demand that Neues Forum be permitted, free elections and freedom to travel, a free press and freedom of expression. more
    • 17/18 October

      1989

      A fierce power struggle in the SED Politburo ends with the downfall of Erich Honecker, who is forced to cite health reasons as being behind his resignation from the SED Central Committee. Egon Krenz becomes the new SED general secretary. more
    • 21 October

      1989

      At a meeting of the extended leadership of the Ministry of Security, Stasi chief Mielke leaves little room for doubt that the party’s strategy of solving political problems with political means goes against his fundamental chekist convictions. more
    • 23 October

      1989

      Three hundred thousand people demonstrate in Leipzig, tens of thousands in Magdeburg, Dresden, Schwerin, Zwickau, Halle, Stralsund and Berlin, as well as in Plauen and Rostock during the previous days.
    • 24 October

      1989

      The SED Politburo passes a resolution on "Trips by GDR citizens abroad": "1. A draft bill on travel abroad by GDR citizens and proposals for financing this travel are to be presented to the Politburo soon. (…) 2. An argumentation is to be worked out [as a basis for] a broad discussion of the draft bill."
    • 26 October

      1989

      On this day alone, the Ministry of Security counts 160,000 citizens who, at demonstrations in the districts Rostock, Erfurt, Gera, Schwerin, Chemnitz, Neubrandenburg, Dresden and Halle, call above all for free elections, the free formation of opposition groups and freedom to travel. more
    • 27 October

      1989

      The GDR State Council announces an amnesty for all refugees and participants in demonstrations. – The GDR Council of Ministers decides to lift the "temporary ban on travel without passport or visa" to the CSSR that was imposed on October 3. From this moment on, GDR citizens are meant to be able to cross the border to the CSSR again with their identity card.
    • 31 October

      1989

      The USA and the Soviet Union organise a summit on Malta scheduled for 2/3 December.
    • 31 October

      1989

      The SED Politburo discusses a white paper by five leading economists on the "Analysis of the Economic Situation of the GDR with Conclusions". more
    • October 1989

      In October, 57,024 GDR citizens manage to flee to the West; 30,598 people are allowed to leave the GDR with permission.
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