9ᵗʰ of October 1989

The 9ᵗʰ of October 1989 is the day of decision. Since the early morning hours, bed sheets have been hanging on St Nicolas Church. “People, no senseless violence, pull yourselves together”, can be read on them. Civil rights groups around Pastor Christoph Wonneberger have written an appeal, painstakingly copied 25,000 times and later distributed. It calls for renouncing violence.

Pastor of St Nicolas Church, Christian Führer, is aware that on this Monday a large influx for the prayer for peace is to be expected despite all state threats. There are also threats by telephone. At schools and workplaces, official warnings have been issued not to go into the city centre under any circumstances, as this could be dangerous. Rumours circulate that hospitals already have to prepare blood reserves.

Nerves are frayed even among the staff of state organs. After previous demonstrations, such as on 7 October 1989, the state authorities in Leipzig want to “put an end to the spook once and for all”. “Open threats of the use of firearms are also being made”, says Tobias Hollitzer, head of the museum in the Runde Ecke.

In the early morning, the SED district operations command establishes that demonstrations can no longer be prevented. To “nip possible provocations in the bud”, 3,000 armed forces and 5,000 so‑called social forces are mobilised. SED members receive the order to gather for the prayer for peace in St Nicolas Church, which is fully occupied after 2 p.m. Christian Führer greets the comrades: “I am glad you are here; I am only surprised that you came so early, because the working proletariat does not have time until after 4 p.m.”

Shortly before 4 p.m., several hundred people gather in front of the already overcrowded St Nicolas Church, who are no longer allowed in. Police with dogs are present throughout the city, and lorries with barriers are also ready. Shops and restaurants in the city centre are closed. At 5 p.m., the prayer for peace begins, shaped by Pastor Weidel and the Gohlis Working Group for Peace. Services are held simultaneously in the Reformed Church, the Michaelis Church and St Thomas Church, which are likewise overcrowded.

From 5.30 p.m., the appeal of the Leipzig Six is read out on Leipzig city radio: Kurt Masur, Bernd-Lutz Lange, Peter Zimmermann, and the SED secretaries Roland Wötzel, Jochen Pommert and Kurt Meyer were united by shared concern. “We are affected by the developments in our city and are seeking a common solution”, it says. They ask for prudence so that peaceful dialogue becomes possible. The appeal is also delivered by university theologian Peter Zimmermann during the prayer for peace in St Nicolas Church. When later about 2,000 people leave the church, they encounter tens of thousands outside. Slowly the procession begins to move.

This leads to the largest mass demonstration to date, with more than 70,000 people marching from Karl-Marx-Platz (today Augustusplatz) around the ring. Calls such as “Gorbi, Gorbi” and above all “We are the people” ring out. There are also demands to permit the New Forum. Those taking part are not only residents of Leipzig. Thousands have travelled from all over the GDR. The fear of a “Chinese solution” runs deep. In addition to the police, the armed combat group is also deployed. People draw together with candles. One call unites them: “No violence”.

At around 6.30 p.m., Helmut Hackenberg, the SED district leadership’s second secretary, calls Egon Krenz. He expects a decision “from above”. “Egon Krenz did something right for the first time. Because he did nothing”, Pastor Führer says today.

At around 7.25 p.m., the situation becomes particularly tense again. The demonstration reaches the Runde Ecke, the seat of the Stasi district administration. The police stationed in front of the building let the procession pass. But insecurity on both sides is great that provocations might occur, escalating the situation. The demonstrators rejoice when the Stasi district authority is passed without incidents or riots. “We are the people!” again becomes the slogan of the day. “We were prepared for everything, just not for candles and prayers”, Stasi chief Mielke is said to have remarked later.

At around half past eight, the demonstration disperses. Later, the first television reports about the day of decision in Leipzig are broadcast on West German television. Faced with the masses on the ring, the security forces withdraw. On this day, the heavily armed dictatorship must capitulate without violence to the courage and determination for change of tens of thousands. The GDR has changed. The beginning of the end has been heralded.

By Mathias Orbeck,
published in the Leipziger Volkszeitung on the 9ᵗʰ of October 2009