From May 1989 there were protests in East Germany in support of freedom of travel and environmental protection. Conversely, organized groups
whose main goal was to oppose the government only appeared in September. Their comparatively short existence meant that they initially had little power; plus
they were swiftly infiltrated by the East German secret police, the Stasi.
However, these groups’ close association
with churches ultimately enabled their rapid expansion and networking, and thus they
contributed much to the peaceful revolution that followed. Nonetheless, they remained politically incompetent as an anti-system faction; plus, their later co-operation
with the governing party, the SED, in striving for
the continued existence of East Germany ensured that they quickly wilted once free elections took place.
The formation
of anti-regime movements
Pre-August 1989 anti-war and environmental
movements had no permanent structure, and only came into being when a
particular issue arose. Anti-regime sentiment did not take concrete form at this time for
the following reasons: many anti-regime activists had been imprisoned as
political criminals, then immigrated to West Germany after their release.
Also, the violent suppression by the Soviet Union of a labor protest in 1953 convinced many that anti-regime movements would only add to the
people’s pains whilst accomplishing little. Finally, it was difficult for anti-war and
environmental movements to take up an anti-system focus due to the close surveillance of anti-regime activists in East Germany.
The
condition of anti-regime groups and their roles
According to East German internal security
records, there were 160 “anti-regime organizations” as of June 1989, with a
combined membership number of around 2500. The core numbered just 60.
However, since these groups were organized around churches, networking with
others of like mind was easy, and they grew rapidly as a result.
The two most active groups during the revolution
were New Forum (Neues Forum) and Democracy Now (Demokratzie Jezt). New Forum
was formed on September 13th, 1989 by a group of church ministers. Their goal
was to facilitate greater public participation in societal advancement and
provide a public forum for the discussion of politics, and their rapid expansion
led to a national conference in Leipzig on September 25th that year,
which set the tone for regional chapters.
Democracy Now was founded on September 16th
after allegations of illegitimate conduct during May 6th, 1989 regional
elections. The group’s composition included a mixture of ministers and
Marxists, and their goals were as follows. Firstly, they pursued the transition
from an authoritarian to republican state; secondly, the transition from
state-ownership of the means of production to private ownership; and finally,
the stemming of environmental destruction and pollution. The Social Democratic
Party (Sozial Demokratische Partei; SDP) was formed on October 9th, 1989 after peripheral
members of the ruling SED decided to create their own party with the support of
the West German SPD. The SDP was soon recognized as a counterbalance to the
SED.
Democratic Awakening (Demokratisher
Aufbruch), founded on October 1st, 1989, was composed of ministers, artists,
doctors, and lawyers, and their goal was democracy in East Germany. The
Boehlener Platforum, founded earlier in September, advocated the reformation of
East German society; the Berliner Ensemble was composed of artists, and they were
proponents of democracy. These groups all formed and grew around churches.
The inclusion of religious leaders in their cores ensured that anti-regime
demonstrations remained peaceful; concerned that violence might lead to Soviet
military intervention, the leaders convinced demonstrators to restrain
themselves.
The
limits of anti-regime groups
After the ruling SED collapsed, some of the newly
formed groups such as New Forum and Democracy Now took their place at the political roundtable, alongside remnants of the SED and others. However,
these groups advocated the reformation of East Germany, not a democratic
revolution or German reunification. At the time, many East Germans still believed
that the two Germanys should remain separate, and even those who thought that
reunification would have to eventually take place nonetheless held that socialism ought to be maintained. Like left-wing
intellectuals in West Germany, East German anti-regime movement leaders thought
that the reformation of East Germany was the best solution. They only wanted an
improved socialist system, one that was free of Western materialism and
exploitation.
In March 1990, general elections were held
in East Germany for the first time. A coalition of six groups, including the SPD,
New Forum, and Democracy Now was the ballot. However, this coalition
suffered a major blow with the withdrawal of the SPD, and thouhg they received
the support of the Green Party, later forming Bϋndnis ’90/Grϋne, they only received 2.9% of the vote in the
election.
Since they were new to the political scene, they were politically ineffective.
Moreover, their objectives were the reform of socialism and continued existence
of East Germany. They continued to receive low ratings in later elections: 5.8%
(8 seats) in December 1990, and 7.3% in October 1994.
