GDR Revolution And Its Impact On FRG Flashcards
Why couldn’t Honecker fulfil his duties?
Taken ill from 21st August to late September 1989
How much attraction did the Monday protests in Leipzing gain?
10,00s then 100,000s
By October 1989, how many people took part in weekly Leipzig protests?
320,000
What was Honecker’s reaction when he returned from his illness on the 25th September?
Acted as if there was no danger to the GDR and argued people leaving Germany were traitors and not welcome in EG
How long was a riot at the beginning of October and how many people did it involve? Where? And why?
3 hour riot
10,000 people
Dresden
East Germans tried to board a sealed train travelling from Czechoslovakia through East Germany to the FRG
How many East Germans had Honecker allowed to migrate to West Germany on a sealed train?
14,000 East Germans who had camped in the West German embassy in Prague’s
What did people do as the train passed through the GDR?
Threw their GDR passports out the window and 10,000 people tried to stop the train and clamber on board.
How did Honecker respond to the protests?
Carried on with the 40th anniversary celebrations of the GDR rather than reform
Who came to the USSR to give a speech after the protest?
Gorbachev
What happened two days after Gorbachev’s speech?
70,000 people gathered in Leipzig to protest against the communist rule in the GDR
In response to the protests, who did the SED sack and who replaced them?
Sacked Honecker who was replaced by Krenz
What was Krenz’s government like?
Just as inadequate as Honeckers at delivering the types of reform East Germans were demanding
Why was Krenz’s new travel permit rejected?
GDR’s parliament rejected it because it was too complicated
When did mass protests take place in Berlin and what were there calls for?
4th November 1989
Calls for political freedom, legislation of opposing groups and unrestricted travel
What did Gunter Schabowski (SED) announce on the 9th November?
Anyone with a passport could have greater travel rights
What was Schabowski’s response to when the regulation came into force?
He replied ‘immediately’
What happened after Schabowski said that the policy came into force ‘immediately’?
Thousands of people flooded to the checkpoints along the Berlin wall
When did the boarder guards decide to lift the barrier between East and West?
9th November 11:20pm
When had the Berlin Wall divided the city since?
1961
What did people start doing to the walls?
Attacking them
What did the 1.5 million Soviet troops in the GDR do whilst people were crossing the boarder?
Remained in the barracks and made no attempt to intervene
Thus holding up Gorbachev’s promise - that he would not use military force to defend unpopular communist states.
What did political parties in the GDR announce on the 13th November 1989?
They reasserted themselves (having effectively been banned since 1945) and said they would oppose the SED
What did the SED rename itself?
Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)
How many East Germans had left for the FRG within a week of the fall, of the Berlin Wall?
17,000
