The Kremlin’s Impact on the Peaceful Revolution in East Germany (August 1989–March 1990)

Abstract

It was in winter 1970. Chancellor Brandt had taken office in Bonn and started initiatives seeking to overcome the previous confrontation between the two German states. Hopes of reunification had withered away. The German Democratic Republic (GDR) was seen as an established fact which could not be changed. West German political scientists began to argue that the East Germans had accepted their leaders. So it was wise for the Federal Republic to accept the GDR in order to provide for a cooperative relationship. In this political atmosphere, a Protestant parish group which stood for promotion of understanding with East Germany, was travelling from Cologne to what was then Karl-Marx-Stadt. While on the train, the Protestant advocates of good relations with the GDR met a group of the official Communist youth organization. The two sides began talking. For fun rather than seriously, one of the West Germans raised the question: ‘Would you like reunification?’ The unanimous response was: ‘Of course, but only with Western conditions!’ The reply was felt to be both shocking and absurd — but it was prophetic in indicating what the East Germans successfully pressed for 20 years later.