Round Table Timeline
80s:
The glasnost and perestroika policy in the USSR under Michael Gorbachev creates room for the possibility of peaceful change in the Eastern Bloc. Poland and Hungary in particular took advantage of this new freedom, but the GDR did not.
January 19, 1989:
Erich Honecker (General Secretary of the Central Committee and Chairman of the Council of State of the GDR): "The Wall will remain in place in 50 and also in 100 years, if the reasons for it have not yet been eliminated".
Spring 1989:
The "Initiative for Peace and Human Rights" calls for a "round table" for the GDR, with an eye to the Polish model. The initiative was one of the civic movements in the GDR that played a major role in shaping the fall of communism.
May 1989:
Hungary begins dismantling the "Iron Curtain" barriers on the border with Austria. Illegal border crossing into Austria is now no longer life-threatening. On September 11, 1989, Hungary finally opens the border with Austria.
September 4, 1989:
In Leipzig, the famous Monday demonstrations begin following the traditional peace prayers in St. Nicholas Church. About 1,000 demonstrators demand the dissolution of the Ministry of State Security and demonstrate for liberal reforms.
September 11 and 18, 1989:
The GDR leadership tries to suppress further Monday demonstrations by force. Soon there are over 8,000 people protesting.
October 2, 1989:
Over 20,000 demonstrators gather for the Monday demonstration in Leipzig. On the same day, a vigil for political prisoners will be held in front of the Gethsemane Church in Berlin.
October 7, 1989:
Official celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the GDR. In Berlin, Potsdam, Dresden, Leipzig, Plauen and Jena there are demonstrations against the regime at the same time. Police and state security try to quell the protests.
October 8, 1989:
Erich Honecker resigns after 18 years in office: "The ZK has complied with Erich Honecker's request to release him from the function of General Secretary, from the office of Chairman of the State Council and from the function of Chairman of the National Defense Council of the GDR for health reasons."
October 8, 1989:
Erich Honecker resigns after 18 years in office: "The ZK has complied with Erich Honecker's request to release him from the function of General Secretary, from the office of Chairman of the State Council and from the function of Chairman of the National Defense Council of the GDR for health reasons."
November 3, 1989:
The GDR leadership bowed to pressure from its citizens and allowed them to leave for the Federal Republic via the territory of Czechoslovakia. When the Wall fell a few days later, the GDR had already lost over 200,000 citizens by fleeing to the West.
November 4, 1989:
The largest oppositional rally in the history of the GDR takes place on Alexanderplatz in Berlin: One million people, together with intellectuals and artists, protest against the regime. The state television broadcasts live. November 8, 1989: The Politburo resigns in unison after Honecker's successor at the head of the Politburo, Egon Krenz, fails to stabilize the situation.
November 9, 1989:
The border to the Federal Republic is opened and the Berlin Wall falls.
November 13, 1989:
The GDR People's Chamber elects a new state leadership for the first time by secret ballot. Günther Maleuda (Chairman of the Peasants' Party) becomes President. Hans Modrow, the SED district leader in Dresden, becomes Minister President.
November 22, 1989:
Since October 1989, various opposition groups and civil rights movements have been meeting to discuss how to proceed. At the suggestion of the civil rights movement "Democracy Now", the press spokesman of the "Federation of Protestant Churches" invites people to participate in a "central round table" in Berlin.
November 28, 1989:
Chancellor Helmut Kohl presents his 10-point program for a path to German unity. At this point, the GDR leadership still wants an independent GDR, and many opposition groups and civil rights activists are also against the GDR joining the Federal Republic.
December 7, 1989:
The "Central Round Table" meets in the church hall of today's Hotel Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Haus.
Winter 1989/1990:
While the Round Table in Berlin discusses the future of the GDR, the pressure on the street increases. People are finally demanding action and better living conditions. Above all, the continued existence of the Ministry for State Security, now renamed the "Office for National Security," leads to ongoing protests.
March 18, 1990:
First free elections to the Volkskammer. The "Alliance for Germany". an alliance of CDU East "German Social Union" and "Democratic Awakening". which advocated rapid reunification, clearly wins the election with over 48 percent of the vote. The CDU politician Lothar de Maiziere becomes the last prime minister of the GDR.
March 20, 1990:
In response to the clear decision, the federal government proposes an economic and monetary union.
May 5, 1990:
The "two-plus-four" negotiations begin in Berlin. in which East and West Germany negotiate German unity together with the four victorious powers of World War II.
July 6, 1990:
Start of negotiations on the Unification Treaty.
September 6, 1990:
The Unification Treaty is signed and ratified by the Bundestag and Volkskammer on September 20.
September 12, 1990:
With the signing of the "Two Plus Four Treaty", the victorious powers of the Second World War renounce their occupation rights. The special status of Berlin has been lifted.
October 3, 1990:
German Unity Day.