Berlin- Alexanderplatz
- Bekenntniskirche
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer House
- St. Elisabeth’s Church
- Gethsemanekirche
- Görlitzer Straße
- Haus des Rundfunks
- Kollwitzplatz
- Presseamt beim Ministerrat der DDR
- Potsdamer Straße
- Rathaus Schöneberg
- Ruschestraße
- Samariterkirche
- Schlossplatz
- West Germany’s Permanent Representation in the GDR
- Teutoburger Platz
Berlin
Berlin was a focal point of the 1989/90 Peaceful Revolution. In East Berlin – as in many other towns and cities in the GDR – the people stood up to the state and fought courageously for their freedom. This site presents sites in the East and the West of the formerly divided city where key events of the revolution took place. If you would like to visit these locations yourself, you can take inspiration from our recommended tours and take along a handy and informative brochure to accompany you.
In East Germany at the beginning of 1989, small groups and initiatives were still coming together under the wing of the church or meeting in private homes. When opposition activists revealed that the local elections of 7 May 1989 had been rigged, protesters took to the streets for the first time. Five months later, on 7 October 1989, thousands of people demonstrated against the SED government outside the Palace of the Republic. Then on 4 November hundreds of thousands gathered on East Berlin’s Alexanderplatz for one of the largest protest rallies of the Peaceful Revolution.
As a divided city, Berlin always reflected the situation in Germany as a whole and made a particular impression around the world. In no other place were the country’s division and the contradictory nature of the two political systems as directly visible and tangible as in Berlin. And nowhere did it become as clear that despite the deadly border, neither contacts between East and West nor the feeling of belonging together had broken off. On the contrary, people on both sides of the Wall were active against the East German dictatorship.
Without the wide range of support from the West, the revolution in the GDR would never have happened. The media in West Berlin in particular played an important role. They picked up the news of the revolutionary events in the GDR and broadcast them back into East German living rooms. Their reporting was a key factor, prompting more and more people in the East to overcome their fear and find the courage to stand up with confidence for freedom and against dictatorship.
source: Nikolaus Becker/www.bilderundfilme.de
On 7 October 1989, thousands of people joined the demonstrators. Corner of Mollstraße and Karl-Liebknecht-Straße: Police arresting demonstrators.
In East Germany at the beginning of 1989, small groups and initiatives were still coming together under the wing of the church or meeting in private homes. When opposition activists revealed that the local elections of 7 May 1989 had been rigged, protesters took to the streets for the first time. Five months later, on 7 October 1989, thousands of people demonstrated against the SED government outside the Palace of the Republic. Then on 4 November hundreds of thousands gathered on East Berlin’s Alexanderplatz for one of the largest protest rallies of the Peaceful Revolution.
As a divided city, Berlin always reflected the situation in Germany as a whole and made a particular impression around the world. In no other place were the country’s division and the contradictory nature of the two political systems as directly visible and tangible as in Berlin. And nowhere did it become as clear that despite the deadly border, neither contacts between East and West nor the feeling of belonging together had broken off. On the contrary, people on both sides of the Wall were active against the East German dictatorship.
Without the wide range of support from the West, the revolution in the GDR would never have happened. The media in West Berlin in particular played an important role. They picked up the news of the revolutionary events in the GDR and broadcast them back into East German living rooms. Their reporting was a key factor, prompting more and more people in the East to overcome their fear and find the courage to stand up with confidence for freedom and against dictatorship.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |