Exhibition theme: Protest and Flight: Demonstration in Potsdam [19/56]
OBJECT INFORMATION
Info
November 4 1989
Potsdam
Created By:
Eva KowalskiLicense:
On 4 November 1989, at almost the same time as the Alexanderplatz demonstration in East Berlin, the "first official protest march was held in Potsdam, [...] seen in relation to the total population it was one of the largest demonstrations to take place in an East German city on that day" (
Grabner, Röder, Wernicke (Hrsg.): Potsdam 1945-1989). Demonstrators marched from Platz der Nationen (now known as Luisenplatz) over Wilhelm-Külz Strasse (now known as Breite Strasse) and Platz der Einheit square, passed the district administration office belonging to the Ministry for State Security in the GDR (Stasi) in Hegelallee and back to the initial starting point.
Depicts
banderole,
child,
crowd,
demonstration,
pavement,
protest signPlaces
PotsdamText in image
Freie [...]
Stadt[...]
Gewalt / Freie / Zone
Argus / drück[...] kein Auge zu!
Other items in this set
Ultimately, it was the citizens of the GDR themselves who brought down the SED regime. From the summer of 1989 on, thousands of East Germans tried to flee to the West across the Hungarian-Austrian border and via the West German embassies in Budapest, Prague, and Warsaw. In East Germany itself, ever greater numbers of people supported the demands of the citizens' movements for free elections, freedom of the press, and freedom to travel, despite their fear of state repression. In October, mass protests, which now involved hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, spread across the entire country. Aware that their protest could no longer be stopped, people increasingly felt a desire to capture events on film.
Original Caption
"On 4 November, large rallies took place in Berlin and Potsdam to which artists, intellectuals and writers had been called to attend. The demonstrations were sustained through a hope for change, a suddenly growing courage and a real community spirit."
