United Left (1989)

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United Left Emblem.svg

The United Left (VL) was a political grouping in the final phase of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It did not see itself as a party, but as a "grassroots democratic movement" (according to the statutes of January 1990), but also ran for elections.

The VL was founded as an association of various opposition leftists (including Christian socialists , Trotskyists , autonomists and supporters of the Yugoslav self-government model ) and critical SED members. The basis was the call "For a United Left in the GDR" of September 4, 1989, later known as the "Böhlener Platform". On the basis of this text, the VL formally constituted itself on October 2, 1989, a few weeks before the fall of the Berlin Wall , some of the leaders Members came from the group against votes , others from the Church from below . The United Left called for the renewal of socialism and tried to create a democratic and free GDR. At the end of 1989, the organization said it had 1500 members with a focus on Berlin and Halle . In politics, due to internal organizational disputes and organizational problems, it played an outsider role and, unlike other opposition groups, could only fall back on minimal material support from the West, for example from the VSP , the Communist League and some autonomous groups .

According to a declaration of January 29, 1990, the VL announced that it would participate in the government of national responsibility with a minister without portfolio. After Hans Modrow's declaration "Germany, united fatherland", she withdrew in protest on February 2, 1990 and continued to rely on an independent GDR.

In 1990 the VL, together with the party Die Nelken , entered a list association for the People's Chamber election on March 18, 1990 under the name “ Action Alliance United Left ” (AVL), which received 0.18% of the votes and a seat occupied by Thomas Klein . Thomas Klein also represented the VL in the Bundestag between October and December 1990. After the federal elections in December 1990 until her resignation in 1992 because of a previous MfS activity, VL member Jutta Braband (elected via the PDS state list Brandenburg) held a Bundestag mandate. After 1990, various members of the VL such as Marion Seelig on open lists of the PDS or Hans Schwenke for Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen were elected to various state parliaments. The VL itself largely disintegrated in the years after 1990.

Its formal self-dissolution as an overall organization took place on October 19, 2013 in Berlin. The further existence of individual regional VL groups remained unaffected.

literature

  • Müller-Enbergs, Schulz, Wielgohs (eds.): From illegality to parliament. Career and concept of the new citizens' movements , Christoph-Links-Verlag, Berlin, April 1991, ISBN 3-86153-017-1

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