Turn in Meiningen
The turning point in Meiningen describes the political turning point in the city of Meiningen in 1989/90 , which formed an important center of this upheaval in what is now southern Thuringia . GDR- wide starting point and center of the change was the " Peaceful Revolution " in the Saxon city of Leipzig .
A special feature of the Meiningen turning movement was the main organization and implementation of the movement by the Evangelical Church . The base group for "Peace, Justice and the Integrity of Creation" of the Protestant parish in Meiningen acted as the nucleus and main force . Such base groups existed in all larger parishes in the GDR. The Meiningen grassroots group held meetings in the form of prayers for peace in the Meiningen town church as early as 1982 and in 1983 founded the “Discussion Group for Peace and Ecology”. From October 1989, the Meiningen cultural workers were formed, who organized large rallies and citizens' forums. In November 1989, the District Association of Democratic Awakening was added as a further strong force . The organized turning movement was active in Meiningen until the end of May 1990.
course
Meiningen in the 1980s
In addition to the usual state reprisals and surveillance by the state security, a special situation in the city similar to that in other neglected East German cities contributed significantly to the relatively large turning movement in Meiningen . The district town of Meiningen was in the extreme southwest of the GDR directly on the inner-German border with Bavaria. The former royal seat , rich in tradition in culture and finance , characterized by little industry and a predominantly bourgeois population, was classified as insignificant by the GDR government. This was also reflected in the distribution system for consumer goods and food, where Meiningen was ranked at the lowest level. The Meiningers had to travel to meet their needs.
The limited capacities in the socialist shortage economy flowed in the district of Suhl primarily to the district town of Suhl , which the state expanded into a rapidly growing, large, socialist city. There were hardly any funds left for many other cities and municipalities in the district. As a result, the Meiningen buildings and infrastructure were left to decay. As a result, from the 1980s onwards, numerous emergency demolitions of residential buildings in the southern and western old town took place, which continued into the 2000s due to houses that could no longer be renovated. In the city with its 25,000 inhabitants, there were always around 1,400 families and individuals looking for homes, which together with around 5,000 citizens affected a fifth of the population. There was also great pollution. Dissatisfaction grew particularly strong in Meiningen and its surrounding communities.
Peace prayers and Monday group
In order to achieve changes in GDR society, basic groups for "Peace, Justice and the Preservation of Creation" were founded under the umbrella of the Protestant Church, as was also the case in Meiningen in 1981. These groups, consisting mainly of young Christians , could only exist under the protection of the church in the early 1980s because of their social goals. One of these groups held in 1981 at the Vicarage " Peace decades " and 1982 among youth officer Ulrich Töpfer the first prayer for peace in the Meininger City Church from. In 1983 the "Discussion Group for Peace and Ecology" was formed, which took place regularly in the rectory at Am Mittleren Rasen. The prayers for peace then continued on the first Tuesday of each month until 1989. The events in the summer of 1989 and the increasing number of prayers for peace made it necessary to hold the prayers for peace in the Meiningen town church every week from September onwards. All prayers for peace began with playing the organ, followed by the greeting of the participants, then a prayer and devotion , after which several citizens were able to make personal contributions. In the rectory, further youth groups of the church met for the weekly Monday group , where social and political problems were discussed. The Montagskreis also got a bigger crowd, including non-believers in the opposition .
In September 1989, the first protests of small, mostly youthful groups took place in which slogans were attached to bridges and house walls. The State Security was able to identify and arrest a total of six people from two of these groups, but they were released on October 13 after the first major demonstrations in Plauen and Leipzig. At a festive service on September 24th in the city church, Thuringian regional bishop Werner Leich sued for necessary social changes. He spoke out for a new version of the electoral law, for freedom of travel and open discussions and talks to deal with the grievances, but also for prudence.
Highlights of the turn
The autumn of 1989 was the most important political period in the thousand-year history of the city of Meiningen . The numerous events, the highlights of which are listed here, included a total of 25 demonstrations with between 1,000 and 25,000 participants, citizens' forums, a round table and warning strikes.
October 1989
The songwriter and lyricist Kurt Demmler , co-signer of the resolution of rock musicians and songwriters for democratization and media freedom in the GDR, appeared on October 3, 1989 in Meiningen with two events. In some songs he criticized the GDR state and then carried the resolution of the rock musicians and songwriters and a statement by the New Forum . Knowing about the activities of the well-known musician, the MfS and various SED organs penetrated the audience with numerous troublemakers, which, however, could only seriously disturb the second event after their staff had been strengthened. Nevertheless Demmler wrote in the guest book of the Meininger Kulturhaus, quote: “So good so anger - the dialogue has begun! Good power, friends! "
The weekly prayers for peace experienced a rapidly increasing number of people. At the beginning of October, the church organizers around Ulrich Töpfer considered a first demonstration after the peace prayer, but were not yet able to take responsibility for the numerous participants who were unprotected outside the church in contrast to the interior of the church. In any case they wanted to hold peaceful demonstrations, but the time was not ripe enough.
On October 24, 1989, after the peace prayer in the city church, the first demonstration with around 1,000 participants took place. The route led through the northern city center, beginning at the market, through Georgstraße, Marienstraße, today's Neu-Ulmer-Straße and Untere Kaplaneistraße back to the market past the district offices of the MfS and the SED. An example of the precise observation of the prayers for peace by the Stasi is their strictly confidential report 78/89 of October 24th. Here, the participants in the peace prayer are divided into 800 young people up to 25 years of age, 180 adults up to 50 years of age and 20 children, and the topics of the peace prayer, the slogans, chants and route of the demonstration are named. With a few exceptions, the route described was used again and again for the weekly demonstrations in the coming months. A decisive feature of all demonstrations was the carrying of burning candles as a sign of peacefulness, which were then parked at the various state institutions. In order to take the growing pressure off the streets and to reduce the influence of the church, at the instigation of the SED party leadership, the director of the Meininger Theater , Jürgen Juhnke, organized a first citizens' forum on October 29th in the full house of the theater. Leading members of the SED and the bloc parties had to answer questions from the population. Further forums in the theater followed on November 5th and 12th. After the peace prayer on October 31, 1989, around 5,000 citizens took part in the demonstration.
November 1989
On November 1st, after a citizens' forum in the Volkshaus, the working group “Group 21” was founded. He was the most active of several citizens' initiatives that represented the opinions, needs and wishes of the citizens, campaigned for free elections and opposed the claim to leadership of a party or organization.
November 7, 1989 became the most important day in the city's political history. In the city church and in front of it on the market, around 25,000 citizens gathered to pray for peace that evening. During the event, the overcrowded church received the news that the GDR government had resigned. The emotional reaction of the people afterwards was indescribable. After the peace prayer, the largest march formed during the fall of the Wall in southern Thuringia with around 25,000 participants. This time he took a different, longer route and also passed the district council , the People's Police District Office and relatively close to a barracks of the Soviet Army . Thousands of burning candles crowned the fences, ledges and walls of the government offices.
On the night of November 9-10, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell . Shortly after midnight, the Eußenhausen – Meiningen border crossing, only ten kilometers away, was opened to GDR citizens. In the following days, the cars from many parts of the GDR backed up into the city area and caused traffic chaos for days. After the peace prayer on November 14th, around 9,000 citizens again demonstrated for free elections and reforms. On November 19, 1989, members of the Meininger Theater who belonged to the Democracy Now movement organized a large-scale demonstration. The train with around 10,000 people led from the theater to the market, where several speakers advocated freedom of the press, expression and assembly. The District Association of Democratic Awakening was constituted on November 28th in Meiningen, where it became the leading political opposition force.
December 1989
In the Meiningen Reichsbahn repair shop , the largest company in the city, there was a warning strike on December 2 to improve working and living conditions. On December 5, the district attorney secured the files in the district office of the Stasi, which was renamed the Office for National Security on November 17 , in the presence of citizens' committees and church representatives. In the evening, after the peace prayer, there was another large demonstration with around 20,000 participants. After the dissolution of the Office for National Security on December 7th, the district attorney sealed the Meiningen office building.
On December 14th, the first meeting and consultation of the round table set up by the “Group 21” to deal with upcoming problems took place. Representatives of the Democratic Awakening, the Forum Party, the Römhild Citizens' Initiative , the Catholic and Protestant Church, Group 21, the SED and the bloc parties took part. Among other things, they formed a committee of inquiry to uncover corruption and abuse of office. The evening after the peace prayer, around 4,000 participants in the demonstration called for German unity . On December 19, the peace prayer was overshadowed by a bomb threat. Then around 2,000 citizens took part in a silent march through the city center to warn them. The FRG citizens were allowed to pass the border without a visa from December 24th. Together at midnight, the Bad Neustädter District Administrator Fritz Steigerwald , the Mellrichstadt Mayor Oskar Herbig and the Meiningen Mayor Kurt Wiebel crossed the Eußenhausen-Meiningen border crossing.
January to May 1990
After the turn of the year, the peace prayers and demonstrations continued. On January 9, 1990, the route of the demonstration passed the local editorial office of Freie Wort , the district organ of the SED, for the first time in order to induce a rethink there. During the peace prayer on January 16, 1990, which was followed by another demonstration with 4,500 people, several speakers warned not to split up the reform forces and not to slacken with the efforts of renewal. In January and February there were several warning strikes in the Meiningen factory of the Ruhlaer Uhrenwerke , the printing works of the Freie Worts, the Kombinat OGS , various PGHs and in the consumer sector for higher wages and better working conditions. At the round tables, the main topics were the ailing health care system and the housing shortage. With reference to the poor medical care, 1,300 employees of the Meiningen health facilities carried out a silent march through the city center on February 1.
At the Tuesday demonstration on February 6, the dissolution of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and again German unity were called for. The first edition of the revived Meininger Tageblatt was published on February 20 . The paper was banned by the National Socialists in 1935 , was no longer allowed to appear in the GDR and was now the first independent Meiningen local newspaper. The Green Party held a demonstration on March 10 for environmental protection and improvements for the disabled. In the first free and secret election to the People's Chamber of the GDR on March 18, the turnout in the city and district of Meiningen was 96%. The 10th and final round table was held on April 19th.
The last prayer for peace took place on May 29, 1990 in the town church. Also present was the first democratically elected city parliament, which began its legislative period here with a peace prayer .
memory
The first democratically elected mayor after the fall of the Berlin Wall and co-initiator of the Meiningen turning movement, ophthalmologist Dr. Horst Strohbusch , published a comprehensive documentation of the events in a book in 1999. The work had a second edition in 2009. In addition to the Meiningen district archive, the Meiningen city archive stores numerous photo and film documents, posters and banners, as well as reports and tapes from the State Security. Some of them were shown in an exhibition in the literary museum of the Meiningen museums in October and November 2009 . There are also original recordings of a report from SDR4 Schwaben Radio Ulm , which reported for three days from the events of the fall of the Berlin Wall in Meiningen.
On October 24, 2009, after a memorial event and a prayer for peace, a memorial stele made of Kirchheim limestone of the Goldbank variety was inaugurated on the north side of the town church with significant dates from the time of the fall of the Wall. On the same day an iron floor slab with the inscription "The light came from the church - autumn 1989" was embedded in the pavement in front of the entrance portal of the church. The two memorials, financed from donations, were initiated by the preparatory group “20 Years of Peaceful Revolution in Meiningen”.
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the first Meiningen Wende demonstration, a bronze plaque was unveiled on October 24, 2014 at the rectory at Am Mittleren Rasen to commemorate the founding of the “Discussion Group for Peace and Ecology” by the revolutionary activist Ulrich Töpfer in 1983 . Above the lines of text, the symbol of the GDR peace movement “ Swords to Plowshares ” adorns the board.
literature
- Horst Strohbusch : The light came from the church - the turning point in Meiningen in 1989/90. Verlag Börner PR, Meiningen 1999/2009, ISBN 3-930675-19-6 .
- Kuratorium Meiningen (Hrsg.): Lexicon for the history of the city of Meiningen. Bielsteinverlag, Meiningen 2008, ISBN 978-3-9809504-4-2 .
- Norbert Reichling : "We were actually the normal ones". The Monday Circle in Meiningen / Thuringia, in: ders./ with Kerstin Engelhardt (Hrsg.): Stubbornness in the GDR province. Four local studies on nonconformity and opposition, Schwalbach / Ts. 2011
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Lexicon on the history of the city of Meiningen, Bielsteinverlag 2008, p. 235.
- ↑ paragraph - straw Busch: The light came from the church , publishing Börner, Meiningen 1999th
- ↑ a b c Strohbusch: The light came from the church - review , Verlag Börner, Meiningen 1999, pp. 8, 18, 51.
- ↑ a b paragraphs - Strohbusch: The light came from the church - The prayers for peace , Verlag Börner, Meiningen 1999, pp. 59, 60, 185.
- ↑ Strohbusch: The light came from the church - opposition members. Verlag Börner, Meiningen 1999, p. 144.
- ↑ Stasi Suhl: BSTK report 000076 of 26 September 1989th
- ↑ Major General Lange, MfS: Report 152/89 on the recital with Kurt Demmler, Suhl district administration on October 4, 1989.
- ↑ Meiningen district archive
- ↑ Major General Lange, MfS: Report No. 78/89 to the 1st Secretary of the SED district leadership Pechauf. Written on October 25, 1989.
- ↑ a b c d FW Meininger Tageblatt: Time runs. Issued September 26, 2009.
- ↑ Strohbusch: The light came from the church - competition for prayers for peace. Verlag Börner, Meiningen 1999, p. 133.
- ↑ Strohbusch: The light came from the church - initiative groups. Verlag Börner, Meiningen 1999, p. 155.
- ↑ a b Strohbusch: The light came from the church - The prayers for peace in the city church. Verlag Börner 1999, pp. 81-92.
- ↑ Major General Lange, MfS Suhl: Information No. 191/89 on the demonstration of November 7, 1989, written on November 8, 1989.
- ↑ Paragraph - FW Meininger Tageblatt: Time runs. Edition of October 2, 2009.
- ↑ a b c FW Meininger Tageblatt: Time runs. Edition of October 2, 2009.
- ↑ Free Word - local part Meiningen, article: Burning candles in front of "Free Word". Issued January 11, 1990.
- ↑ a b Strohbusch: The light came from the church - The prayers for peace in the city church. Verlag Börner 1999, pp. 117-132.
- ↑ a b FW Meininger Tageblatt: Time runs. Issued October 17, 2009.
- ^ Meininger Tageblatt, October 16, 2009 edition.