The positive result of the sucessful,¨Miracle¨ of Leipzig was communicated throughout East Germany. Which lead to an increase in protesters with each new Monday Demonstration, even spreading to other places in Germany.
The Demonstrations
Churches Involvement
St. Nicholas Church in Leipzig, Germany was a central role of the protests. The courtyard outside was the location of the peaceful prayer demonstration each Monday night. The pastors at St. Nicholas Church wanted to have freedom within the GDR and they knew their community wanted freedom also. They started out small with prayer sessions, where people could express their fears, even though it was illegal to discuss political opinion, but that wasn't enough; the citizens needed a more democratic government. On September 4, 1989, 1,000 people gathered around the church to communicate their want for freedom. Even though St. Nicholas Church was opposed to the demonstrations escalating to anything more than those peaceful prayer sessions, the people of Leipzig knew that something needed to be done.
Finger, E. (1989). [Protesters in the streets of Leipzig]. Retrieved 2021, from https://voxeurop.eu/en/the-wall-fell-in-leipzig/
The very successful Miracle of Leipzig.
The Miracle of Leipzig
The Miracle of Leipzig was on October 9, 1989. Seventy-thousand citizens of Leipzig gathered in a Church, all rallying for change. The protestors wanted a non-violent, peaceful revolution, but the East German Regime had other plans. Eighthousand troops had been ordered to open fire on the demonstration. The hospitals prepared for the worst with extra staff and supplies, for extra patients, specifically with gunshot wounds. While it could have been for the overwhelming numbers of citizens trying to communicate their want for change in their government, or lack of preparation for a peaceful rally, the security forces did not intervene with the demonstration that day. This protest would be the biggest anti-government protest in East Germany at the time and the most impactful, with the Berlin Wall tumbling one month later.
"We had planned everything. We were prepared for everything. But not for candles and prayers." -Horst Sindermann, former GDR official, Source: The Events in Fall 1989, Nikolaikirche Leipzig
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