From May 1989 there were protests in East Germany in support of freedom of travel and environmental protection. Conversely, organized groups

whose main goal was to oppose the government only appeared in September. Their comparatively short existence meant that they initially had little power; plus

they were swiftly infiltrated by the East German secret police, the Stasi.

However, these groups’ close association

with churches ultimately enabled their rapid expansion and networking, and thus they

contributed much to the peaceful revolution that followed. Nonetheless, they remained politically incompetent as an anti-system faction; plus, their later co-operation

with the governing party, the SED, in striving for

the continued existence of East Germany ensured that they quickly wilted once free elections took place.

The formation

of anti-regime movements

Pre-August 1989 anti-war and environmental

movements had no permanent structure, and only came into being when a

particular issue arose. Anti-regime sentiment did not take concrete form at this time for

the following reasons: many anti-regime activists had been imprisoned as

political criminals, then immigrated to West Germany after their release.

Also, the violent suppression by the Soviet Union of a labor protest in 1953 convinced many that anti-regime movements would only add to the

people’s pains whilst accomplishing little. Finally, it was difficult for anti-war and

environmental movements to take up an anti-system focus due to the close surveillance of anti-regime activists in East Germany.

The

condition of anti-regime groups and their roles

According to East German internal security

records, there were 160 “anti-regime organizations” as of June 1989, with a

combined membership number of around 2500. The core numbered just 60.

However, since these groups were organized around churches, networking with

others of like mind was easy, and they grew rapidly as a result.

The two most active groups during the revolution

were New Forum (Neues Forum) and Democracy Now (Demokratzie Jezt). New Forum

was formed on September 13th, 1989 by a group of church ministers. Their goal

was to facilitate greater public participation in societal advancement and

provide a public forum for the discussion of politics, and their rapid expansion

led to a national conference in Leipzig on September 25th that year,

which set the tone for regional chapters.

Democracy Now was founded on September 16th

after allegations of illegitimate conduct during May 6th, 1989 regional

elections. The group’s composition included a mixture of ministers and

Marxists, and their goals were as follows. Firstly, they pursued the transition

from an authoritarian to republican state; secondly, the transition from

state-ownership of the means of production to private ownership; and finally,

the stemming of environmental destruction and pollution. The Social Democratic

Party (Sozial Demokratische Partei; SDP) was formed on October 9th, 1989 after peripheral

members of the ruling SED decided to create their own party with the support of

the West German SPD. The SDP was soon recognized as a counterbalance to the

SED.

Democratic Awakening (Demokratisher

Aufbruch), founded on October 1st, 1989, was composed of ministers, artists,

doctors, and lawyers, and their goal was democracy in East Germany. The

Boehlener Platforum, founded earlier in September, advocated the reformation of

East German society; the Berliner Ensemble was composed of artists, and they were

proponents of democracy. These groups all formed and grew around churches.

The inclusion of religious leaders in their cores ensured that anti-regime

demonstrations remained peaceful; concerned that violence might lead to Soviet

military intervention, the leaders convinced demonstrators to restrain

themselves.

The

limits of anti-regime groups

After the ruling SED collapsed, some of the newly

formed groups such as New Forum and Democracy Now took their place at the political roundtable, alongside remnants of the SED and others. However,

these groups advocated the reformation of East Germany, not a democratic

revolution or German reunification. At the time, many East Germans still believed

that the two Germanys should remain separate, and even those who thought that

reunification would have to eventually take place nonetheless held that socialism ought to be maintained. Like left-wing

intellectuals in West Germany, East German anti-regime movement leaders thought

that the reformation of East Germany was the best solution. They only wanted an

improved socialist system, one that was free of Western materialism and

exploitation.

In March 1990, general elections were held

in East Germany for the first time. A coalition of six groups, including the SPD,

New Forum, and Democracy Now was the ballot. However, this coalition

suffered a major blow with the withdrawal of the SPD, and thouhg they received

the support of the Green Party, later forming Bϋndnis ’90/Grϋne, they only received 2.9% of the vote in the

election.

Since they were new to the political scene, they were politically ineffective.

Moreover, their objectives were the reform of socialism and continued existence

of East Germany. They continued to receive low ratings in later elections: 5.8%

(8 seats) in December 1990, and 7.3% in October 1994.