Leipzig in November 1989
The situation in Leipzig on the morning of 10 November – the first day after the Wall came down – was different to that in Berlin. There was none of the international jubilation that had gripped Berlin at the time, there was no Brandenburg Gate and no Berlin Wall to climb or even knock out a piece of it with a hammer. But there was a very special atmosphere in the city. It was clear to everyone: the world is a different place from now on. And we experienced the pride of the people of Leipzig in our conversations. Of their city, which had played an important role in the fall of the Wall: from the prayers for peace in St Nicholas' Church to the Monday demonstrations in Leipzig city centre with the slogans »We are the people«, »Join us!« and »No violence!«
In contrast to the emotionally charged Berlin, the mood in the city was characterised by substantive discussions – what is the way forward, what political path do we want to take? Whether on the streets, on Karl-Marx-Platz or at panel discussions in the Gewandhaus.
Gewandhaus conductor Kurt Masur at a discussion event in the Gewandhaus
The following Monday, 150,000 people responded to the call to demonstrate in Leipzig city centre. The participants vented their anger particularly in front of the Stasi headquarters on Dittrichring, the infamous Round Corner. But you could sense how the events of the past few days had given way to an enthusiastic spirit of optimism, as opposed to the fear that was still prevalent in October that the state might follow the Chinese example and violently crush the movement.
A few days later, we returned to Berlin – a return to a completely new world, so to speak. While we had to cross Checkpoint Charlie into East Berlin as an international delegation the previous week, there was suddenly a gaping hole in the wall at Potsdamer Platz. A section of the wall had simply been torn down and was missing. And an improvised border crossing had been set up there, where we could simply show our ID.
At the Brandenburg Gate, we found ourselves in a strange crowd waving their German flags in a drunken hangover mood, as if in slow motion after a far too long night of partying. As if you could have felt a foretaste of the years to come even then.
