Instead of Violence:
Lessons from Leipzig, Germany, October 9, 1989

A few years ago I wrote a book about the privilege of taking some students to Leipzig, Germany, where we spoke with one of the leaders of the peace prayers movement which helped bring down the Communist Government in the former East Germany.  The leader, a Lutheran Pastor with the unlikely name of Christian Führer, described to us in unforgettable words key moments leading up to the night of Monday, October 9, 1989, when decades of accumulated civil grievances combined improbably with years of weekly gatherings known as “prayers for peace” (Friedensgebet) in which readings from the Sermon on the Mount played a central role.

On the night of Monday, October 9, 1989, 70,000 citizens of Leipzig peacefully walked the ring road encircling the city, many holding candles, knowing full well that along the streets were hundreds of police and soldiers armed with live ammunition. The police had been sent to end the weekly protests once and for all, because from the government’s perspective, they were destabilizing the nation.  As people walked, many chanting  “We are the People” and “No violence,” something truly remarkable happened: no angry protester threw a stone; no nervous soldier fired a shot.  Instead, groups of demonstrators engaged the police and military in respectful conversations as they walked the ring road till nearly midnight when the crowd peacefully went home. There were no winners or losers. Neither side lost face. Not a window was broken. There was just a tremendous feeling of relief. That night East Germany was transformed by a peaceful revolution. A month later the Berlin Wall came down–peacefully.

All these events were in stark contrast to the tragedy only five months earlier in China’s Tiananmen Square when soldiers opened fire on a large demonstration and many were killed. Instead, on October 9 in Leipzig police and protesters collectively wove a collaborative web of non-violence, as demonstrators took the message of waging peace out of the church sanctuary and onto the streets.  After that night, even though demonstrations swept the nation, there was no violence.  In a matter of weeks, the government stood down while a caretaker government arranged for the country’s first and finally free and fair election.  On March 18, 1990, the party advocating early reunification with West Germany won a clear victory at the polls.  One of its youthful members was a young Chemistry researcher named Angela Merkel, whose father was also an East German pastor.