Speech OB 07.10.2011

for the inauguration of the memorial stone to the peaceful revolution on 7 October 2011

The spoken word counts!

Cornelia Thieme writes about 7 October 1989 in Chemnitz:
"I came.
To this place
at this time.

It was arranged.
Because: enough is enough.

We are standing here now.
Those who have been criticised - you know who they are -
and those who no longer want to take part.
Close together.

Talking quietly,
Circling wide-awake eyes.

Wait and see.

Not everyone can get in.
Those standing outside wait. (...)

Restlessness. Doubt. Strife.
Also resignation.
And this anger in my stomach."

Dear members of the Bundestag, the Saxon State Parliament, the Chemnitz City Council,
Dear mayors,
Dear citizens of Chemnitz,
On 7 October 1989, a large, visible and peaceful protest movement grew out of silent, individual and long suppressed dissatisfaction.
It was not a single person, not a single city that was responsible for the peaceful revolution.
It was the many people in the many places.

They took to the streets and demanded change.
They wanted freedom, co-determination, democracy.
There were many of them. And there were more and more of them. And that was their great strength.

It was in this place that the impetus to overcome intimidation and fight for democracy was born in our city. We want to commemorate the courage that these citizens showed.
I am delighted to welcome you here for the inauguration of the memorial stone.
"I have seen what I would never have thought possible and I am shocked," wrote a contemporary witness in her diary on 7 October '89.

She meets up with friends at the Luxor.
She waits in front of the theatre. Then a procession of people spontaneously forms.
Several hundred men and women march silently to the central bus stop.
The initial tension is followed by fear when the demonstrators see the police and riot squads. They are surrounded, dispersed and several are arrested.

But many Karl-Marx-Städter see this: water cannons, dogs, battle shields against the population and a helicopter flying low.
Just a few metres away, the GDR is celebrating itself with a public festival.

And yet they cannot ignore the signal that many citizens have sent out on this day. The first major public outcry against the socialist rulers was a signal. And it is getting stronger and stronger.

In St John's Church and other places, citizens persistently and courageously continue to demand their rights and push for change.
The peaceful revolution succeeds because many more demonstrations and discussions follow.
For our city, 7 October 1989 is the day on which the peaceful revolution began. With the memorial stone at this point, we commemorate the starting point.

The idea is to consciously, but only literally, "stumble" over history here.
After 22 years, this memorial is an invitation to retrace history in our city and keep it alive.

For most contemporary witnesses, the autumn of 1989 is probably the most haunting and emotional autumn they experienced. Getting together to talk about it was a major concern of the working group that came together to create the memorial stone.
I would like to sincerely thank the members of the working group:
the former theatre director Hartwig Albiro,
the honorary citizen Christoph Magirius,
the artists Thomas Ranft and Steffen Volmer,
the city councillors and other members.

The exhibition "Memories of Autumn 89" also offers an opportunity to talk and immerse oneself in history.

It opens today at 3 pm in the Bürgerhaus am Wall to mark the inauguration of the memorial stone.
Diary entries, poems and contemporary documents provided by citizens are on display.
At the exhibition opening, contemporary witnesses will talk about their experiences around 7 October 89.
And young people who did not experience the peaceful revolution themselves will ask the questions.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The memorial stone is dedicated to all the citizens who were politically active 22 years ago, who stood here on the Luxor forecourt and demonstrated peacefully,
who took part in further talks and demonstrations,
who stood up for values such as democracy and freedom and together made the upheaval possible.

In the autumn of 1989, the people of the GDR achieved something that had seemed unthinkable for decades: they brought down the Wall from the inside.

I'm leaving, writes Cornelia Thieme.
I'm going and everyone is going with me!
Always behind me.
Every step is leaden.
And yet: I walk.
Breathless.
Wordlessly.
Full of fear.
But we are walking!

Clapping.
Yes, clapping!
The rhythm drives us forward.
Still uncertain, but connecting.
That gives us courage! (...)
We stay together.
We've made it!

Slowly we walk.
Step by step.
Forwards.
Here we are.