11/18/2023 0 Comments In twinity design![]() On 4 November, the Alexanderplatz demonstration took place. On 1 November, Krenz authorized the reopening of the border with Czechoslovakia, which had been sealed to prevent East Germans from fleeing to West Germany. : 347 Despite promises of reform, public opposition to the regime continued to grow. Although Krenz promised reforms in his first public speech, he was considered by the East German public to be following his predecessor's policies, and public protests demanding his resignation continued. : 339 Honecker approved the choice, naming Krenz in his resignation speech, and the Volkskammer duly elected him. Honecker had been seriously ill, and those looking to replace him were initially willing to wait for a "biological solution", but by October were convinced that the political and economic situation was too grave. On 18 October 1989, longtime Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) leader Erich Honecker stepped down in favor of Krenz. It was heavily guarded and consisted of 302 watchtowers, and was monitored by guards who had authorization to shoot down anyone who attempted escaping to West Berlin. Both the walls were separated by a mine corridor called 'death strip.' It was 4 meters tall and had a length of 155 kilometers. In addition, East Germany was struggling to meet loan payments on foreign borrowings Egon Krenz sent Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski to unsuccessfully ask West Germany for a short-term loan to make interest payments. However, this movement of people grew so large it caused difficulties for both countries. The emigration was initially tolerated because of long-standing agreements with the communist Czechoslovak government, allowing free travel across their common border. The next day, the first of the embassy refugees left Prague for Bavaria. His speech from the embassy's balcony, which included the line, "Wir sind zu Ihnen gekommen, um Ihnen mitzuteilen, dass heute Ihre Ausreise." ("We came to you, to let you know that today, your departure.") was met with loud cheers and jubilations. On 30 September, following negotiations with East Germany and the Soviet Union, then-West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher went to the Prague embassy to personally inform the thousands of refugees that they have been allowed to leave for West Germany. įollowing the summer of 1989, by early November refugees were finding their way to Hungary via Czechoslovakia or via the West German embassy in Prague. Thus the bracket of the Eastern Bloc was broken. When they came to the picnic, they were given gifts, food and Deutsche Mark, and then they were persuaded to come to the West." The leadership of the GDR in East Berlin did not dare to completely block the borders of their own country and the USSR did not respond at all. ![]() Erich Honecker dictated to the Daily Mirror for the Paneuropa Picnic: "Habsburg distributed leaflets far into Poland, on which the East German holidaymakers were invited to a picnic. After the picnic, which was based on an idea by Otto von Habsburg to test the reaction of the USSR and Mikhail Gorbachev to an opening of the border, tens of thousands of media-informed East Germans set off for Hungary. ![]() It was the largest escape movement from East Germany since the Berlin Wall was built in 1961. Extensive advertising for the planned picnic was made by posters and flyers among the GDR holidaymakers in Hungary. The opening of the Iron Curtain between Austria and Hungary at the Pan-European Picnic on 19 August 1989 set in motion a peaceful chain reaction, at the end of which there was no longer an East Germany and the Eastern Bloc had disintegrated. Further information: Pan-European Picnic and Removal of Hungary's border fence with Austria
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