Women’s Initiatives, Associations & Projects* 1989/1990 in the GDR

A complex and multifaceted network of legends has emerged surrounding the events of 1989. At the time of the democratic uprising, 17 million people were present, and at its core was the “city of Leipzig full of heroes.” This is a compelling vision, yet it is only one of the legends that may be found in two hundred years’ time in some database under the index “GDR.” However, one might inquire as to the value of four decades of the GDR. When placed in the context of thousands of years of human history, the significance of such a period is reduced to a mere dot. From the perspective of an individual, the temporal scale may differ – encompassing half a lifetime, or even a quarter of it. Despite the tendency to view our own history through a favourable lens, we endeavour once more to utilise a jigsaw puzzle of events to delineate the image, or at the very least the contours, of women’s activities before and after 1989.

The political movements of the 1980s in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) were co-determined and supported by women. While this fact is indisputable, the political significance of this period has been somewhat obscured.

With the fall of the Berlin Wall and official confirmation of the manipulation of the 1989 local elections, the decision-making powers of the then city administration were effectively abolished. In February 1990, the “Round Table” took over full legislative power and control of all executive bodies. The resolutions passed at the “Round Tables” by the representatives of the existing parties and citizens’ initiatives were binding and had to be implemented.

Politically engaged women very quickly recognized the need to formulate women’s interests together and find ways to make them known to the public – and founded their own political platform on 22 November 1989. A church in the east of Leipzig became the first meeting place for women in the city. As a result of this meeting, various working groups were formed to deal with different areas of female existence in society. The First Autonomous Women’s Shelter Leipzig emerged from the working group “Women in Emergency Situations”, the Women’s Library MONAliesA from “Women’s Literature”, Women’s Culture Leipzig from “Female Art and Aesthetics” and the “Women’s Initiative Leipzig” was founded, which co-founded the UFV (Independent Women’s Association) on December 3, 1989.

*) Round tables were established as administrative instruments at various levels of governance, including the municipal level. Their tenure was cut short by the local elections in May 1990.