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Written by Stephen Brown
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Sunday, 31 May 2009 14:26 |
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(ENI) — Christians in eastern Germany have launched a campaign to mark the 20th anniversary of the peaceful revolution that overthrew communism, with a light sculpture shone onto the walls of the regional parliament building in Erfurt.
The work by artist Ingo Bracke projected words such as “peace,” “reconciliation,” “non-violence,” and “solidarity” onto the building that once housed the communist-run administration for the district of Erfurt in the days of totalitarian rule.
The sculpture included extracts of texts from the Ecumenical Assembly that gathered delegates from all East Germany’s main churches in April 1989. That was less than six months before the country was engulfed in its autumn revolution. Despite still having strict communist rule, the assembly demanded, among other things, secret ballots for elections, freedom of opinion and freedom to travel, and the right to form independent associations.
This was the “handwriting on the wall” that East Germany’s communist rulers refused to recognize, said Bishop Christoph Kähler of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany, at the launch of the campaign on April 29. “That meant the end of their regime, through a peaceful revolution,” he said. “People took burning candles onto the street and voiced their protests. … ”
As the light shone on the parliamentary building, a sound collage was broadcast with spoken extracts, the sounds of church bells, and snippets of music by German composer Johann Sebastian Bach.
The campaign to remember the revolution is called “Holy Disorder”. It seeks not only to recall the events of 1989, but also to mobilize church members to get involved in politics as 2008 is a year in which Germany faces a general election.
East Germany’s 1989 peaceful uprising has sometimes been dubbed a “Protestant revolution” because of the prominent role played by church members, and the street demonstrations that followed packed prayer meetings for peace and change. The protests paved the way for the re-unification of Germany in 1990.
Communist party politburo member Horst Sindermann is reputed to have lamented after being deposed, “We were prepared for everything, but not candles and prayers.”
The Ecumenical Assembly in East Germany received inspiration from the World Council of Churches, which called on its members to take action to promote justice, peace, and the integrity of creation.
“The Ecumenical Assembly was the basis and formed the roots for many other political demands and political program that were developed in autumn 1989,” said Bishop Kähler in an interview with Ecumenical News International, explaining why the “Holy Disorder“ campaign has been launched on the 20th anniversary of the Ecumenical Assembly. “If we had not had this groundwork, we would not have been able to act as directly and peacefully as we did.”
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FROM PRAYER TO DEMONSTRATION: The Neglected History of East German Churches in the 1980s
Eppelmann, a former pastor, was active for decades in the church in East Germany and suffered for his beliefs and strong stances.
For example, Eppelman opposed the East German Communist states military draft in the 1960s and served time in jail for this. In 1990, however, he suddenly found himself appointed as Defense Minister for the very last East German government.
Eppelmann changed the name of the office as well—he changed it to the "Ministry of Defense and Disarmament". Eppelmann has since served in the parliament and for government for a United Germany several times over the past two decades. As far as my research can demonstrate, there has never been another government in history with a “Ministry of Defense and Disarmament”.