Morale collapsed sharply in the GDR itself. There. who applied for a permit to emigrate and were still waiting for an answer, they fell into despair, thousands of others, who so far have tried to settle for some-way-coping, suddenly began to think about emigration. In the meantime, opposition groups such as the New Forum began to emerge, and the people of East Germany wore their heads higher and higher as the old regime began to withdraw in panic. Illegal leaflets calling for reform and dialogue began to be printed and distributed. SED leader Erich Honecker, whose name the West German Bild Zeitung did not hesitate to include in the rubric "dead”, he reappeared on the scene of events, just in time to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the GDR. Mikhail Gorbachev was among the guests of honor, to whom the inhabitants of East Germany gave a warm welcome; a delegation from Beijing came to thank SED for expressing public approval of the Tienanmen Square massacre; The Romanian dictator Ceausescu was also present.
During the celebration of the anniversary, 7 October, the tension did not leave all its participants. Gorbachev emphasized the need for dialogue, openness to new ideas, and the West German point of view. Honecker, on the contrary, praised the status quo using well-worn phrases, as if he had never noticed the rising explosion of society at all. The proud military parade and the presentation of the achievements of socialism passed relatively calmly (only faithful party members were within range of the television cameras), but riots broke out in the side streets along the route. Later in the day, they turned into a huge demonstration, which was brutally dealt with by the police and the Stasi. Thousands of people. who were arrested, they were beaten and treated in a degrading manner. However, as confidence began to leave the people of the regime, social determination began to gain strength.
A week later, most of those arrested 7 on October, she was released, and some newspapers disguised disapproval of the way the party leadership wanted to resolve the crisis. The political office expressed its readiness to talk to the opposition, however, it was not appropriate to legalize these groups. On Monday 9 in October, demonstrations spread across the country, and in Leipzig, where it marched through the streets 70 thousand. demonstrators, there was almost bloodshed. The local security authorities were instructed by Honecker, to crush protests by all means available, not excluding the use of weapons. Emergency room services were introduced in municipal hospitals, Additional liters of blood plasma had been hastily brought in. necessary when a large number of injured people are expected. However, Honecker's orders were never followed. It is not known exactly whether someone from the politburo gave the opposite orders, or whether the local party or security chief simply ignored the will of the leader. The bottom line is this, that some of the people of the regime were determined to prevent the mass slaughter.
It really is, it seems that the entire political office has lost faith in the possibility of continuing Honecker's uncompromising policy. He was the most hated person by society, and the strength of the protests grew day by day. In Leipzig, headquarters of the opposition, took part in recent demonstrations 150 thousand. people. Party leaders could not withstand such strong pressure from the public: 18 October, After eighteen years Erich Honecker was replaced as Secretary General by Egon Krenz. Probably Honecker threatened to resign, if the political bureau refused to accept his hard-handed policy; instead of the consent he expected, his resignation was accepted in silence, then Honecker left the meeting without a word, "old, broken man”. crown, called "heir to the throne”, 52 the summer member of the politburo was considered a hard-handed politician — — not unfounded, it was he who congratulated the Beijing government on cracking down on democratic movements. Contrary to expectation. Krenz declared his readiness to enter into dialogue with the opposition. However, his reputation stood in the way of breaking the ice of social distrust.