Democracy Now (East Germany)

Democracy Now (Brief description: DJ) was one of the citizen movements that emerged in the GDR in the fall time and this helped shape much. It was officially founded on 12 September 1989 and left in 1991 by merger with parts of the New Forum and the Initiative for Peace and Human Rights in the Alliance 90.

Prehistory

Democracy Now had its roots in a working group "Initiative for rejection of practice and principle of demarcation " of the Berlin Evangelical Bartholomew community. This had made ​​an application to the Synod of the Evangelical Church in Berlin- Brandenburg in April 1987, this may express a rejection of practice and principle of accrual and at the same time, occur for a number of political demands, such as the freedom to travel. In the formulation he leaned aware of the " rejection of the spirit, logic and practice of deterrence ", which expressed the Synod of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in the GDR as a peace political commitment in 1983. After the Synod had given the application is initially in two of its committees and discussion on the communities, the working group turned in a call to the Christians in the GDR, to discuss this issue. In the following seminars were held on this question; the Synod of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in the GDR dealt in September 1987 and 1988 with the theme demarcation in society. On 13 August 1989, an event marking the 28th anniversary of the Wall's construction took place in the Treptower Bekenntniskirche held at which Hans -Jürgen Fischbeck, a member of the working group, an opposition umbrella movement called for democratic renewal in the GDR.

Founding manifesto

On September 12, 1989, a " call for interference in their own right ", the founding manifesto of democracy was now adopted in this working group. It carries 12 signatures from members of this working group, almost all originating from Berlin, among them the physicist and Synod Hans -Jürgen Fischbeck, co-founder of the organization Women for Peace Ulrike Poppe, the Church historian Dr. Wolfgang Ullmann and film director Konrad Weiss. The call starts with the sentence "Our country lives in internal strife. " And then describes in several paragraphs the situation in the GDR. Based on that " Democracy Now " is called and named some general goals, such as a " caring society ", " freedom and human dignity for all ," a "living pluralism ", the rule of law and the harmony between economy and ecology establishing the civil rights movement. At a representative meeting in early 1990, a policy statement was to be decided. Aim would be to participate with your own list at the next parliamentary elections.

The call was accompanied, in which a variety of concrete political demands for the democratization of the state and economy, decoupling of state and society and the ecological transformation have been collected " Theses for a democratic transformation in the GDR." The unity of Germany was already formulated in this thesis as a target: "We invite the Germans in the Federal Republic, to contribute to a transformation of their society that could allow a new unity of the German people in the house community of European nations. Both German states should reform to the unit will on each other. "

History

End of October 1989 playing democracy now a signature campaign to amend Article 1 of the Constitution, codifying the leadership of the SED. In November spread democracy to the proposal of a " Quadripartite table " at which representatives of the SED, the block parties and members of the Church and the civil rights movement should participate, a proposal which was implemented in December in the form of the round table now. As of December was held the round table at which democracy participated Now with two representatives. His speakers were Hans -Jürgen Fischbeck, Ulrike Poppe, Konrad Weiss and Wolfgang Ullmann.

At the parliamentary elections in 1990 democracy now joined in an electoral alliance with the New Forum and the Initiative for Peace and Human Rights, which reached 2.9 % of the vote and 12 of 400 seats. The eight members of the Green Party in the GDR together they formed the group Alliance 90/Grüne. Democracy came now and for a social and ecological market economy, rule of law and for the unity of Germany in three stages (approach, confederation, federation of German states).

On September 21, 1991 from parts of New Forum, the Initiative for Peace and Human Rights and Democracy was founded in Potsdam now the Alliance 90 as a party, which in turn united in May 1993 with the Greens. In Saxony founded Democracy Now already in September 1991 together with Greens, New Forum and the Initiative for Peace and Human Rights, the party Alliance 90/The Greens in Saxony.

Known members (DJ)

Almuth Berger; Stephan Bickhardt; Hans -Jürgen Fischbeck; Katrin Göring -Eckardt; Regine Hildebrandt; Ludwig Mehlhorn; Ulrike Poppe; Wolfgang Tiefensee; Wolfgang Ullmann; Konrad Weiss

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