Europe
Berlin Embassy Cable, The GDR Political Crisis: Still Deepening. October 4, 1989
On the eve of East Germany fortieth anniversary celebrations, it appeared that the SED was losing control. Several pressure points in society were mounting at the same time.
Excerpt From the Diary of Anatoly Chernyaev
Anatoly Chernyaev was Mikhail Gorbachev's chief foreign policy advisor during the dramatic events of 1989.
Berlin Embassy Cable, GDR Political Crisis: Still Deepening. October 6, 1989
The level of unrest in East Germany had been increasing throughout the summer of 1989 and a major focal point of concern for both the East German security forces and international observers concerned the very prominent visit of Mikhail Gorbachev to attend the GDR's 40th anniversary celebrations.
Record of Main Content of Conversation Between Mikhail Gorbachev and Members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist United Party of Germany
During Mikhail Gorbachev's historic visit to East Germany on the occasion of the GDR's 40th anniversary, he met with the SED politburo.
Excerpt From the Diary of Anatoly Chernyaev
Anatoly Chernyaev was Mikhail Gorbachev's chief foreign policy advisor during the dramatic events of 1989.
Memorandum Regarding a Conversation between Vadim Medvedev and Kurt Hager in the CC of CPSU in Moscow
Following on the heels of Mikhail Gorbachev's visit to the GDR to celebrate its 40th anniversary, GDR Minister of Culture, Kurt Hager, traveled to Moscow for the GDR Culture Days, which opened on October 12, 1989, and included not only a showcase of East German cultural offerings, but the signing
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
This is still quite easily the best single location of source materials in English for the Reformation period online.
US Mission cable, Summary of Berlin Press End of the Cold War
The press excerpts gathered here by the U.S. Embassy in East Berlin and transmitted to offices in Washington, Bonn, Brussels, and Tokyo reflect the growing urgency of the situation in East Berlin.
Excerpts from Chernyaev's Theses Prepared for Gorbachev's Report to the Defense Council
In this excerpt from the Mikhail Gorbachev's remarks to the Soviet Union's Defense Council, his chief foreign policy advisor Anatoly Chernyaev lays out the argument by Gorbachev that the Soviet Union can no longer sustain the arms race with the west that had raged as a part of the Cold War since
Czechoslovak Ministry of Interior Memorandum, Information on the Security Situation in the CSSR
In October 1989, the situation was growing dire for the Czechoslovak communists. Increasing unrest and change in other Eastern Bloc countries was quickly isolating conservatives and emboldening the domestic opposition.