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Memorandum of Conversation Between Egon Krenz, Secretary General of the Socialist Unity Party and Mikhail S. Gorbachev

The new Secretary General of East Germany, Egon Krenz, traveled to Moscow on November 1, 1989 to meet in person with Gorbachev and assess the situation in East Germany and discuss possible paths forward.

Detail of The Landing of Captain Cook at Botany Bay, 1770  depicted in a 1930s travel poster
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Documenting a Democracy: Australia's Story

This site has particular strengths in presenting legal and constitutional materials on the emergence of a democratic nation in a colonial context.
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Guenter Schabowski's Press Conference in the GDR International Press Center

Günther Schabowski, the spokesman for the East German Communist Party Politburo, played a vital role in the toppling of the East German Communist government in the fall of 1989.

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Verbal Message from Mikhail Gorbachev to Helmut Kohl

With the opening of the border between East and West Germany on November 9, 1989, jubilant crowds took to the streets in Berlin to celebrate this historic event.

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The Russian Revolution: The Problem of Dictatorship

In January 1988, dissidents in East Germany mounted a counter-demonstration during the annual parade honoring the lives of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. Luxemburg and Liebknecht were both killed by right-wing Freikorps vigilantes during the 1919 January revolution.

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Excerpt from Freye Klier's Diary

Freya Klier was a leading theatrical director in East Germany. She and her husband, Stephan Krawczyk, were outspoken critics of the East German regime and were among the leading organizers of the counter-demonstration during the annual Liebknecht-Luxemburg parade in January 1988.

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Remembering the Dead

Professor Dr. Heinz Kamnitzer was the head of the East German writers group, PEN.

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Prague Embassy cable, Brutal Suppression of Czech Students' Demonstration

This official cable sets forth the reaction of the U.S. Embassy in Czechoslovakia to the events of November 17, 1989.

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Teleprint from CC CPCz to First Secretary CC CPS and Secretaries of Regional and District Committees

The Velvet Revolution was named for the remarkably non-violent end to communism in Czechoslovakia. Yet as Milos Jakes and his conservative government scrambled to respond to the aftermath of November 17, they were considering all options.

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Proclamation on the Establishment of Civic Forum

For many years, opposition in Czechoslovakia was represented mainly by Charter 77, a group advocating human rights and peaceful, evolutionary change.