Democratic Awakening (), or Democratic Beginning,
was an
East German
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
political movement and political party that was active during the
Revolutions of 1989
The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Communist state, Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts ...
and in the period leading up to the
German reunification
German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
.
While it was a relatively minor party, it took part in the first democratically elected government in East Germany in 1990, and is especially known because future
Chancellor of Germany
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...
,
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
started her political career within the party.
It was founded on 29 October 1989, based on existing politically active church groups. Founding members included
Wolfgang Schnur,
Friedrich Schorlemmer,
Rainer Eppelmann,
Günter Nooke and
Thomas Welz. The organisation became a political party on December 16/17, 1989 in
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
. The party convention adopted a more conservative program than some of the founding members, like Schorlemmer, were willing to bear, so they left the party. Others, like Nooke, who left some time later, resented the growing cooperation with the
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of East Germany, which had been a member of the Communist-dominated
National Front of parties and mass organisations that had supported the Communist regime.
Democratic Awakening now supported rapid
German reunification
German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
and joined the
Alliance for Germany (''Allianz für Deutschland'') along with the CDU and
German Social Union (DSU) for the
1990 Volkskammer elections on March 18. Only a few days prior to the elections, party chairman Schnur had to confess to having been an informer for the
Ministry for State Security (Stasi), and resigned. Although Alliance for Germany won the elections, Democratic Beginning only collected 0.9% of votes, amounting to four seats in the Volkskammer. Eppelmann became minister for disarmament and defense in the new government and new party chairman. On 4 August 1990, Democratic Beginning ceased to exist after merging into the East German CDU, which in turn on 3 October 1990 merged into its
West German
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...
counterpart, the
Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
From February 1990,
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
served as the party's spokeswoman. After the mergers, Merkel was elected in the
post-unification election as a member of the all-German
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...
for the CDU, was immediately appointed a minister in
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...
's government as a form of East German representation, became party chairwoman in 2000 and eventually
Chancellor of Germany
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...
in 2005.
References
{{Authority control
Peaceful Revolution
Organizations of the Revolutions of 1989
Political parties in East Germany
Dissent
Political parties established in 1989
Political parties disestablished in 1990
Defunct political parties in Germany
1989 establishments in East Germany
1990 disestablishments in East Germany