25 years ago, the Era Honecker came to an end. In the morning of October 17, 1989, all the members of the Politburau, even those who were known to be the most loyal to him, forced Erich Honecker to resign. They had sought the consent of Gorbachev the day before. The fact that he whole state by constitution was completely concentrated on the figure of the general secretary had led them to see his unwillingness to face the actual problems and his delusion that reform was unnecessary as far more than an individual inaptitude but as the main obstacle to moving forward. Honecker was shocked and tried to stick to business as usual. In the end, in the service of unanimity, also as usual, he voted for his own dismissal in the end. However, when he officially resigned the next day, in his speech to the central committee, it was covered as an act necessitated by his degenerating health. Also, unlike planned, he himself suggested Egon Krenz as a successor right away. When Krenz gave a speech later that day, the East Germans did not see massive change, a somewhat revolutionary act within the soialist leadership, but only a handover to Egon Krenz, a protegé of Honeckers. What was meant to save the socialist state of the GDR, became only a measure to prolong its life - for 3 more weeks.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 08:59:20 +0000
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