A chant challenging the party’s claim to speak for everyone.
The SED claimed the leading role in the GDR. By chanting “We are the people”, demonstrators asserted that the population itself wanted a say in its political future. Demands included freedom of expression and democratic participation.
In Leipzig, Monday demonstrations grew out of gatherings after prayers for peace. Tens of thousands demonstrated there on 9 October 1989. The movement also spread to other places and formed part of the Peaceful Revolution.
The other three answers
The other options also name protests, but not the historical context sought.
at the workers' uprising in 1953 in the GDR
The uprising of 17 June 1953 also occurred in the GDR, but was violently suppressed. This question refers to the Monday demonstrations of 1989.
at the demonstrations in 1968 in the Federal Republic of Germany
Protests around 1968 in the Federal Republic included the student movement. Their year and political context differ from autumn 1989 in the GDR.
at the anti-nuclear demonstrations in 1985 in the Federal Republic of Germany
The anti-nuclear movement opposed the use of nuclear power. The chant sought here is associated with the democratic protests of 1989 in the GDR.
Historical context matters more than a word alone.
The answer does not mean these words were never spoken elsewhere. A slogan can appear in different contexts. The catalogue refers to their well-known association with the Monday demonstrations of 1989.
“Peaceful Revolution” does not mean demonstrators faced no danger. State intimidation and violence were also part of the reality in 1989. That made the non-violent course of Leipzig’s large demonstration on 9 October especially significant.
Monday demonstrations · House of History ↗“We are the people” → Monday demonstrations → GDR 1989.
Link the chant to a year and a political demand: participation in place of the SED’s claim to rule.
Three words for this question
- die MontagsdemonstrationMonday demonstration
- A demonstration held regularly on Mondays; here the protests of 1989.
- die Mitbestimmungparticipation in decisions
- Being able to participate in decisions affecting collective life.
- die Losungslogan / chant
- A short phrase expressing a shared demand.