1989 as a Mandate: Missed Opportunities? New Perspectives
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| 5 Euro/ 3 Euro reduced |
| Doors open at 6:00 p.m. |
| 16 years and older |
| German |
| Berlin Exhibition, 1st floor, Hall 5 Berlin Room |
Was a democratic fresh start missed in 1989/90? At BERLIN GLOBAL, experiences from the years of transformation meet young perspectives.
In 1989, people in the GDR overcame the SED dictatorship. The working group “New Constitution” of the Central Round Table discussed democracy, freedom and participation and presented a draft constitution in 1990. However, it failed to spark a broad public debate.
Which opportunities for democratic renewal were missed? And does this contribute to the dissatisfaction many people feel today?
The discussion will feature Sabine Bergmann-Pohl, former President of the first freely elected Volkskammer (People’s Chamber), Paulina Fröhlich, an expert on democracy and social cohesion at the Bertelsmann Foundation, Manuela Ritz, social worker, coach and author, and activist Max Schneller.The event is moderated by Dagmar Hovestädt.
Beteiligte
Sabine Bergmann-Pohl served as President of the first democratically elected People’s Chamber (Volkskammer) in 1990, making her the last head of state of the GDR. During her presidency, on 23 August 1990, the People’s Chamber voted for the GDR’s accession to the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, thereby paving the way for its dissolution. Following German reunification, she served as a member of the German Bundestag, Federal Minister for Special Affairs and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Health. Since 2022, she has been Chair of the Deutsche Gesellschaft e. V.
Manuela Ritz is a social worker, coach and author. For the past two decades, she has worked in political education to combat discrimination and promote critical reflection on power structures and diversity. Her areas of focus include adultism, anti-racism, and empowerment for people affected by racism, as well as addressing the power imbalance between East and West Germany.
Paulina Fröhlich is a Senior Expert in the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s “Democracy and Social Cohesion” programme, where she works on democratic reform and democracy policy. Previously, she worked at the Berlin-based think tank “Das Progressive Zentrum”, where she led the “Resilient Democracy” programme area. In 2020, Capital magazine named her one of Germany’s Top 40 Under 40 in the category of Society and Science.
Max Schneller is one of the youngest and most widely followed political activists from eastern Germany. In April 2025, he went viral after speaking at a Querdenken demonstration in his hometown of Bad Dürrenberg, presenting views very different from those many participants had expected to hear. Since then, he has become a public figure.
Dagmar Hovestädt is an international archives expert. From 2011 to 2021, she served as spokesperson for the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records. From 2021 to 2024, she headed the Department of Education and Research at the German Federal Archives. Since 2024, she has been a lecturer at the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the University of Galway.
The event takes place as part of “Berlin Freedom Week” and concludes the four-part series “Beyond Borders: Drawing, Tearing Down and Shifting Boundaries” at BERLIN GLOBAL.
