Talk:Günter Schabowski

What exactly was the "misunderstanding" mentioned in the article? --Furrykef 03:19, 5 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I think, he was supposed to announce that the travel restrictions (which forbid East Germans to travel to Western countries) were reduced, but he instead announced that they were completely abandoned. (But, personally, I wonder whether this misunderstanding was really an accident or maybe intended... At least, only a year earlier, the border guards certainly wouldn't have opened the gates without an official command by their superior but just because of a TV broadcast of a rather low-ranking politician.) Simon A. 14:58, 25 Sep 2004 (UTC)

According to this statement by Schabowski himself the reason was that he announced the law before it was actually enacted. --MrBurns (talk) 00:40, 20 February 2020 (UTC)

But this quote of him is impressive. Anybody knows when he said that? Simon A. 14:58, 25 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Bias in article

I feel this article is biased in favor of Schabowski. In the last paragraph, it says "Because he accepted his moral guilt and renounced the GDR he was sentenced to only 3 years in prison." His acceptance (whether genuine or not) of moral guilt does not justify a shorter prison term. Rather, the shorter term and the following pardon should be recognized as political acts.

I am not directly involved with this article, but only came to read it because of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I hope other people who have a stake in the truth will come forth and fix this article. For years, East German guards fired on their citizens trying to cross over to West Berlin, and it would be an injustice to those people killed/wounded/captured for this article to show Schabowski as someone other than who he really is. I visited West Berlin in 1980 and due to travel restrictions, had to first land in East Berlin, and then travel with bus to West Berlin. I can tell you that I was thorougly spooked going through the East Berlin airport and being checked for documents by the East Berlin police. And I only had to live through that for what, an hour? People like Schabowski deserve no sympathy.

Todd (talk) 22:37, 8 November 2009 (UTC)

I have read Schabowski's book Der Absturz, and while autobiographies are often self-serving, the picture I get of Schabowski is very different from a typical communist government official like Erich Honecker. Schabowski had a journalism background and rose to the Politburo in 1984, but spent most of his time as something like a Mayor for the city of Berlin beginning in 1985. He genuinely sought dialogue with all sectors of Berlin society and even consulted non-SED parties in his efforts to plug holes in Berlin's faltering industry. He was an admirer of Gorbachev and his new Perestroika and hoped similar policies would improve East Germany. He admits in his book this was illusory. But I think history should remember Schabowski not for his press conference but for his decisive role in conspiring with Egon Krenz to depose Erich Honecker as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the SED at a time when many hardliners around Honecker were advocating a "Chinese Solution" to the ongoing demonstrations in East Germany. But most importantly, Schabowski is one of the few former East German government officials to apologize and accept responsibility for the government oppression in the GDR. He apologized at the end of his trial and accepted his sentence. He has appeared in many venues from TV discussions to school classrooms to shed light on the mindset of top GDR officials. I think Schabowski stands out as a rare person who can recognise and admit his errors. It is telling that the diehard apologists for the GDR hate Schabowski with a passion. I read another book by Schabowski co-authored with journalist Frank Sieren entitled "We Did Everything Wrong." What more needs to be said? prietenul (talk) 07:25, August 26, 2014 (UTC)

As far as this Wikipedia article is concerned, it is irrelevant whether or not Schabowski was sincerely contrite or whether his sentence reduction was or was not a "political act". What matters is only what was officially avowed. Everything else is merely the subjective opinion of Wikipedia editors. 64.134.32.112 (talk) 14:54, 7 November 2015 (UTC)

What did Schabowski say?

The important word this night was that Schabowski was asked by an Italian reporter about when these new travelling rules would by applied. Schabowski took up a piece of paper and said: "Immedeately" (Ab sofort). The Italian reporter ran to to the telephone, and the rest is in history....

It was a reporter from the German yellow press tabloid Bild as stated in the German version of this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.130.169.165 (talk) 14:54, 15 November 2009 (UTC)

I added the German text as cited in this Frankfurter Allgemeine article. I cannot verify that it is absolutely correct but it is likely based on the recording.

I have seen several articles where various people are given the credit for being the one to get the news out of the room. At least one probably-unknown reporter showed remarkable tenacity with respect to making sure Schabowski made it absolutely clear what was going to happen and when. But I think it's best not to give too much credit to anybody. This remarkable event required not only Schabowski and the SED but many, many other people to take place as it did. There were the reporters who made the news travel, the people who assembled at the crossing points, and (not really to be forgotten) the border guards — handpicked to be willing to kill anybody crossing the Wall — who made the bold and rare decision to go over to the right side of history, rather than causing yet another bloodbath. All that said, I think this article should be restricted to Schabowski's role in the events. Roches (talk) 19:38, 6 November 2015 (UTC)