"From Dictatorship to Democracy" – Rainer Eppelmann speaks at the start of the lecture series

Eppelmann is a Protestant pastor, former GDR civil rights activist and politician. After gaining fame within the GDR as an opposition activist, he was Minister for Disarmament and Defence in the last GDR government in 1990. He was a member of the German “Bundestag” from 1990 to 2005. He has been Chairman of the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship since 1998.

In his lecture, Eppelmann traces the long road that Germany has travelled since the end of the Cold War – from overcoming division and the process of internal unity to the challenges of the present day. He sheds light on how the political, economic and social self-image of the Federal Republic has changed since 1990 and how these experiences have had an impact on the European structure. The focus will be on the question of what lessons can be learnt from the peaceful revolution – for a time in which Europe is once again facing profound upheavals.

All interested parties are cordially invited to his lecture "From dictatorship to democracy". Admission is free, but registration is requested at www.thueringer-allgemeine.de/ringvorlesung is requested.

Further dates for the lecture series in the winter semester are on Wednesday, 10 December at 6.15 pm. Matthias Gehler, the last GDR government spokesman, will then be a guest at the University of Erfurt. And on Thursday, 29 January, also at 6.15 pm, the historian and journalist Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk will speak at the Thuringian State Parliament. Further information will follow.