ABSTRACT
The driving force for change, for 'the only peaceful revolution in German history', occurred in the streets of Leipzig. The Basic Law and the constitutional and legal foundations of the Federal Republic would remain intact as most West Germans wanted; by adopting the administrative, economic and social structure of the Federal Republic. People in the streets of East Germany, and not Kohl, would appear to be the driving force. The large compound of the Lobkowicz palace in Prague was crammed with thousands of people desperate to make it to the West. Western politicians like Norbert Gansel, Erhard Eppler and Johannes Rau, Prime Minister of Northrhine-Westphalia, who were close to the grassroots and were better informed about real situation thanks to many private contacts in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). With at least 500,000 participants it was the biggest demonstration in East Berlin, the capital of party and government officials who had much to lose by the downfall of the GDR.
