'Rechte so wahrzunehmen als seien sie bereits zugestanden'. The influence of the opposition in Central Eastern Europe on the turn to human rights activism in the GDR
Summary
The East German opposition had an exceptional status in the Eastern Bloc. Although in its neighbouring countries human rights activism came into existence in the mid eighties, in the GDR the first human rights group was established a decade later. A lot of contacts existed between this group and the Polish and Czechoslovak opposition. Its members asserted to be, mainly individually, influenced by the Central Eastern European exampleand modelled the group after their example. Other incentives, such as the Helsinki accords, the Ausreise-issue, the decline of the peace movement, state repression, contacts with the West and Gorbachev seemed to have played a smaller role or only have formed an additional reason to look towards the East.