In the autumn of 1989, the name of the city of Leipzig travelled around the world. The demonstrations along the Central Ring Road after the Monday peace prayer services in St. Nicholas' Church marked the beginning of the Peaceful Revolution in the German Democratic Republic, socialist East Germany. This revolution not only brought to an end the rule of the Socialist Unity Party regime but led in an incredibly short time to a democratic society, to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and, after 40 years of two separate German states, to the longed-for unity of Germany. This chronicle gives a detailed outline of the background and the events of the Leipzig Autumn, when the courageous citizens of Leipzig, despite threats of armed violence, dared to walk with their heads held high, shouting "We are the people!" and in so doing changed the course of world history.

Doris Mundus (geb. 1951), Historikerin, bis 2012 stellvertretende Direktorin des Stadtgeschichtlichen Museums Leipzig und Kuratorin für Stadt- und Landesgeschichte.