Regime collapse in the peaceful East German revolution: The role of middle‐level officials

Abstract

During the autumn of 1989, the Communist regime in East Germany lost its will to continue using repression to stay in power. Rather than in Berlin, peaceful dialogue with street demonstrators came in the regional capitals. The reason is that although the regime did collapse, it began collapsing in the regions and the leading initiatives were taken by surprisingly low‐ranking officials who no longer believed in their own legitimacy. After spreading from the periphery to the centre, regime collapse made possible not just the peacefulness of the revolution but also the rapidity of German reunification.