Leipzig in the autumn of 1989: thousands of East Germans take to the streets. They are demanding more freedom, civil rights, democracy! The people are rising up in protest against a state which suppresses its own citiz...展开ens, incites people to spy on each other and keeps them under constant surveillance.
This autumn history is written on the streets of Leipzig. It is the story of party officials prepared to resort to violence and of people who overcome their fears. It is the story of nameless individuals whose courage changes the world and marks the beginning of the end of the East German state - and of the entire Eastern block. It is the story of the "Miracle of Leipzig".
Autumn 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the peaceful revolution of Leipzig. What began in September 1989 in St Nicholas' church in Leipzig as prayers for peace develops within just a few weeks into the immensely powerful Monday demonstrations, calling for more freedom, reforms and free elections in the German Democratic Republic - though this revolution very nearly ended in catastrophe.
In association with MDR, ARTE and BROADVIEW TV, the award-winning director Sebastian Dehnhardt (International Emmy Award, Deutscher Fernsehpreis) and Matthias Schmidt (Grimme Preis) reconstruct the dramatic events of October 1989 in the 90-minute HD prime-time documentary "The Miracle of Leipzig". Eye-witnesses from both sides of the conflict, along with citizens of Leipzig, explain how they experienced these decisive weeks. They describe fears and hopes, courage and despair, conflicts and solidarity.