Elite intransigence and the end of the Berlin Wall

The impact of ruling‐class obstinacy on the East German revolution of 1989 remains insufficiently explored, despite the numerous studies that now exist of that autumn. This intransigence, when set in the context of the year's events, is shown to have been a key factor in promoting protest and accelerating the collapse of the GDR rulers’ authority. The stubbornness and its effects became especially clear in an examination of the SED ‘s incompetent handling of travel and emigration law reform.

This reform, intended to be only superficial, was so badly mismanaged that it produced the accidental opening of the Berlin Wall.