The Second October Revolution
A Stroke of Luck in European History
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The historical significance of the Revolution of 1989 can be most clearly defined, on the one hand, by examining one of the exemplary moments of this complex event, but, on the other hand, by also putting the event as a whole into the context of the century that it ended. The Leipzig demonstration on 9 October is one of those exemplary moments. In it, one can study the conditions for overcoming fear, which, according to Montesquieu, is the “principle” of despotism. The centenary significance of the Revolution of 1989 lies in the fact that it refutes the October Revolution of 1917.
(Osteuropa 11/2009, pp. 5–14)