Freiberg's moving commemoration of the 1953 uprising of the GDR people

Freiberg's moving commemoration of the 1953 uprising of the GDR people

Freiberg, Deutschland - On June 17, 2025, the citizens gathered Freiberg to commemorate the victims of the 1953 popular uprising in the GDR. The memorial stone for the victims of Stalinism in the Donats' Cemetery was the central place for this moving event. Deputy Mayor Steve Ittershagen, together with members of the Association of Victims of Stalinism and the organization "Freiberg for everyone", resigned. The ceremony was shaped by emotions and wanted to highlight the meaning of the memory.

It was particularly noteworthy that pupils from the "Gottfried Pabst von Ohain" high school have been sponsored for this day of commemoration since 2020. Lara Nowak, Jenny Lohse, Norman Hähnel and Tim Schubert presented moving letters from back then. These young people had dealt intensively with the uprising in history lessons and thus gave an insight into the past. Karl-Heinz Mantau, deputy state chairman of the association of the victims of Stalinism in the Free State of Saxony, was present as a contemporary witness and reported on his personal experiences during the tumor-like events. Blick.de reports.

The popular uprising from 1953: A look back

we take a look at the events that led to the memory that day. On June 17, 1953, a nationwide popular uprising occurred in the GDR, in which workers and citizens asked for free elections and better living conditions. The economic situation was tense, and an increase in work standards by 10.3 percent had overflowed. In East Berlin, around 10,000 people protested on June 16 who called for a general strike. These protests extended far beyond the capital - over a million people gathered in more than 700 cities and municipalities. They not only called for the resignation of the SED government, but also the free association of Germany, the reduction of prices and the release of political prisoner Ndr.de reports.

in Halle (Saale, one of the affected cities) there were mass protests when around 2,000 workers from the locomotive and wagon factory marched towards the city center. The number of participants grew to over 8,000 on Thälmann-Platz, where the demonstrators carried out spectacular actions for the destruction of Stalin images and the liberation of political prisoners. During the protests, however, violent clashes occurred when the Soviet military presence and the folk police reflected the demonstrators with firearms. At the end of the day, at least 55 people were killed and over 13,000 arrested Orte-Des-erinnerns.de offers this information.

a day of commemoration

The commemoration in Freiberg on June 17th impressively illustrated how important it is to remember the past and to draw the teachings from it. The event underlined the connection between the generations and the indispensability of freedom, democracy and humanity. It is to be hoped that such memories will also be popular in the future and encourage society to stand up for a better world.

All Freibergs were invited to stop and fight together for the values ​​that were the focus on this memorable day, over 70 years ago. Even if the circumstances were dramatic at the time, it remains crucial not to be forgotten the explosiveness of these events.