Gunter Shabovski German journalist, prominent politician of the GDR Date of Birth: 04.01.1929 Country: Germany

Günter Schabowski - German journalist and prominent political figure in the GDR

Günter Schabowski, a German journalist and prominent political figure in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was born on January 4, 1929. He experienced the hardships of World War II and developed an interest in the communist movement. In 1946, he joined the Federation of Free German Trade Unions, and in 1950, he became a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SEPG).

Schabowski served as the editor of the trade union newspaper "Tribüne" from 1947 and later became the deputy chief editor from 1953 to 1967. During this period, he pursued a distance education in journalism at the Karl Marx University in Leipzig. He then continued his political career by attending the Higher Party School of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in Moscow from 1967 to 1968.

After completing his studies, Schabowski began working for the central press organ of the SEPG, "Neues Deutschland," and eventually became its chief editor from 1978 to 1985. In 1981, he was elected a member of the Central Committee of the SEPG, and in 1984, he became a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee. Additionally, Schabowski was appointed as the first secretary of the Berlin District Committee of the SEPG in 1985, where he directly reported to the General Secretary of the SEPG and the Chairman of the National Defense Council of the GDR. During this time, Schabowski was considered a potential successor to Erich Honecker as the Chairman of the State Council and the General Secretary of the SEPG.

Schabowski is best known for his participation in the famous demonstration at Alexanderplatz in Berlin on November 4, 1989. Alongside Markus Wolf, he was booed by the crowd as representatives of the "old forces." Two days later, the position of Secretary of the Central Committee of the SEPG for information was created for the first time, and Schabowski assumed this role, equivalent to a government representative. He made history on November 9, 1989, during a live televised press conference, when he inadvertently announced the new free travel policy for GDR citizens. This announcement led to the fall of the Berlin Wall later that day, as thousands of Berliners flocked to the border checkpoints and demanded their opening.

With the dissolution of the Central Committee and the Politburo of the SEPG on December 3, 1989, Schabowski's political career came to an end. He considered his exclusion from the ranks of the SEPG-PDS on January 21, 1990, a deep personal tragedy. Schabowski had to start from scratch in his profession. From 1992 to 1999, he worked as an editor for the local weekly newspaper "Heimat-Nachrichten" in Rotenburg an der Fulda, Hesse, of which he was also a co-founder. In 1993, he faced prosecution for the alleged falsification of municipal elections in the GDR in May 1989, a case that was eventually dropped in 1997.

In one of the largest trials in post-war German history, known as the "trial of the Politburo," Schabowski was one of the defendants accused of numerous murders of GDR refugees. After a lengthy trial, in August 1997, Schabowski, along with Egon Krenz and Günter Kleiber, was found guilty of ordering the shooting of refugees at the Berlin Wall and sentenced to three years in prison. In December 1999, he was sent to Hakenfelde prison in Spandau to serve his sentence but was pardoned by the governing mayor of Berlin, Eberhard Diepgen, in September 2000, and released on December 2, 2000.

Schabowski is among the few party leaders of the SEPG who publicly acknowledged their guilt in the negative processes that took place in the GDR. He holds critical views of the Party of Democratic Socialism, the successor party to the SEPG. Günter Schabowski is married and has two sons. He currently resides in Berlin.

Notable Awards:
- 1969: Order of Merit of the Fatherland in Bronze
- 1977: Order of Merit of the Fatherland in Gold
- 1989: Order of Karl Marx