East Germany 1989: Wir sind das Volk

Wir sind das Volk: An Ideographic Analysis

            1989. The year was 1989. To some, that date seems to be millennia away, to others, it was the dawn of the 90’s. Most of us would be born in the few years to follow. 1989 was when the GameBoy was released, the Exon spill happened off of Alaska, the Little Mermaid was out in theaters. It was a semi-modern era and yet, in Germany, a whole portion of a country was held captive within its own border. Remember, the year was 1989. The German Democratic Republic (GDR) had been in power for decades since World War II, people were caught on the wrong side of the country (or in Berlin-simply the wrong side of the street) and watched as their country was divided in two, the East and the West. Under the power of the GDR, Germans were unable to leave their country or cross into the West German territory. They were confined and oppressed, limited in what they could say and do, until finally, one day they decided it was enough. A revolution began.  

            Looking at the special circumstances of this movement, we see an ideographic theme in the battle cry of the movement. An ideograph is a word or phrase the represents an abstract concept or value. As Fernando Delgado explains, “ideographs function as forceful signifiers of political ideologies, interpolating and situating consumers of public discourses”. In East Germany, the Ideograph that I want to focus on is “the People”. This phrase, while not in its essence a virtue or specific value, represents a complex relationship between the GDR and the Germans themselves.

            “The People” is a term meant to represent a collective of individuals. A community united under a government. But as the Soviets took control and formed the GDR, the term “The People” created a sour taste in the mouths of many. One of the first moves after forming a new country was to create a new military system. The name? The National People’s Army. This was the army of “The People” apparently. But it was this army that patrolled the streets and enforced the oppressive laws over the People. It was this army that built a wall in Berlin separating the People from their families and community. It was this army that shot and killed any of the People who tried to leave.

            When the movement began, when the revolution started, we finally see the People. They stand and march for what they want. They chant in the streets their cry of identity, "Wir sind das Volk" which translates,“We are the People!” They take their identity back from the government that manipulated their status as citizens and remind the GDR who they are and what their rights are. They term, which was stolen from them and assigned to a military that oppressed them, was taken back and turned around. “The People” means more than just a collective of bodies, to them, they were Germany, and nothing could take that from them.

Sources:

http://bulldogs.tlu.edu:2067/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=d4f2a6b6-440d-4120-8310-f311fbe3cbb4%40sessionmgr101

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1989.html