Word: politburo
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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After a two-day session, the 21 members of the ruling Politburo issued a statement that for the first time expressed official concern about the recent exodus of 50,000 East Germans to the West. Then, in an unprecedented gesture of conciliation, the leadership acknowledged, "We are open to discussion." Hinting that press and travel restrictions might be eased, the statement continued, "Together, we want to discuss all basic questions of our society...
...Politburo's tentative first step toward a softening of its policies was already more than many had anticipated. Just two days earlier, President Erich Honecker, 77, had all but threatened a Tiananmen Square-style crackdown to halt the demonstrations that were spreading like a virus from city to city. But after the number of protesters multiplied into the tens of thousands, the Politburo announced a newfound willingness to discuss limited reforms. The sudden shift not only indicated a crack in one of the East bloc's most ossified regimes, but also spurred speculation that the ruling party was in disarray...
...splinter the once monolithic regime. The confused leadership ricocheted between stern warnings and appeasing gestures. As Honecker greeted visiting Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Yao Yilin, the official news agency ADN warned that "there is a fundamental lesson to be learned from the counterrevolutionary unrest in Beijing." But the Politburo's subsequent statement suggests that many within the ruling elite were drawing different conclusions from the Tiananmen debacle. Reports circulated that the Politburo had demanded an account of the nation's "critical situation" from Honecker. Soon thereafter Honecker postponed a visit to Denmark, fueling rumors that he was struggling...
...other ruling Politburo members also lost their jobs in a shake-up during a meeting of the Communist Party Central Committee, but changes in East German policy from Honecker's course were unlikely...
Krenz, the youngest member of the Politburo, is known as a tough backer of the country's orthodox communist structure. He had been in charge of internal security issues and government-run youth organizations while being groomed as Honecker's successor...