1989: A Pivotal Year in Eastern Europe and Turkey

• The year 1989 represented a great rupture in the history of eastern Europe and ended the world order based on bipolarity.
• Turkey was part of this historical moment by chance. On 9 November 1989, Günther Schabowski announced the easing of travel restrictions for visits from the German Democratic Republic to West Germany, thereby starting the process that would lead to the collapse of the GDR and mark the end of communism in Europe.
• On the very same day, General Kenan Evren, leader of the September 1980 coup, handed over power to the democratically elected president, Turgut Özal.
• For the people of Turkey, 1989 marked the symbolic end of almost a decade of brutal military oppression.
• Yet many of the changes that would be associated with the 1989 transformations in eastern Europe, as well as the great ruptures that would destroy much of the social and political fabric, had already been set in motion by the military coup on 12 September 1980.

Explore the historical significance of the events in 1989, including the collapse of the German Democratic Republic, the end of communism in Europe, and the transition to democracy in Turkey. Understand the impact of these pivotal moments on the social and political fabric of eastern Europe and Turkey.