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Demonstrators Demand the Imprisonment of Honecker (December 11, 1989)
At this "Monday demonstration" in Leipzig on December 11, 1989, five days after the resignation of Egon Krenz and the entire Politburo, demonstrators held signs demanding the imprisonment of Erich Honecker. In this photo, he is shown wearing prisoner number “0001” – an indication that his incarceration would only be the first step in a larger investigation of SED crimes. In 1990, the West German government issued a warrant for Honecker’s arrest. After being held for a short pre-trial detainment, Honecker was discharged because he was suffering from liver cancer. At first, he fled with his family to the Chilean Embassy in Moscow; in 1992, he was extradited to the Federal Republic. As the former chairman of the National Defense Council, he was charged with incitement to murder, but the proceedings were suspended on account of his poor health. In January 1993, Honecker emigrated to Chile, where he died on May 29, 1994, at the age of 81.