As the fortieth anniversary of the GDR approached, Mielke ordered, "We must stop the internal enemy.
At the least hint of a disturbance of the celebration, isolate and arrest them."

One former Stasi Major recalled, "We mixed inconspicuously with the demonstrators, accompanied by our IMs.
Hundreds of us stood at the sides of the street in order to stop any activity before it got started.
We barely got any sleep toward the end.
Never did I sense that the people were afraid of the MfS. The Stasi was more afraid of the people than the people were of them."

According to Koehler, "Despite the unrest, the regime celebrated its fortieth with a huge, pompous ceremony in Berlin on 7 October, while tens of thousands ofoutside the ornate building of the State Council.
The People's Police cordons were utterly ineffectual.
As Stasi Minister Erich Mielke drove up and was greeted by General Günter Kratsch, the counterintelligence chief, Mielke screamed at police: "Club those pigs into submission!" (
German: "Hau sie doch zusammen, die Schweine!")
The police ignored Mielke's ranting.

As more and more East Germans were arrested for protesting the 40th anniversary celebrations, many of them sang The Internationale in Vopo and Stasi custody to imply that they, rather than their captors, were the real working class and the real revolutionaries.

According to Anna Funder, "There was a sea of red flags, a torchlight procession, and tanks.
The old men on the podium wore light-grey suits studded with medals.
Mikhail Gorbachev stood next to Honecker, but he looked uncomfortable among the much older Germans.
He had come to tell them that it was over, to convince the leadership to adopt his reformist policies.
He had spoken openly about the danger of not 'responding to reality.'
He pointedly told the Politburo that, 'life punishes those who come too late.'
Honecker and Mielke ignored him, just as they ignored the crowds when they chanted, "Gorby, help us!
Gorby, help us!"
As the fortieth anniversary of the GDR approached, Mielke ordered, "We must stop the internal enemy. At the least hint of a disturbance of the celebration, isolate and arrest them."
One former Stasi Major recalled, "We mixed inconspicuously with the demonstrators, accompanied by our IMs. Hundreds of us stood at the sides of the street in order to stop any activity before it got started. We barely got any sleep toward the end. Never did I sense that the people were afraid of the MfS. The Stasi was more afraid of the people than the people were of them."
According to Koehler, "Despite the unrest, the regime celebrated its fortieth with a huge, pompous ceremony in Berlin on 7 October, while tens of thousands ofoutside the ornate building of the State Council. The People's Police cordons were utterly ineffectual. As Stasi Minister Erich Mielke drove up and was greeted by General Günter Kratsch, the counterintelligence chief, Mielke screamed at police: "Club those pigs into submission!" (German: "Hau sie doch zusammen, die Schweine!") The police ignored Mielke's ranting.
As more and more East Germans were arrested for protesting the 40th anniversary celebrations, many of them sang The Internationale in Vopo and Stasi custody to imply that they, rather than their captors, were the real working class and the real revolutionaries.
According to Anna Funder, "There was a sea of red flags, a torchlight procession, and tanks. The old men on the podium wore light-grey suits studded with medals. Mikhail Gorbachev stood next to Honecker, but he looked uncomfortable among the much older Germans. He had come to tell them that it was over, to convince the leadership to adopt his reformist policies. He had spoken openly about the danger of not 'responding to reality.' He pointedly told the Politburo that, 'life punishes those who come too late.' Honecker and Mielke ignored him, just as they ignored the crowds when they chanted, "Gorby, help us! Gorby, help us!"
Erich Mielke