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| Christian Führer, East German Whose Prayers Inspired Protests, Dies at 71 | |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| BERLIN — The Rev. Christian Führer, the “pastor in the denim vest” whose prayer meetings for peace grew into mass demonstrations in 1989 that inspired East Germans to take to the streets to demand their right to freedom, died on Monday in Leipzig, Germany. He was 71. | BERLIN — The Rev. Christian Führer, the “pastor in the denim vest” whose prayer meetings for peace grew into mass demonstrations in 1989 that inspired East Germans to take to the streets to demand their right to freedom, died on Monday in Leipzig, Germany. He was 71. |
| A son, the Rev. Sebastian Führer, said the cause was complications of pulmonary fibrosis. | A son, the Rev. Sebastian Führer, said the cause was complications of pulmonary fibrosis. |
| With his spiky hair and his collection of denim vests, a rare commodity under Communist rule, Pastor Führer, a Lutheran, became a recognizable figure in the East German resistance movement. In 1982, he organized the first “prayers for peace” group in his Leipzig parish. The meetings eventually drew hundreds of people and spilled into the streets in what became known as the Monday Demonstrations. | With his spiky hair and his collection of denim vests, a rare commodity under Communist rule, Pastor Führer, a Lutheran, became a recognizable figure in the East German resistance movement. In 1982, he organized the first “prayers for peace” group in his Leipzig parish. The meetings eventually drew hundreds of people and spilled into the streets in what became known as the Monday Demonstrations. |
| The East German police sought to block traffic to the church in May 1989, but with Pastor Führer preaching nonviolence, the demonstrations continued to grow. The protesters’ chant of “We are the people!” was taken up by some 70,000 people on Oct. 9, 1989, and spread across East Germany until the Communist system finally gave way on Nov. 9 with the collapse of the Berlin Wall. | The East German police sought to block traffic to the church in May 1989, but with Pastor Führer preaching nonviolence, the demonstrations continued to grow. The protesters’ chant of “We are the people!” was taken up by some 70,000 people on Oct. 9, 1989, and spread across East Germany until the Communist system finally gave way on Nov. 9 with the collapse of the Berlin Wall. |
| Joachim Gauck, a former pastor from East Germany and a fellow dissident who is now Germany’s president, wrote to Sebastian Führer after his father’s death, “Your father saw standing up against injustice as an essential mission of the gospel, or in his own words: ‘Not thrones and altars, but the street and the altar are things that belong together.’ ” | Joachim Gauck, a former pastor from East Germany and a fellow dissident who is now Germany’s president, wrote to Sebastian Führer after his father’s death, “Your father saw standing up against injustice as an essential mission of the gospel, or in his own words: ‘Not thrones and altars, but the street and the altar are things that belong together.’ ” |
| After Germany’s reunification in 1990, Pastor Führer continued his activist role, condemning capitalism as morally bankrupt and championing the rights of the thousands of former East Germans who had lost their jobs after the fall of Communism. | After Germany’s reunification in 1990, Pastor Führer continued his activist role, condemning capitalism as morally bankrupt and championing the rights of the thousands of former East Germans who had lost their jobs after the fall of Communism. |
| “From a purely economic standpoint, things are definitely better than before, although far too many of our people have lost their jobs,” Pastor Führer told The New York Times in 1994. “Brutal competition and the lust for money are destroying our sense of community. Almost everyone feels a level of fear or depression or insecurity.” | “From a purely economic standpoint, things are definitely better than before, although far too many of our people have lost their jobs,” Pastor Führer told The New York Times in 1994. “Brutal competition and the lust for money are destroying our sense of community. Almost everyone feels a level of fear or depression or insecurity.” |
| Mr. Führer was born on March 5, 1943, into a Leipzig family of Protestant pastors stretching back to his great-grandfather. From an early age, he was fascinated by the way Jesus cared for the abject and outsiders, he wrote in his autobiography, “And We Were There,” published in 2010. He viewed the church as inherently political — a place, as he put it, where those critical of the Communist system could “assemble and articulate their thoughts.” | Mr. Führer was born on March 5, 1943, into a Leipzig family of Protestant pastors stretching back to his great-grandfather. From an early age, he was fascinated by the way Jesus cared for the abject and outsiders, he wrote in his autobiography, “And We Were There,” published in 2010. He viewed the church as inherently political — a place, as he put it, where those critical of the Communist system could “assemble and articulate their thoughts.” |
| Ordained in 1968, he became pastor of the Nikolaikirche, or St. Nicholas Church, in Leipzig in 1980 and held the post until his retirement in 2008. | Ordained in 1968, he became pastor of the Nikolaikirche, or St. Nicholas Church, in Leipzig in 1980 and held the post until his retirement in 2008. |
| In addition to his son Sebastian, he is survived by his two other sons, Martin and Georg, and a daughter, Katharina Köhler, as well as 10 grandchildren. His wife, Monika, died last year. | In addition to his son Sebastian, he is survived by his two other sons, Martin and Georg, and a daughter, Katharina Köhler, as well as 10 grandchildren. His wife, Monika, died last year. |
| After his retirement, Pastor Führer became a sought-after guest preacher and speaker on peaceful revolution. With his wife and other former dissidents, he established the Peaceful Revolution Foundation in 2009. But the onset of his illness in 2010 forced him to slow down. | After his retirement, Pastor Führer became a sought-after guest preacher and speaker on peaceful revolution. With his wife and other former dissidents, he established the Peaceful Revolution Foundation in 2009. But the onset of his illness in 2010 forced him to slow down. |
| He was too ill to personally accept the Wilhelmine von Bayreuth Prize for Tolerance and Humanity in April or, last week, the German National Prize, presented to him and other former dissidents for their roles in the peaceful demonstrations. | He was too ill to personally accept the Wilhelmine von Bayreuth Prize for Tolerance and Humanity in April or, last week, the German National Prize, presented to him and other former dissidents for their roles in the peaceful demonstrations. |
| In an interview last year with the newspaper Leipziger Volkszeitung, Pastor Führer responded to critics who had characterized him as a social romantic and an incurable optimist. | In an interview last year with the newspaper Leipziger Volkszeitung, Pastor Führer responded to critics who had characterized him as a social romantic and an incurable optimist. |
| “I heard the same thing in the days before Oct. 9, 1989,” he said. “At that time they said, ‘You don’t really think that your candles and prayers can change something?’ But history saw things differently.” | “I heard the same thing in the days before Oct. 9, 1989,” he said. “At that time they said, ‘You don’t really think that your candles and prayers can change something?’ But history saw things differently.” |