Pastor Reinhard Glöckner recounts the process of "die Wende" (literally, the change in direction -- the term former East Germans use to refer to German re-unification) as his city of 70,000 in the northeast corner of East Germany experienced it: peace services, marches, public discussions, elections, and beyond. In March 1990, Glöckner became the first democratically elected mayor of Greifswald in over 50 years. His unique account is an insider's view of the events of 1989-92 and their legal, economic, political, administrative, and occasionally personal repercussions. His reflections on local and regional identity both during and after the 40 years of socialism, and on efforts to re-assert that identity in emerging institutions and policies post-Wende, lend rare insight and valuable specificity to Glöckner's narrative.
