Editor's note: October 2020 marked 30 years since the reunification of Germany. Jubilant scenes at the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 usually illustrate that peaceful revolution, which precipitated the dissolution of the Communist G.D.R. (German Democratic Republic) the following year. Yet the key role played by East German Christians in these events— heralding the swift collapse of the entire Communist bloc—is often overlooked. 

East German Christians faced formidable barriers—typified by the Berlin Wall, but extending to numerous less concrete social and legal obstacles. Yet despite—or perhaps because of—this, an astonishing feature of their church life was a keenness to reach out across divisions to a range of people branded hostile by the regime. Formally within a familiar church setting, such encounters in fact took place in a virtual “no man’s land” where the environment was extraordinarily diverse and challenging, as highlighted in this issue by Ruth Aardsma-Benton and Rev. Jane Holslag. 

The courage shown by East German Christians, as well as the largely unsung contribution of their initiatives to Germany’s Peaceful Revolution of 1989-90, may prove inspirational to Christians seeking positive social transformation 30 years later.