I had never heard of Leipzig and had no idea what a wonderful city it is! Leipzig was not on any bucket list we had, but as we reached out to friends we found out that a family of workers had recently moved there from NWA. As usual, the LORD had a much bigger plan that we could have even imagined 😊.
Not only did we make some new friends, but our hearts were opened to a people we never knew about. Leipzig is located in Saxony and became a part of the former occupied East Germany. It was the home to Johann Sebastian Bach for 27 years as he was the church music director at St. Thomas Church and St. Nicholas Church, which became very important sites for prayer and protests at the end of the Cold War. Martin Luther preached at these churches too.
I don’t know about you but I do not recall learning much about the Cold War and the division of Germany after World War 2. I was in college when the Berlin Wall came down but I truly did not know all the circumstances and how that affected the people of East Germany.
During World War 2, Leipzig was heavily bombed. Once the war ended, it was included in the part of Germany that was to be rebuilt by the Soviets. While the other 2/3 of Germany was being rebuilt by England and the USA, Eastern Germany was turned into the GDR (German Democratic Republic) by the Soviet Union. We have learned, there were no democratic elections by the people, the leadership was chosen for them, they were given a ballot that did not allow any decisions.
The leading political party was the Socialist Unity Party and was supposedly the “party of the German working class”. Of course in all government, someone has the power to rule and unfortunately the people did not have any power. The State confiscated all property to “equalize” the wealth. As we have learned, while the people were fed and clothed, things like cars were difficult to afford and you were not allowed to leave or travel. Working conditions were often horrendous in factories since the equipment was not updated or maintained beyond the World War II time period. In addition, people were encouraged to “report” on violations against the state…this pitted neighbors and family members against one another which led to mistrust and division for generations.
Where was the church in East Germany? As my friend said, there was no place for it because the church is always a higher power than the state, this was not tolerated within the GDR but of course God had other plans! The St. Nicholas Church held prayer vigils which eventually led to thousands of people gathering peacefully to end the Soviet occupation and reunite all of Germany. These peaceful protests are credited with helping bring down the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany.
Today, Leipzig is a thriving and vibrant city of over 600,000. The Lutheran Church had deep and strong roots in the area but due to the time under GDR rule, many families are believed to be atheist. There is a strong movement within the younger generation towards belief in Christ. Please join us in praying for the people of East Germany to know and love Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!
