TestZen · Einbürgerungstest · Practice

166. At which demonstrations in Germany did people chant "We are the people"?

Official German wording

Bei welchen Demonstrationen in Deutschland riefen die Menschen „Wir sind das Volk“?

  1. bei den Montagsdemonstrationen 1989 in der DDR
  2. beim Arbeiteraufstand 1953 in der DDR
  3. bei den Demonstrationen 1968 in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
  4. bei den Anti-Atomkraft-Demonstrationen 1985 in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Answer options

  1. at the Monday demonstrations in 1989 in the GDR
  2. during the workers' uprising of 1953 in the GDR
  3. during the demonstrations of 1968 in the Federal Republic of Germany
  4. during the anti-nuclear power demonstrations of 1985 in the Federal Republic of Germany

Correct answer

at the Monday demonstrations in 1989 in the GDR

Explanation

The chant “We are the people” became the emblem of the 1989 Peaceful Revolution, especially at the Leipzig Monday demonstrations, and fundamentally contested the SED regime’s claim to represent the people. It invoked a republican conception of the people as the bearer of sovereignty—akin to Article 20(2) of the Basic Law—though the Basic Law did not apply in the GDR; thus it expressed a normative claim of popular sovereignty against a one-party state. After the fall of the Wall, the slogan partly shifted to “We are one people,” signaling a move from system critique to a demand for unity, constitutionally realized through the GDR’s accession under former Article 23 of the Basic Law. The formula has remained ambivalent and has later been reappropriated in other political contexts.

Official sources

The German questions come from the original BAMF catalog for the Einbürgerungstest and Leben in Deutschland. Translations and explanations are study aids; verify legal details in the official sources.