In the organizer's words:

The reactor accident as the "nail in the coffin" of the GDR?

On April 26, 1986, the nuclear catastrophe in Chernobyl shook the world - the extent of the disaster only became known days later. The SED regime, in agreement with Moscow, tried to play down the consequences in the GDR. However, it was precisely this trivialization that helped to strengthen the environmental movement. So was the Chernobyl meltdown not only, as Mikhail Gorbachev later wrote, a "nail in the coffin" of the Soviet Union, but also a turning point for the GDR? In his lecture, Sebastian Stude reconstructs the course of the super-GAU 40 years ago and sheds light on the reactions in the GDR. In the subsequent discussion, Reinhard Dalchow, a pastor in Brandenburg at the time, reports on the significance of the event for civil society engagement.

Lecture and discussion:
Dr. Sebastian Stude, Brandenburg State Agency for Civic Education, Potsdam
Retired pastor Reinhard Dalchow, Großwoltersdorf

Moderation:
Dr. Liza Soutschek, research associate at the DDR Museum

Admission is free of charge.