If real democracy does come to East Germany, much of the credit should go to Leipzig (pop. 567,000), which has emerged as the driving force for reform. Through more than a month of spontaneous, peaceful demonstrations, which often brought more than half the city's population into the streets, Leipzig's workers precipitated the ouster of repressive party leader Erich Honecker and helped inspire the historic breach of the Berlin Wall. "They call us 'the Leipzig Miracle,' " says Alfred Richter, 38, a supervisor in a hotel kitchen whose wife and two small children joined in the protests. "But it was caused by...
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