On 7 October 1989, there was the 40th "birthday" of the GDR. The SED held big celebrations and festivals in East Berlin and other cities. At the same time, lots of people protested in the streets, and more than 1,000 of them were arrested. In Plauen, in the south of East Germany, many people met for a demonstration. Two days later, on 9 October, there was the next Monday Demonstration in Leipzig. About 70,000 people went peacefully through the city centre, and the police or the State Security (Stasi) did not do anything to stop them. 