Erich Mielke demonstrations politically and giving "every DDR citizen the right to travel." On 17 October 1989, Mielke and the rest of the GDR's Politburo met to follow Gorbachev's demand, voiced in August, for Erich Honecker be removed as General Secretary of the SED and State Council chairman. Suspecting that Honecker's personal bodyguards might try to arrest the members of the Central Committee when they met to vote Honecker out in favour of Egon Krenz, Mielke saw to it that Stasi agents were stationed near the meeting room. While deliberations were underway, Mielke told Honecker that "we simply cannot start shooting with
Dmitri Vrubel Dmitri Vrubel Dmitri Vladimirovich Vrubel (; born 14 July 1960) is a Russian painter. He is best known for his East Side Gallery-painting "My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love," depicting the kissing communist leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker. Vrubel was born in Moscow. His surname is a Russification of the common Polish surname Wróbel. "My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love" depicts the kissing communist leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker. It was inspired by the kiss they had in 1979, during the celebration of the 30 years of the GDR. In 2009 the