[1] In 1953, the presidency of the union was made an honorary position, with the actual leadership coming from the vice president: Walter Maschke until 1959, then Heinz Schnabel until 1971, and Herbert Bischoff.
In October 1989, a group of artists in East Berlin called for protests against the ruling regime.
The union decided to back the Alexanderplatz demonstration, held on 4 October, which led Bischoff to resign as president.
It became independent in March 1990, and renamed itself as the Union of Art, Culture and Media.
It dissolved in October, with members transferred to the Media Union.