Saskia Paul was a member of the `Initiativgruppe Leben´ [Initiative Group Life], founded in 1987 as the central forum for the Leipzig-based peace, environmental and human rights groups. There, she agitated primarily for the societal peace initiatives in the GDR. She was involved in preparations for both ’Pleiße marches’, and she believed firmly that reforms within the country and its political system were possible. She completed her studies in Archival and Auxiliary Sciences of History, received a doctorate and in 2012 assumed leadership of the Civic Movement Archive in Leipzig.