The GDR was a member state of the USSR. And the dissolution of the GDR happened under Gorbachev, in a manner that did respect the public’s rights.

The GDR is the German Democratic Republic, also known as East Germany.

It was a communist country, a member of the Warsaw pact, and aligned with the USSR, but it was not a member state of the USSR.

See also: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria.

its coming at the expense of your expressed understanding of history

See above.