BERLIN--Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched and shouted "We Need Freedom!" in Leipzig yesterday during the largest prodemocracy rally in East Germany since a 1953 workers' uprising, witnesses said.

Protesters also held a vigil in East Berlin to demand democratic reforms after a weekend of demonstrations across this hard-line Communist nation.

On Saturday and Sunday, clashes broke out between police and demonstrators with hundreds arrested, several injuries and one death reported by news organizations and witnesses. The government has issued no official toll.

Christoph Wonneberger, pastor for the Lukas Lutheran Church in Leipzig, said "at least" 70,000 demonstrators marched in Leipzig last night.

Wonneberger said he was surprised by the restraint of police and paramilitary troops who were deployed nearby.

"Even though this demonstration is the largest [since 1953], to our knowledge it went off completely without violence," he said in a telephone interview with West Germany's ZDF television network.

In 1953, Soviet forces crushed a workers' uprising.

Some Leipzig demonstrators even "began conversations with paramilitary troops" after the crowd started dispersing by mid-evening, Wonneberger said.

He said, "I consider this [police restraint] a very hopeful sign following the violence" in earlier demonstrations.

Before the march, officials of the Leipzig Communist Party promised publicly they would push for an open dialogue between citizens and the government, Lutheran church sources said.

In a public statement, the Leipzig party officials said, "We all need a free exchange of ideas about how we should continue Socialism in our nation," according to the church sources.

A larger number of police officers did not stop the march but cordoned off the downtown area, the witnesses said. ZDF said armored personnel carriers also were seen in the area.

In East Berlin, several thousand demonstrators gathered in front of the Lutheran Gethsemane Church for the pro-democracy vigil, West German media reported. "Police have shown restraint so far," radio and television said.

Some witnesses said there were more than 10,000 marchers, while others said the number could be as high as 50,000. The witnesses said protesters marched after attending a traditional Monday evening prayer service at St. Nicholas church.

Throngs of people joined them along the way, they said.