BERLIN--Hundreds of thousands of East Germans marched for democracy last night, the eve of a trip to Moscow by new leader Egon Krenz for talks with the Soviet bloc's champion of reform, Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

Official media said about 300,000 people rallied in Leipzig, a city of 650,000; at least 50,000 in Halle; 40,000 in Schwerin; more than 20,000 in Karl Marx Stadt; and 5000 in Poessneck.

Lutheran Church sources in East Berlin said 3000 pro-reform activists demonstrated in the capital.

Leipzig activists told The Associated Press by telephone many of the marchers there demanded that the Communist Party give up its monopoly on power.

They said the protesters wanted free elections, freedom to travel and legalization of opposition groups. Political parties now are recognized only if they align themselves with the Communist Party.

The official news agency ADN said people in all the cities spoke out for a free press, and those in Karl Marx Stadt carried banners reading "Democracy Now."

Krenz reaffirmed the Communist Party's pre-eminence yesterday, telling military academy graduates it was "at the head of qualitative changes going on in society."

ADN reported he would leave for the Soviet Union today. Krenz has said East Germany can learn much from reforms promoted by Gorbachev, the Soviet president.

That was a major departure from the contention of his 77-year-old predecessor, Erich Honecker, that no changes were necessary in East Germany's orthodox regime. Krenz replaced Honecker, his mentor, as Communist Party chief October 18.

Weeks of demonstrations for reform have accompanied the flight to the West of tens of thousands of East Germans. The largest protests in the nation's 40-year history have taken place in Leipzig, another one last week involving 300,000 people.

In his speech at the academy, Krenz said "the most decisive factor" in East Germany was "the unity and cohesiveness of the party, without which the unity of our people cannot be achieved."

Opposition groups say the party's leading role must be open to debate.

Democratic Reform said it had joined others in demanding the development of a "democratic consensus." The organization said it would become an active opposition political party by next May.

Krenz appears more open to change than Honecker, but many activists are skeptical, feeling party leaders will block any reform that challenges their monopoly on power.

He has set what he calls "a new course" for the country, promising freer travel abroad and declaring amnesty for demonstrators, people who have fled the country illegally and those who have been caught while trying to do so.

A leader of the officially recognized Liberal Democratic Party said the "political structure no longer corresponds to the will of the people" or they "wouldn't be taking to the streets and there wouldn't be movements like Neues Forum [New Forum] and Demokratie Jetzt [Democracy Now]."

Manfred Bogisch suggested in a commentary in his party newspaper, Der Morgen, that the Communist Party's leading role should be earned, not dictated.

Bogisch said communism was not an issue, but the Communist Party leadership's policies were "now a matter of debate."

"Those who were responsible for the stagnation will have to take responsibility for it," he declared.

The Liberal Democrats have been at the forefront of efforts to create more political pluralism within the system.

Under East Germany's constitution, all recognized political parties are aligned with the Communist Party. The Liberal Democrats have said parties should have more independence.