View Content #2042
| Contentid | 2042 |
|---|---|
| Content Type | 1 |
| Title | German article: German Unity Day |
| Body | Editor's Note: A bit of history... Title: German Unity Day discussion continues As the 15th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall approaches, Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse (SPD) has renewed public debate over the appropriate day for the celebration of German unification by reminding Germans of the series of peaceful protests that led to the fall of the Wall. Not the third, but the ninth of October would be a fitting date, said Thierse at a symposium in Leipzig on Monday which looked back on the events of the revolution in East Germany in 1989. According to Thierse, the ninth would better dignify the measures taken by the East German people to rise up against the communist regime. The date coincides with the peaceful 1989 Leipzig protest in which 70,000 people demonstrated against the East German Regime, a turning point in the events that year. Thierse praised the decided peaceableness of the Leipzig protest, which irritated the East German government to the point of stagnancy, he said. The Day of German Unity has been recognized each October 3 for the past 14 years to celebrate the day that East Germany officially acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany. But Thierses suggestions may seem surprising to the many Germans that still believe that November 9, the day the Berlin Wall fell, is the most fitting date to remember the course of German history that led to re-unification. As a day that has come to symbolize the country in both its brightest and darkest hours, November 9th holds particular significance for Germans as a reminder of the country's shadowed past and a signal of the great changes that Germany underwent over the course of the 20th century. On November 9, 1938, the Nazis unleashed Kristallnacht, a wave of pogroms across the country that destroyed Jewish homes and businesses and killed a hundred people. Sixty-one years later, the Berlin Wall fell and the East German Regime crumbled in its wake, making the day a symbol of hope and reconciliation. Bundestag Representative Werner Schulz (Green party) was among the many who criticized the current practice of celebrating unity on October 3. As a holiday as a national holiday the day is not taken seriously, Schulz said. However, Schulz does not see October 9 as the most appropriate alternative. This day surely has a special meaning for Leipzig, but in Rostock, Berlin, Schwerin, and other cities of the former GDR, there are other ones. Historians, for the most part, agree with Schulz. On November 9, it would be possible to tell the entirety of German 20th century history in the schools, said historian Paul Oestreich. Grosvenor, E. Ed. The Week in Germany from September 10, 2004. (10 Sep. 2004). |
| Source | The Week in Germany - 9/10/04 |
| Inputdate | 2004-09-16 23:45:00 |
| Lastmodifieddate | 2004-09-16 23:45:00 |
| Expdate | Not set |
| Publishdate | Not set |
| Displaydate | Not set |
| Active | 1 |
| Emailed | 1 |
| Isarchived | 1 |
