Unity Day—Oct 3

copied from Stars and Stripes Monthly advertiser for Heidelberg/Mannheim publication date September 2011, originally written by Stacey Peters

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Bastille Day is the national celebration in France commemorating the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille and the rise of a modern nation. Independence Day in the United States celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence declaring independence from England. Merge these two movements together and you will have created the impetus Germans found to craft and coalesce behind a document and rebellion of their own.

Germany’s National holiday, Tag der Deutschen Einheit (German Unity Day) has been celebrated every October 3rd since 1990. On this date, the reunification treaty was signed between former East and West Germany, following the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989.

 

The date, is not representative of a specific event in history. If this had been the case, the most obvious choice would have been the day that the Berlin Wall came down on November 9, 1989, also coinciding with the anniversary of the founding of the first real German Republic in 1918 and the defeat of Hitler’s first coup in 1923. On those grounds alone, the date would have been acceptable. But November 9th is also the anniversary of the first large-scale Nazi-led pogroms against the Jewish people in 1938 known as Kristallnacht which culminated in the killing and destruction of 8,000 people, homes, business and religious centers—while authorities sat back unmotivated to assist. For this reason alone, the date was considered inappropriate as a national holiday.

At the end of WWII, the Allies invaded Germany. The Soviets came from the East and invaded up to the Oder-Neisse Line. The Americans, French, and British came just as far, but from the West. After the war, the Western part of Germany went to the Allies to be shared equally. The Soviets controlled East Germany and imposed strict Communist rule over it, including forced collectivization and one-party rule. According to the Soviet Union, this was the “Free” Germany, but it was merely a puppet state of the Soviet Union, controlling most of  Eastern Europe as Satellite States. As tensions between the U.S. and the Soviets grew, Berlin was also split, as both sides wanted it as the capital for its share of Germany and East and West Berlin was born.

East Berlin, of course, fell into the hands of the Soviets. West Berlin was controlled by the other three Allies, and it became a “safe haven” deep in the heart of Communist East Germany. In 1949, the American, French, and British governments united their regions to form a democratic West Germany. The Soviets bitterly retaliated the same year and made their portion of Germany communist—forming two German republics that would not be united again for more than 50 years.

The East German regime began its decline in 1989 when the border fence between Hungary and East Germany opened a hole in the so-called Iron Curtain and many East Germans began to flee to West Germany and Austria. The mass exoduses lead to a series of protests, negotiations, and the eventual re-unification treaty.

Germany’s flag is displayed on public buildings, light posts and homes all over the country—US Military bases too. The flag is three units high and five units wide and is divided horizontally into thirds. The top third is jet black, the middle third traffic light red, and the bottom third is gold. Together these colors represent the freedom of Germany as a whole and each of its people. In the past, the colors represented: the darkness of servitude (black); blood conflict (red); and the light of freedom (gold).

Tag der Deutschen Einheit is the only public holiday in Germany that is stipulated by federal law. All other public holidays are stipulated by the individual states. If the holiday falls on a weekday, then all the workers get the day off. Post offices, banks, and many businesses are closed. Nearly all stores are closed, although a few may be open in urban areas. Bakeries, gas stations, and stores at railway stations, airports on or near highways are most likely open. Public transport services may run as usual, at a reduced service, or no service depending on where you live or intend to travel and there may be some disruption to traffic around large celebrations.

Not unlike the Fourth of July, fireworks, parades, barbecues, fairs, concerts, political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events, mark the typical Unity Day celebration. Many Germans will find their way to the fun-filled tents of Oktoberfest in Munich to fellowship with country men and listen to the high energy toasts or take to strolling the streets and pedestrian zones with friends and family after enjoying lots of good food and drink at home.

Celebrations take place throughout Germany, with an official citizen’s festival (Buergerfest) in a different city every year. Berlin will host the official celebration in 2011 and the city has a reputation for throwing one heck of a party! Festivities take place near the Brandenburg Gate and the central Strasse des 17 Juni Boulevard. Visitors can enjoy music and other live entertainment, food, drink, and plenty of dancing. And despite the nature of the festivities, foreign visitors should not feel excluded from the celebration of reunification. The organizers of Berlin’s Unity Day party promote the event in a pan-European context, as the events in Germany occurred amid the breaking down of boundaries between east and west.