German Unity Day
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The Day of German Unity (German: Tag der Deutschen Einheit) is a national holiday in Germany, celebrated on October 3, which commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990.
An alternative choice would have been the day the Berlin Wall came down, namely November 9, 1989, which coincided with the anniversary of the founding of the first real German Republic in 1918 and the defeat of Hitler's first coup in 1923; however November 9 was also the anniversary of the first large-scale Nazi-led pogroms against Jews in 1938 (so called Kristallnacht), and the day was thus considered inappropriate as a national holiday. Therefore, October 3, 1990, the day of formal reunion was chosen instead.
Before reunification, in Western Germany the "Day of German Unity" was June 17; this was an interpretation of a failed 1953 revolt staged by East German workers mainly against a raise in work quotas. The revolt was crushed with Soviet aid; the exact number of fatalities is unknown, but estimated at somewhat above 100. In East Germany, the national holiday was October 7, being called Day of the Republic (Tag der Republik).
[edit] Celebrations
Each year, there is a so called Bürgerfest (Engl.: Citizen's Festival) on that day in addition to the traditional celebrations at Berlin. The hosting city is always in the Bundesland which presides over the federal council in the respective year.
- 1990 in Berlin, Capital of Germany
- 1991 in Hamburg, Hanseatic City of Hamburg
- 1992 in Schwerin, State Capital of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
- 1993 in Saarbrücken, State Capital of Saarland
- 1994 in Bremen, Hanseatic City of Bremen
- 1995 in Düsseldorf, State Capital of North Rhine-Westphalia
- 1996 in Munich, State Capital of Bavaria
- 1997 in Stuttgart, State Capital of Baden-Wurttemberg
- 1998 in Hannover, State Capital of Lower Saxony
- 1999 in Wiesbaden, State Capital of Hesse
- 2000 in Dresden, State Capital of Saxony
- 2001 in Mainz, State Capital of Rhineland-Palatinate
- 2002 in Berlin, Capital of Germany
- 2003 in Magdeburg, State Capital of Saxony-Anhalt
- 2004 in Erfurt, State Capital of Thuringia
- 2005 in Potsdam, State Capital of Brandenburg
- 2006 in Kiel, State Capital of Schleswig-Holstein
In addition, the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, which traditionally runs until the first Sunday in October, now runs until October 3 if the Sunday in question falls on the first or second day of October.
