The Day of German Unity is the national day of Germany, celebrated on 3 October
as a public holiday. It commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in
1990, when the goal of a united Germany that originated in the middle of the
19th century, was fulfilled again. Therefore, the name addresses neither
the re-union nor the union, but the unity of Germany. The Day of German
Unity on 3 October has been the German national holiday since 1990, when the
reunification was formally completed. It is a legal holiday for the Federal
Republic of Germany. An alternative choice to commemorate the
reunification could have been the day the Berlin Wall came down: 9 November
1989, which coincided with the anniversary of the proclamation of the
German Republic in 1918, and the defeat of Hitler's first coup in 1923. However,
9 November was also the anniversary of the first large-scale Nazi-led pogroms
against Jews in 1938, so the day was considered inappropriate as a national
holiday. Therefore, 3 October 1990, the day of the formal reunification, was
chosen instead and replaced the "Day of German Unity" on 17 June, the national
holiday of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1954.
Imperial Germany Before 1871, in the area where the
single state of Germany now exists, different kingdoms and principalities
existed. After the unification of Germany, and the Founding of the Empire
1871, there was still no common national holiday. The Sedantag was, however,
celebrated every year on 2 September, recalling the decisive victory in the
Franco-Prussian War on 2 September 1870. After the founding of the Empire in
1871, there were calls for a national holiday, and there were three
suggestions. No decision was made. Until 1873, the Sedantag was moved to 18
January or the day of the Frankfurt Treaty. The Sedantag would soon also be
celebrated at the universities and in many German cities. It never occurred to
them to think about "Empire Parade" or "Emperor's Birthday". Some Culture
Ministers of the states, especially in Prussia, decided that the Sedantag would
be an official festival in schools. Upon many suggestions, the date of the
Emperor's proclamation on 18 January would be established as day of
remembrance. Emperor Wilhelm I declined this: "This was also the day of the
first Prussian coronation of the king, which should not fall into the shadow of
a united German holiday." Weimar Republic
On 31 July 1919, the Weimar Constitution would be accepted in its form by the
Weimar National Congress. In memorial of this "Hour of birth of democracy", the
11 August was created as Constitution Day, because the President of the
Empire, Friedrich Ebert, signed the constitution on this day.
National Socialism Shortly after the Nazis took power in
1933, May Day was established as a national holiday in the German Reich. It
was already celebrated as a "Day of the Labor Movement" since 1890, and also was
part of the tradition for the May dance commemorating the Walpurgis Night.
Immediately after the establishment of the holiday in 1933, the Nazis banned
trade unions on 2 May 1933 and occupied their buildings as offices for the Nazi
Movement. On 1 March 1939, Hitler declared 9 November as the "Memorial Day
for the movement" as the national holiday.
Federal Republic of Germany From 1954 to 1990, 17 June was an
official holiday in the Federal Republic of Germany to commemorate the Uprising
of 1953 in East Germany, even with the name "Day of the German Unity". Since
1963, it was proclaimed by the President of the Federal Republic as "National Day
of Memorial of the German People". Therefore, in the year 1990, the "Day of
German Unity" was celebrated twice. German Democratic Republic
In East Germany, the Founding Day in 1949 would be celebrated on 7 October as
Day of the Republic, until the 40th anniversary in 1989.
Decision for GDR's unity with the Federal Republic
The motive for setting the date of 3 October as the possible Day of Unity was
decided by the Volkskammer on the impending economical and political
collapse of the GDR. The Helsinki Conference was set for 2 October, at
which the foreign ministers would be informed of the results of the
Two-plus-Four talks. At the beginning of July, the
governments of both German states decided on the schedule: elections in
the GDR would be held on 14 October, and a common election for the entire country
on 2 December. The decision on the date was finally
made on 22 August by the GDR's Minister-President, Lothar de Maizière,
at a special session of the Volkskammer, which began at 9 pm. After a heated
debate, the President of the Volkskammer, Sabine Bergmann-Pohl,
announced the results at 2:30 am on 23 August:
"The Volkskammer decides on the accession of the GDR to the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Germany according to Article 23 of the Basic
Laws effective as of 3 October 1990. In the matter Nr. 201 there have been 363
votes. There were no invalid votes. 294 deputies have voted 'yes.'
"62 deputies have voted 'no', and 7 people abstained. This is a historic
event. Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe that we have not made an easy decision,
but today we have acted within our responsibilities of the voting rights of
the citizens of the GDR. I thank everybody that this result was made
possible by a consensus across party lines."
Gregor Gysi, Chairman of the SED-PDS, was visibly moved and made a personal
statement: "Madame President! The Parliament has no more and no less
decided on the downfall of the German Democratic Republic as of 3 October
1990". Attempt to change the date of national
holiday On 3 November 2004, the Federal
Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, suggested that the "Day of the German Unity" be
celebrated on a Sunday, for economic reasons. Instead of 3 October, the
National Reunification should be celebrated on the first Sunday of
October. This suggestion received a lot of criticism from many sides, amongst
them from Federal President Horst Köhler as well as the President of the
Bundestag, Wolfgang Thierse. The demand worried a part of the population because
of discontent for an increased working hours would be seen as a provocation and
devaluing the national holiday. In addition, fixing the Unity Day on the
first Sunday of October would have meant that it would sometimes fall on 7
October, which happens to have been the national day of East Germany; this date
would thus have been seen as commemorating the division of Germany
rather than the reunification. The idea was dropped after a short but angry
debate. Celebrations
The Day of German Unity is celebrated each year with a ceremonial act and a
citizens' festival. The celebrations are hosted habitually
in the state capital of the German state presiding over the Bundesrat in the
respective year. After Bonn in 2011, Frankfurt am Main is going to be the
second non-state capital to host the celebrations in 2015:
In addition, various celebrations are held in the federal capital Berlin,
mainly based on the Straße des 17. Juni and around the Brandenburg Gate. State
capitals and also other cities often have additional festivities.
Furthermore, the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, which traditionally
runs until the first Sunday in October, now runs until 3 October, if the Sunday
in question falls on the first or second day of October. The celebrations in the
host city always includes a festival and fireworks show.
Zipfelbund: compass communities At the 1999 Day of German Unity
celebration in Wiesbaden the Zipfelbund was formalised. The Zipfelbund are the
four communities at the cardinal compass points of Germany: North – List on the
island of Sylt, West – Selfkant, South – Oberstdorf and East – Görlitz. Together,
they always participate in the respective annual celebration to
represent the modern borders of Germany. See also
Uprising of 1953 in East Germany References
External links Tag der Deutschen Einheit 2014
Niedersächsische Staatskanzlei Tag der Deutschen Einheit 2011 Bonn
Chronik der Mauer chronik-der-mauer.de 1990
Video: Volkskammerbeschluss 23. August 1990 zum Beitritt der DDR zur
Bundesrepublik Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv 1989
German Embassy Publication, Infocus:German Unity Day