|
Event
Information:
The
Day of German Unity (German: Tag der
Deutschen Einheit) is the national
day of Germany, celebrated on 3
October as a public holiday. It
commemorates the anniversary of
German reunification in 1990.
An
alternative choice would 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 (Kristallnacht), so the
day was considered inappropriate as
a national holiday. Therefore, 3
October 1990, the day of formal
reunification, was chosen instead.
Before
reunification, in West Germany the
"Day of German Unity" was 17 June,
remembering the failed Uprising of
1953 in East Germany against the
Stalinist government. The revolt was
crushed with Soviet aid; the exact
number of fatalities is unknown, but
estimated at somewhere above 100. In
East Germany, the national holiday
was 7 October, the "Day of the
Republic" (Tag der Republik),
commemorating the founding of the
German Democratic Republic in 1949.
Various celebrations are held in the
federal capital Berlin, mainly based
on the Straße des 17. Juni and
around the Brandenburg Gate.
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.
Local
Weather:
|
