Day of German Unity (03/10)

German Unity Day or German Unity Day (German. Tag der deutschen Einheit) — is a national holiday in Germany. It is celebrated on the day of the successful official reunification of West and East Germany on October 3, 1990.

Simultaneously with the unification, this day was proclaimed an official national holiday and a state day off, while the national holiday of the former Germany — on June 17 was abolished.

Germany, after defeat in World War II (1939-1945), was occupied by troops of the USSR, France, Great Britain and the USA, respectively, and the territory of the country was divided into 4 occupation zones. But the beginning of the «cold war» and the growing confrontation between the USSR and the West made it impossible to recreate a single German state. Therefore, the Western powers decided to promote its formation in the territories under their occupation control. Thus, in 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was created, and soon the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was formed in the Soviet occupation zone.

The unity of Germany became possible only 40 years later, and thanks to the «world revolution» in the GDR in the fall of 1989, which served as the de facto unification of the people. The legal basis for the unification of the two German states was laid by the Treaty on the Final Settlement in Relation to Germany, concluded between the GDR and Germany, as well as France, the USSR, Great Britain and the USA in Moscow on September 12, 1990, as well as the Treaty on the Unification of the Two German States of August 31 1990.

The official unification of the country took place on October 3, 1990, when the GDR and West Berlin became part of the Federal Republic of Germany. At the same time, a new state was not created, and the 1949 German Constitution was put into effect in the annexed territories. Five new states were recreated in the territories of the former GDR, and the united Berlin was also declared an independent state.

Today, in honor of the holiday, festive rallies and meetings are organized in state parliaments and city halls, at which political holiday speeches are made. They are attended by members of the Bundesrat (the upper house of the German parliament) and other constitutional bodies of the country, as well as representatives of politics, society and the population (the so-called citizen delegations — Burgeldelegation). In some areas, concerts and festivities are held, and fireworks are held in the evening.

Compared to Bastille Day in France or Independence Day in the United States, the German national holiday is celebrated quite modestly, although it is a state day off. The only exception is probably Berlin. Many cultural and public events take place here, taking place simultaneously on different stages.

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