Germany commemorates 35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall with celebrations commencing today under the theme “Preserve Freedom!” amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, where concerns about democracy being under siege are rising.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose coalition faced a dramatic collapse this week, conveyed in his message to the nation that the liberal ideals of 1989 “are not something we can take for granted”.
“Reflecting on our history and the current global landscape illustrates this,” Mr. Scholz added, as his three-party ruling alliance crumbled on the same day Donald Trump was re-elected, pushing Germany into political chaos and towards new elections.
The ninth of November 1989 marks the day when East Germany’s dictatorship finally opened its borders to the West after months of peaceful protests, setting the stage for German reunification and the fall of Soviet communism.
A view of the open-air exhibition and Brandenburg Gate
“Nevertheless, we should truly celebrate the fall of the Wall,” she stated, recognizing it as the moment East Germans were granted the freedom to travel and where “freedom finally reached every part of Germany.”
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will inaugurate today’s events at the Berlin Wall Memorial, honoring the at least 140 individuals who lost their lives while attempting to escape from the Moscow-supported German Democratic Republic (GDR) during the Cold War.
An evening “freedom party” featuring a music and light show will take place at Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate, along the former route of the concrete barrier that divided the city since 1961.
This Sunday, the Russian protest punk band Pussy Riot will perform in front of the former headquarters of the Stasi, East Germany’s notorious secret police.
Pro-democracy activists from across the globe, including Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad, have been invited to the commemorations.
Talks, performances, and a large-scale open-air art exhibition will also highlight what culture minister Claudia Roth described as “one of the most joyous moments in world history”.
Replica placards from the 1989 protests will be exhibited along four kilometers of the Wall’s path, past the historic Reichstag building and the renowned Checkpoint Charlie.
An open-air installation marking the former course of the wall in front of a preserved segment of the Berlin Wall
Among the artistic displays will be thousands of citizen-created images themed around “freedom”, emphasizing the lasting significance of this historical event.
‘Populism and division’
Joe Chialo, Berlin’s top cultural affairs official, stated that the theme is vital “during a time when we are facing rising populism, misinformation, and social fragmentation”.
Axel Klausmeier, head of the Berlin Wall foundation, asserted that the values from the 1989 protests “serve as a power-bank for defending our democracy, which is currently being eroded from both the left and the right”.
While most East Germans are thankful for the end of the GDR regime, many carry negative memories of the perceived condescension from West Germans, alongside lingering grievances about disparities in incomes and pensions.
These feelings have been cited as contributing factors to the considerable support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in eastern Germany, as well as for the Russia-friendly and anti-capitalist BSW.
Both parties made significant gains in three state elections in the east this September, highlighting the persistent political rifts between eastern and western Germany more than three decades after reunification.
While the embattled government led by Mr. Scholz’s Social Democrats and the opposition CDU staunchly backs Ukraine’s resistance against Russia, the anti-establishment AfD and BSW are opposed to it.
The AfD, which campaigns against immigration, faced embarrassment this week as several of its members were arrested on suspicion of being part of a racist paramilitary group that conducted urban warfare drills.
On the eve of the anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall, government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann reminded everyone that this weekend also marks a far darker chapter in German history.
During the Nazis’ Kristallnacht, or Night of Broken Glass pogrom on November 9-10, 1938, at least 90 Jews were killed, numerous properties were destroyed, and 1,400 synagogues were set ablaze in Germany and Austria.
Ms. Hoffmann emphasized that “it is crucial for our society to remember the victims and to learn the necessary lessons from those events for our actions today”.
