Germany celebrates the fall of the Berlin Wall on Saturday, which fell 35 years ago, on a “happy day” which contrasts with the dark atmosphere of the moment, linked to the government crisis in the country and the decline of democracies in the world.
However, the festivities which take place throughout the weekend will try not to lose sight of the symbolism of this historic event, which took place on November 9, 1989.
It was “a happy day” which also reminds us that “freedom and democracy have never been self-evident”, declared the conservative mayor of Berlin Kai Wegner during a ceremony also attended by the head of the State Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The slogan of the festivities, “preserve freedom”, finds particular resonance at a time when democracy is in decline throughout the world and where wars continue to rage, in Ukraine and Gaza.
They also come at a time when Olaf Scholz’s coalition was shattered, after the dismissal of the liberal Finance Minister on Wednesday evening, plunging Europe’s largest economy into a period of uncertainty.
Former West Berliner Jutta Krüger, 75, certainly finds it “a shame” that the fall of the government is happening right now.
“But we should still celebrate the fall of the Wall. It was particularly important for Berliners, but also for those who lived in East Germany, to know that they could go out if they wanted, go wherever they wanted,” this retiree told AFP.
Ideals of 1989
Chancellor Olaf Scholz also stressed on Friday that the values of 1989 could not “be taken for granted”.
To embody these ideals, an open-air installation stretching 4 km along the former route of the Wall displays replicas of signs from the 1989 protests as well as thousands of others created by citizens.
The fall of the Wall, a symbol of the Cold War and the division between the Western bloc and the Soviet bloc, paved the way for the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the reunification of Germany a year later late.
The “Wall of Shame” was erected in August 1961 along a length of 155 km around West Berlin in order to put an end to the growing exodus of inhabitants from the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
At least 140 people died trying to cross it.
For the celebrations until Sunday, activists from around the world have been invited, including exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad.
Russian protest punk band Pussy Riot will perform in front of the former headquarters of the Stasi, East Germany’s feared secret police.
“We stand alongside those who are fighting today for their freedom and against enslavement!” declared Frank-Walter Steinmeier in his speech to launch the festivities on Wednesday evening.
Persistent differences
The emphasis on freedom is particularly important “at a time when we are faced with the rise of populism, disinformation and social division”, also underlined Joe Chialo, responsible for Culture at the Berlin regional government.
Elections held in September in three regions of the former GDR highlighted the persistent political divisions between East and West Germany.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party recorded historically high results, while a new far-left group made a breakthrough.
This weekend also marks the anniversary of Kristallnacht, a pogrom perpetrated by the Nazis on November 9 and 10, 1938.
At least 90 Jews were murdered, tens of thousands deported to concentration camps, and 1,400 synagogues were burned in Germany and Austria.
“It is very important for our society […] to draw the right lessons from these events,” recalled the German government at a time when Germany is experiencing an upsurge in anti-Semitic acts since the events of October 7, 2023, the unprecedented attack by Hamas against Israel, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.
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