Spent most of the weekend reading a seemingly endless number of articles in both German and English about the fall of the Berlin Wall a quarter of a century ago today.
While I might still write about it after digesting the data, here’s what Michael Owens had to say.
November 9th, 1989. The latest example of Germany’s ‘Fateful Day’.
In the United States, July 4th is a day of celebration, and in many ways it reaffirms America’s belief in its destiny, especially ‘Manifest Destiny’. In Germany, if there is a day that is similar to America’s July 4th, it would be 9 November. It is the day that the Wall separating the two Germanies came down, and from the ruins a stronger, united Germany rose. In a scant 25 years since the fall of the Wall, that one Germany has become the undisputed leader of Europe. But whereas America’s July 4th is a ‘Day of Destiny’, and has only positive connotations, Germany’s November 9th is a “Schicksaltag’, or Fateful Day, and though the recent celebrations have given most Germans a time to reflect, and for many, an opportunity to celebrate their good fortune, November 9th is not…
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