Day of German Unity

Video

East Side Gallery in Berlin – die bemalte Mauer

Border experience

Where German-German history becomes tangible: various remembrance sites ensure that the past is not forgotten.

Vor dem Deutschen Bundestag weht die Europäische Fahne.

Why is the third of October a public holiday?

This is the day on which Germany celebrates its reunification. Find out how this came to pass, and what happened 30 years ago.

Hoch im Norden: Leuchtturm bei List

The four corners of Germany

32 years of unity and 23 years of the Zipfelbund – German unification first made this association of compass-point communities possible.

Mit dem Fahrrad kommt man nah ran an die Mauerreste.

Following the Berlin Wall trail

Discover German history by bike: the Berlin Wall trail links the present and the past.

Tag der deutschen Einheit

Day of German Unity

The most important public holiday

German reunification is celebrated every year on 3 October. Discover five facts about the Federal Republic’s most important public holiday.

Brandenburger Tor

A process without historical precedent

Germany has been reunited since October 3, 1990. The peaceful revolution of the people in the GDR had brought down the Wall that had divided Germany into east and west.

Quiz

What do you know about the reunification?

Quiz

On which date did Germany celebrate its reunification?

Quiz

How many roads were divided by the Wall?

Quiz

Who accidentally opened the Wall during a press conference?

Quiz

Which US President said the famous words: “Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

Quiz

When did the construction of the Wall begin?

Quiz

For how many years was Germany divided?

Quiz

Which fruit became a symbol for the fall of the Wall?

Quiz

Germany – divided then, unified now

Quiz

Here are some images of places in Germany before and after the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

Find out more

deutschland.de

Past and present

Germany before and after the fall of the Wall – a story in pictures

Michail Gorbatschow, Lech Walesa und Angela Merkel 2009 in Berlin.

Overcoming the division

The new order in Europe was sealed when Germany reunified. Discover the most important background facts here.

Achieving Unity

History professor Gregor Schöllgen on the Two Plus Four process and the path from the fall of the Wall in 1989 to German unification in 1990.

Zwei-plus-Vier-Vertrag

Two plus Four Treaty

The fall of the Berlin Wall marked the beginning of a new era, but it was the Two plus Four Treaty that actually paved the way to German reunification.

Angie Pohlers

No Young Pioneer’s badge

Angie Pohlers was born in eastern Germany the year the Wall came down. How has she experienced the growing together of East and West?

East Side Gallery in Berlin

A life without the Wall

In 1989 the Wall fell, and in 1989 our author was born. She belongs to a generation that never experienced a divided Germany.

Gemälde von Birgit Kinder an der Ostseite der Berliner Mauer.

Growing together

Stefan was born two years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Although he grew up in united Germany, he can still see traces of the old division today.

Heute ist die Mauer in Berlin eine Touristenattraktion.

Germany without the Wall

Feier anlässlich der Fall der Mauer am Brandenburger Tor

The fall of the Wall and German reunification

Hand drauf: Ulrich Krökel mit Lech Wałęsa

Blossoming friendships

A personal look back at 30 years of neighbourly relations between Poland and the reunified Germany by foreign correspondent Ulrich Krökel.

Falk Schuster, Einheitsbotschafter von Sachsen-Anhalt

German unity up close and personal

So-called unification ambassadors present personal views on German reunification.

Plakate von 1989 im Deutschen Historischen Museum in Berlin

“We are the people”

German reunification: the motto of the peaceful revolution in 1989 was an appeal against division and in favour of non-violence.

Tag der Deutschen Einheit 2018: Vorbereitungen am Brandenburger Tor.

How well have we grown together?

28 years after reunification, living conditions in east and west Germany have converged considerably. But some differences remain.

Foyer des Chemie-Neubaus der TU Dresden

Investing in minds

The economic catching-up process in the east of Germany is stagnating. What should be done? Economics researcher Oliver Holtemöller tells us where more adjustments can be made.

Waferfertigung in einer Bosch-Halbleiterfabrik

Economics: Stronger together

The economy in east Germany is characterized by clusters that have formed in traditional industrial centres. These are its strengths.

>> www.deutschland.de/de/der-mauerfall