Merz: “Freedom and democracy can never be taken for granted”
Proclamation of the republic, Kristallnacht, fall of the Berlin Wall: 9 November marks both the darkest and the happiest moments in German history. What lessons does the Chancellor draw from this?
Berlin (dpa) – Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for freedom and democracy to be protected in Germany and Europe on the 37th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In a post on X, he recalled the three events associated with 9 November: Kristallnacht in 1938, when the Nazis unleashed a wave of violence against Jewish people; the proclamation of the republic in 1918; and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
“9 November marks both the darkest and the happiest moments in our history: antisemitism and persecution, the beginnings of democracy and the fall of the Wall,” Merz said. “Freedom and democracy can never be taken for granted. Let us protect them – in Germany and across Europe.”
In the afternoon, the Chancellor is due to attend a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of Munich’s main synagogue Ohel Jakob, alongside Bavarian state premier Markus Söder and State Parliament President Ilse Aigner.
Numerous commemorative events and discussions are also planned across Germany to mark 9 November.
