A look behind the scenes of high politics
At the “Open House Day of the Federal Government” all citizens are invited to a “state visit”.
Once a year all Germany is literally invited to a “state visit”. For then is “Open House Day” and the Federal Government opens its doors. State guests great and small can look behind the scenes of the Federal Chancellery, Federal Press Office and fourteen federal ministries and get an impression of the everyday life of the political world in Germany. Open House Day has been held since the government’s move in 1999 from Bonn to Berlin, and attracts annually more than 100,000 visitors to the centre of German politics.
In 2015 the event will focus on the 25th anniversary of German reunification. Discussions with contemporary witnesses, films and an exhibition commemorate the moving events of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the opening of the borders and the path to reunification. In the garden of the Federal Chancellery, for instance, visitors can embark on a “Trip to Germany” on the theme of “25 Years Freedom and Unity”.
Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier opens his door
Beyond borders: this is also a key idea of German diplomacy. Visitors can see firsthand the variety of everyday diplomatic life at the Federal Foreign Office. Translators and interpreters from the Language Service will introduce themselves and explain how they contribute to surmounting language barriers. The basement of the Foreign Office is sometimes the scene of turbulent sessions, for there is the Crisis Response Centre. Visitors can view the rooms where the crisis team of the Federal Government meets to handle hostage-takings, natural disasters and terrorist attacks.
Even the door of Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will stand open. On a guided tour through his office visitors can learn what is hidden under the carpet and who meets next door in the historic Bismarck Room. In 2015 for the first time at Open House Day a poetry slam will be held at the Federal Foreign Office: together with the public the slammers will record a text produced in real time on the theme of reunification.
Open House Day of the Federal Government, 29 and 30 August 2015
