day of mourning and joy

The 9th of November is a good date to learn a lesson about German history. This day marks the anniversary of a majority of the historic events of 20th century in Germany. It is day of mourning, as the Night of the Broken Glass, a terrible pogrom and the beginning of the genocide against the Jews, took place 70 years ago. Thus the 9th of November reminds us of the most devastating tragedy in human history.On the other hand, today marks the 90th anniversary of the abolition of the German monarchy and the foundation of the first German republic. Kaiser Wilhem II abdicated.Probably the most fantastic event happened 19 years ago: The Fall of the Berlin Wall. After decades of separation, the Germans in the West and the East were now able to meet each other again and the citizens of the GDR got back freedom of movement. This events signifies the highlight of the peaceful revolution and the start of the German reunification.I don't want to comment on these events, apart from the point, that this date should be a national holiday, in order to make people aware of these historic events and the lesson to be learned for today.Da die meisten Deutschen über die ereignisse des 9. November bescheid wissen sollten, habe ich diesen blogeintrag auf englisch verfasst. Aber meine forderung, diesen tag als nationalen trauer-/feiertag (inklusive schul- und arbeitsfrei) zu begehen zeigt, dass mir bewusst ist, dass auch in Deutschland nachholebedarf in sachen erinnerung besteht. Das erstarken der rechtsextremen NPD, steigende ablehnung der demokratischen werte sind deutliche zeichen dafür, dass die Deutschen ihre lektion noch lange nicht gelernt haben.