Doodlewatch

The Day of German Unity is a national holiday in Germany, celebrated on October 3, which commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990.

An alternative choice would have been the day the Berlin Wall came down-November 9, 1989, which coincided with the anniversary of the founding of the first real German Republic (the Weimar Republic) in 1918 and the defeat of Hitler’s first coup in 1923. However, November 9 was also the anniversary of the first large-scale Nazi-led pogroms against Jews in 1938 (Kristallnacht), so the day was considered inappropriate as a national holiday. Therefore, October 3, 1990, the day of formal reunion was chosen instead.

Before reunification, in West Germany the “Day of German Unity” was June 17; this was an interpretation of a failed 1953 revolt staged by East German workers mainly against a raise in work quotas. The revolt was crushed with Soviet aid; the exact number of fatalities is unknown, but estimated at somewhere above 100. In East Germany, the national holiday was October 7, being called Day of the Republic (Tag der Republik), commemorating the foundation of the GDR in 1949.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Unity_Day