Day of German Unity Celebrated in Los Angeles
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- Consul General Drautz receives the Certificate of Friendship from the City of Los Angeles on the occasion of the German Day of Unity from Elga Sharpe, Chief of Protocol, Office of the Mayor.
- (© Consulate General Los Angeles)
The German Consulate General celebrated the Day of German Unity with an outdoor reception hosted by Consul General and Mrs. Wolfgang Drautz at their residence in Hancock Park on October 3, 2009.
The German national holiday marks the day in 1990 when the German Democratic Republic (East) acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany, once again reuniting the country. This year's celebration centered on two significant anniversaries: the 60th birthday of the Federal Republic of Germany and the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In his welcoming remarks, Consul General Drautz commented on the upcoming anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall:
Next month we will celebrate 20 years of the fall of the Berlin Wall. We remember gratefully the days 20 years ago which brought unity to Europe and the start of globalization to the world. It was a unique time in history when borders changed without bloodshed, without fighting and without dispute. Now we - the United Germany - is encircled by friends! I wholeheartedly thank our American allies and friends that helped us to bring the wall down and our national unity about. It was the American presidents (John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush) who helped to bring down the wall. I invite you all today to come to Wilshire Blvd. on November 8, (the eve of November 9 in Germany) when the city of Los Angeles, the Wende Museum, the Consulate, the Goethe Institut and many more will build a wall across the Blvd. - and then we will tear it down together - simultaneously with the Berliners across the Atlantic. This time the wall will not separate people but it will unite people in their feelings, in friendship and in cooperation.
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- Consul General Drautz and his family sing the German national anthem.
- (© Consulate General Los Angeles)
Before declaring the buffet open, Consul General Drautz took the opportunity to thank all the sponsors for their generous support without whom the celebration would not have been possible: Deutsche Bank, German National Tourist Office, Lufthansa, Wines of Germany, the German American Business Association (GABA) as well as MC Frank Mottek, singer Christina Linhardt and musicians Christoph Bull, Benedikt Brydern, John Hatten and Larry Giannecchini.
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- Guests enjoy the delicious buffet of German specialities.
- (© Consulate General Los Angeles)
With the official part of the program over, the 300 guests, including local and foreign dignitaries and members of the German-American community, enjoyed the mild LA evening temperatures as they dined on a delicious buffet of German specialities, listened to pleasant sounds of jazz and mixed and mingled late into the evening by the light of a beautiful full moon. A good time was had by all.
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