Greeting on the Occasion of the 52nd Annual Steuben Parade in New York for "America Woche", the German Newspaper for America
Greeting from Dr. Horst Freitag,
Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in New York
Dear Amerika Woche readers,
Dear visitors to the 52nd annual Steuben Parade in New York,
The year 2009 is, in many respects, a very special year for German-American relations.
On May 23rd of this year, the Federal Republic of Germany turned 60 years old. Sixty years ago, Germans in the western part of our country made a promise; having in mind those Germans who could not act freely: with the Basic Law, they opened the possibility of rebuilding Germany on the basis of freedom and human dignity, of establishing a stable democracy and social market economy, of peacefully overcoming the division of their country and of leading Germany back into the circle of free peoples. We Germans seized this opportunity.
When we speak of 60 years of the Federal Republic, we are thus aware that for one part of Germany they were a 60-year success story, but for another part of now reunited Germany, they were not.
Forty years after the enactment of the Basic Law, on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. "Wir sind das Volk" – “We are the people” – under this motto, 20 years ago, hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Leipzig and many other cities in the GDR and demanded freedom, democracy and human rights. „Wir sind ein Volk“ – “We are one people” – that was the call and the commitment to unity of the nation. The people of the GDR peacefully brought down the Wall and made possible the first successful revolution for freedom in German history. We have now been together for almost a third of the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Without the help and support of the United States of America, the reconstruction and unity of the nation as such would not have been possible. For this, we are deeply grateful to the United States. We know how important it is for us to have a partner and ally like the United States of America by our side. We also know that the fall of the Wall ushered in a new era on the European continent and the international stage, that we must continually renew and refresh our solid transatlantic partnership in a changing world. Global interdependencies will not let themselves be shaped by old ways of thinking. On the basis of our common values, we must, together with other rising and responsible powers, meet the new challenges, turn them into opportunities and transform the opportunities into practical cooperation and successes. This holds especially true for security policy, including disarmament and arms control policy, for international economic and financial policy and for environmental and climate policy. It is for this that the great potential of the transatlantic partnership must be used.
You, dear readers, contribute greatly and in myriad ways to the close, lively and innovative German-American ties. I would like to thank you for your valuable engagement, and at the same time encourage you to continue to let German culture, learning and language live on in your families, to pass them on to your children and grandchildren and to enliven the exchange between the U.S. and Germany again and again. This year’s Steuben Parade, on September 19th, the highlight of “German-American Friendship Month,” will offer abundant opportunities for this. The fact that out of a single “German-American Day” has grown an entire month of highly interesting events is the best sign that our transatlantic relations are steadily further intensifying.
For a detailed and current overview of all events in New York with a German connection, I recommend that you visit the website www.germanyinnyc.org - “The place for all things German in New York.”
I am happy that this year two parade floats – that of the Consulate General as well as that of the German Embassy in Washington – will take part in the Steuben Parade. This is a first. Sixty years of the Federal Republic of Germany and 20 years since the fall of the Wall present the proper occasion for this. In total, a variety of groups from Germany as well as numerous German-American associations from the entire United States, even from Wisconsin and California, will travel here and make this an unforgetable event.
On the evening before, the Empire State Building will already shine black, red and gold over New York City and beckon all to the Steuben Parade. I would be pleased to see lively participation. I thank the organizers and all those who actively support this year’s Steuben Parade for their exemplary effort and their great engagement. Let us conquer Fifth Avenue with good cheer and celebrate German-American Friendship!
Yours,
Horst Freitag
