Celebrating Unity and Friendship
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- Boathouse impression
- (© Nathalie Schueller)
On Friday, October 2, over 1000 invited guests came to the Boathouse in Central Park to celebrate the 19th anniversary of the German reunification.
Consul General Horst Freitag, and his wife, Mrs. Chantal Freitag, together with Ambassador Thomas Matussek, the Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations, and his wife, Mrs. Ursula Matussek, welcomed dignitaries from all over the world as well as friends and members of the German-American community in New York.
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- Dr. Henry Kissinger, second from left, talks to Ambassador Thomas Matussek, Consul General Horst Freitag and Mrs. Chantal Freitag
- (© Nathalie Schueller)
As distinguished guest of honor Dr. Henry Kissinger, 56th Secretary of State of the United States (1973 to 1977) and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1973), joined the celebrations. Deputy Secretary-General Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro represented the United Nations. Congressman Michael McMahon as well as New York City Commissioners Marjorie B. Tiven, Raymond W. Kelly, Matthew W. Daus, Janette Sadik-Khan and Brian G. Andersson were among the special guests of this event.
In his address Consul General Horst Freitag paid tribute to the “hundreds of thousands who courageously and peacefully marched for freedom and unity in Leipzig, Berlin and other cities 20 years ago.“ He also thanked the countries “which helped to put the first cracks into the Iron Curtain, most notably Hungary, the former Czechoslovakia, Poland and the politics of Glasnost and Perestroika in the Soviet Union.” Emphasizing the steadfast help and unwaivering support of the United States of America , which was decisive in achieving German reunification, he said: “For this we will remain forever grateful.”
Adding a personal note, Ambassador Thomas Matussek used the opportunity to bid farewell to the guests, as he will soon assume his new post in New Delhi. Looking ahead, he drew attention to Germany’s candidature for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council in 2011/ 2012.
The picture-perfect views of the Boathouse set the stage for Jennifer Johnson and Donovan Singletary from the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, who performed the German and U.S. national anthems a capella. Pianist Joachim Junghanss and the Swing band Double Down brought out the guests’ dancing feet, especially when they played Frank Sinatra’s “New York New York”.
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- Group Picture of the Sponsors of the 19th Day of German Unity
- (© Nathalie Schueller)
The presenting sponsor BMW of Manhattan Diplomatic Privilege introduced cars and motorcycles, among them the Mini E, a 100% electric, zero-emissions MINI. Thanks to their contributions for the evening, the guests enjoyed wines from the German state of Hessen and tap-fresh beer from Radeberger Pilsener. Deutsche Telekom, E on, Ziehm Medical, BASF, Lufthansa, Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen, LBBW Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, B. Braun Medical, Munich Re America, KPMG, DZ Bank, Commerzbank, Invest in Bavaria, Allianz, ThyssenKrupp, Wempe, Bayer AG, Symrise, Deutsche Bank, Axel Springer Group and Air Berlin were the supporting sponsors of the event.
