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Ambassador Ischinger’s Message of Greeting

Dear friends,

It is with great joy that Germany celebrates today the 15th anniversary of its reunification. United Germany is a free and stable democracy, surrounded by friends and partners.

We owe a great deal to the United States. Without America’s unwavering commitment to freedom and democracy, Europe as a whole and many of its parts, including Germany, would definitely be a different place today.

Without America’s belief in German democracy, German unification might not have taken place in my lifetime. We are very fortunate to have one of the most important architects of German unification here today, former Secretary of State James Baker, who will be our guest of honor at the Embassy’s Day of German Unity Reception.

Germany is working to take a role of responsibility in global affairs, to be a good neighbor in Europe and a good friend to the United States, in both good and in difficult times. We just held elections in German, and one thing is clear: no matter whom they voted for, Germans will always want to be closely allied with America and we want to be friends with our American partners.

The German government and the German people responded very quickly, offering assistance to Americans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The German Air Force airlifted 45 tons of food rations, and nearly 100 experts of the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief have helped plump floodwaters out of New Orleans. Many citizens and many German and German-American companies are donating supplies and money. My Embassy revitalized the German American Solidarity Fund, which we initially set up right after 9/11, and with it we wish to offer a chanel for donation to the victims in the spirit of German-American partnership and friendship.

I want all of you to join in the celebration of German Unity today, knowing that we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our American friends.