The Day of German Unity – October 3

The Day of German Unity, Germany’s national holiday, marks the day in 1990 on which the German Democratic Republic (East) acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany. More than remembering the wall, fences and armed guards that separated East from West during the Cold War, the Day of German Unity is a time to celebrate the peaceful unification and a time to look forward as the “new states” continue to surmount economic and demographic challenges.

In Washington, the German Embassy celebrates the Day of German Unity always with acknowledgement of the vital role played by the United States on the path to unification. Without American resoluteness displayed over decades throughout the Cold War and voiced memorably by Presidents Kennedy, Reagan and George H. W. Bush and, German unification might have remained merely a dream for some time.

Celebrating the Day of German Unity in “Garden of Ideas”

Guests at this year’s celebration of the Day of German Unity at the German Embassy on Wednesday, October 3, celebrated Germany’s national holiday in the “Garden of Ideas,” discovering innovations in renewable energies from Germany’s New Federal States. More

Message from Federal President Horst Köhler on the Day of German Unity 2007

"On this 3 October, the 17th anniversary of German Unity, Germany can look to the future with confidence. The challenges facing the world community are immense. Our nation has both the strength and the will to make an effective contribution towards tackling those challenges." More

From the Rise of the Berlin Wall to German Unification

German unification was not simply completed on one day, October 3, 1990. The process of unification began almost immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, but resistance to the totalitarian regime of the German Democratic Republic existed long before then.

Timeline – A multimedia look back
Closer Look – From summer of 1989 to October 3, 1990

Historic Phone Call Between Friends at a Culminating Moment

“Helmut!” President Bush called into the phone on October 3, 1990 in Washington. “I am sitting in a meeting with members of our Congress and am calling at the end of this historic day to wish you well.” Kohl, who had just shared the celebration in Berlin with a million Germans, responded: “Words can’t describe the feeling." More

Voices from the Wall

German unification on October 3, 1990, is of course inextricably linked to an event that seemed to catch the entire world off guard, the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. This unique collection of original, first person accounts of that time was compiled by the German Embassy. More

Economic Restructuring in Eastern Germany

In some ways, unification did not end on October 3, 1990. The German government has made some 156.5 billion euros available to promote investment in eastern Germany during the period 2005 to 2019. The most pressing problem remains unemployment. More

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The Day of German Unity - October 3

Message from Federal President Horst Köhler on the Day of German Unity 2007

From the Rise of the Berlin Wall to German Unification

	Timeline 1961 - 1990
	Closer Look at Unification Process

Historic Phone Calls Between Friends and Statesmen at a Culminating Moment

Voices from the Wall

Economic Restructuring in Eastern Germany

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