| |
|
|
|
|
|
||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
Ambassador Scharioth’s Remarks at the Celebration
of the Day of German Unity October 3, 2006 Mr. President, It is truly a great pleasure for my wife and me to have you here tonight at the German residence in Washington. Today is a day of unrestricted joy. We are celebrating sixteen years of German Unity. We are celebrating the day when the painful division of Germany came to an end after almost half a century, the division which separated families – like my own – right through the middle, separated friends, a whole people and a whole country. At the same time the artificial division of Europe – denying a long common history – could finally be overcome. Let’s celebrate that, too. It all started in the summer of 1989, when Hungary opened its borders. Soon thereafter, the velvet revolution began in Prague, as Solidarnosc had been active in Poland. In October, more and more people took to the streets in peaceful demonstrations every Monday in Leipzig. And then it happened: The Berlin wall came down on November 9, 1989. I think probably every one of us still remembers where she or he was in that historic moment. Less than eleven months later, Germany was reunited and Europe was transformed for good. I feel deeply honored that the two heads of state and government, who realized that there was a unique window of opportunity, who were determined to grasp this historic chance and thus were instrumental in making this happen, are here with us tonight. A special welcome to you, Mr. President, and to you, Mr. Chancellor. We are deeply grateful – and I might add, a bit proud – that you both agreed to be our special guests of honor tonight. We are touched by this gesture of friendship. Mr. President, we know that without you and your team, without the support of the American people, unification would not have been possible. You supported our idea of 2+4- talks immediately and you helped us convince others. I know what I am talking about, as I had the privilege of participating in these 2+4- talks – of course very much in the back of the room. And let me be very clear: we will never forget the essential role you played, as we won’t forget the Marshall Plan, we won’t forget the Berlin Airlift, or John F. Kennedy’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” or Ronald Reagan’s “Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall, open up this gate”. Mr. President, thank you for what you and the American people have done for us and for being our guest of honor tonight. Mr. Chancellor, thank you for coming all the way from Germany to celebrate with your friend, President George Herbert Walker Bush, and with us this very special day. You sensed in November 1989, that the vast majority of Germans wanted to be reunited and more importantly you also sensed that there was a chance to realize our dream. You acted on it, you convinced others, including Mr. Gorbachev and you succeeded: Under your watch Germany was re-united. We all know that there is still a huge amount of work ahead of us for all of Germany to fully grow together. But I am deeply grateful that we have the opportunity to do so and I am sure, together we will make it. And let’s not forget: It was you, who suggested that October 3rd should be our national holiday. So, also in this way, you are directly responsible for the fact that we celebrate today together. Thank you for what you have done and thank you for being our guest of honor tonight. Last but not least, I would like to thank the co-host of this evening, Minister President Milbradt of Saxony and his wife, your whole team and all the sponsors for making this quite unusual celebration possible. “Baroque meets High Tech” not only shows that preserving one’s cultural heritage is not at odds with developing state of the arts technology. The opposite is true: The two are mutually reinforcing. And mutually reinforcing is also the friendship between the American and the German peoples. In a globalizing world there is no reasonable alternative to a close cooperation between Europe and America, between Germany and the United States. If we want to defend our values, the values of the enlightenment, we have to work closely together: A vigorous united Europe, not as a counter-weight, but as a strong partner for America at eye level. That’s what we work for, and that’s what we will achieve. And now let’s celebrate this special day and the friendship between our peoples. Thank you.
|
|
 Newsletters
 Printer-Friendly
Page
Email This Article |
||
|
|||||
|
|||||
