Germany celebrates reunification.

GERMAN REUNIFICATION | 02.10.2010

Germany kicks off celebrations to mark 20 years since reunification

 

A visitor in Bremen checks out an exhibit on reunified Germany

Germany has begun a weekend of celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of reunification. Politicians have been urging Germans to celebrate the accomplishments achieved in the united country over the past two decades.

 

On October 3, 1990 Germany was officially reunified after four decades of division into the Soviet-controlled communist German Democratic Republic in the east and the Federal Republic of Germany in the west.

The Berlin Wall had fallen just 11 months earlier when Germans celebrated their reunited status in front of the Bundestag, or parliament, in Berlin.

October 3 has been a public holiday since, with the northern port city of Bremen this year taking its turn as the lead city for the celebrations.

The city has been turned into a venue for concerts, street parties, parades and appearances by leading politicians.

"Today, we remember the brave citizens who fought for freedom. That's why we're celebrating today with a citizens' festival," Bremen mayor and the current president of the upper house of the German parliament, Jens Boehrnsen said on Saturday as he kicked off the festivities.

In the market square, a version of the Berlin Wall has been erected to display images and texts showing the story of the country's division and reunification.