November 9: Merz: "Freedom and democracy are never a matter of course"
Proclamation of the Republic, Kristallnacht, fall of the Wall: November 9th stands for the darkest and happiest hours of our history, according to the Chancellor. What does he derive from this?
Berlin, 9th November: Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has called for the 37th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall to be dedicated to the defense of freedom and democracy in Germany and Europe. On X, he reminded all three events that the 9th of November represents: the Reich pogrom night when the Nazis unleashed a wave of violence against the Jewish population in 1938, the proclamation of the republic in 1918 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
"The 9th of November stands for the darkest and the happiest hours of our history: for anti-Semitism and persecution, for the beginning of democracy and the fall of the wall," Merz said. "Freedom and democracy are never self-evident. Let us protect them - in Germany and Europe." Later in the afternoon, the Chancellor plans to join Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) and Landtag President Ilse Aigner (CSU) at a celebration marking the 20th anniversary of the main synagogue Ohel Jakob in Munich.
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