The last fortnight of October was surprisingly quiet in German politics, except that the immigrant bashing is ongoing. Political heavy weights are wading into the debate now, but not adding substance to it. I hope I shall be Spanish enough for the Spanish once they start. After all I am an immigrant (from the right country)!
October is the month when we celebrate the ‘Day of German Unity.’ I was brought up with the ‘Day of German unity, which we used to celebrate in June. The latter one remembered the dead of the June 1953 rebellion in Eastern Germany. Thirty-eight years later, they were seemingly not worth honouring any longer; the East had joined the West on the 3rd of October 1990.
Unity is a good thing, but I always had problems with the term re-unification, liberally used with the connotation of finally having rectified the biggest anomaly in German history. That laughs into the face of every person interested in history.
The idea of Germanness took hold in the 9th and 10th century with Emperor Charles the Great (800 AD) and Otto I (961 AD). The full official name of Germany was first mentioned in 1486 as Holy Roman Empire of German Nations, just as the Swiss were preparing to be lost to the German cause forever (peace treaty of Basel 1499).
And which dynasty did the German King or Emperor belong to most of the time from 1273 onwards? The Habsburg Dynasty, originating from Switzerland, but finding a new home in Austria. For more than 500 years they bribed their peers and the Pope to be the head of a bunch of more than 300 independent German states until 1806, when Napoleon put an end to it and reorganized Germany into 39 independent states. The rise of the Prussians began, ending with the end of the ‘German War’ in 1871, when Germany was unified without the Austrians, because that suited the Prussians.
A measly 74 years of partial unity out of more than 1,000 years of German history – you see it is ridiculous to be emotional about re-unification and the biggest anomaly in German history took place between 1933 and 1945, but the dead of that epoch obviously never were worth remembering.
A famous Sunday poll from our public television shows us Germans to be so unified, that 98% thinks that “politics must engage more with the people again.” Another 85% feel that “most politicians don’t know what’s going on in real life,” and 80% think that “important decisions are being made without really taking the interests of people into account.” I would call this a slap into the face, even if it is only a poll.
Another slap is currently unfolding in Stuttgart, the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg, forever conservative run. For weeks now demonstrations are taking place on a daily basis, many participants normally being conservative supporters. In 1988 it was decided to move the railway and railway station underground, freeing up 80.000m2 of non-governmental land for building projects right in the centre of the city. The problem is that the costs for the taxpayer have ballooned so much that a lot of people feel it is money wasted, stopping other much needed projects for lack of funds. The regional government so far has behaved like the famous elephant and worse – and because it is also a pet project of Angela Merkel both could fall after the regional elections in March 2011.
Unity however did not go very far when our President stated, that the Islam is already a part of German life. Some 49% are against his opinion and 47% for it. The question is: do we have 47% Muslims in Germany or 49% blind and deaf?