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Sullen or proud: Germans fete a decade as one nation |
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October 4, 2000
DRESDEN, Germany (AP) - Thousands of Germans joined dignitaries from nine nations Tuesday to celebrate 10 years as one nation in this city destroyed by allied bombs in World War II and enjoying a post-reunification renaissance. Yet the festive mood in Dresden, where French President Jacques Chirac and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright joined national celebrations, was undermined by a firebomb attack overnight on a synagogue in the western city of Duesseldorf. Michel Friedman, vice president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, condemned the attack as evidence "that the threat of right-wing violence is a problem for all of Germany." "Ten years after reunification anti-Semitism and neo-Nazis have reunited." In Dresden, musicians dressed in folk costumes serenaded officials as they walked a route lined by thousands of revelers from an ecumenical service for the main celebration at the stately Semper Oper, among a clutch of historic buildings rebuilt by the former communist regime. Inside, however, the tone was much more serious as speakers recalled the historic achievements of the last decade, and mindful of the recent far-right attacks, called on all Germans to condemn right-wing violence in reunified Germany. "Everything humanly possible must be done to fight all forms of anti-foreigner hate and violence against the weak," said German President Johannes Rau, Germany's ceremonial head of state. "We cannot allow in the middle of Germany that people are once again hunted," Rau said in a reference to the Holocaust, when Nazis murdered 6 million Jews. Addressing foreign guests at a luncheon afterward, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder offered assurances about Germany's commitment to democracy. "We will never again give right-wing extremism or violence a chance in Germany." In his remarks, Chirac honored the East German people, whose popular protests in Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin, finally brought down the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989, paving the way for rapid reunification just 11 months later. "They sent an unmistakable signal of freedom," Chirac said, which in turn made closer European integration possible. The French leader also lavished praise on former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, notably absent from the ceremonies despite his critical role securing reunification. Kohl, disgraced by a campaign financing scandal, snubbed the party after being stricken from the speakers list. Still, the 70-year-old former chancellor has used the anniversary to rehabilitate his image and in recent days went on the offensive to claim credit for reunification for his conservative Christian Democratic party and accuse the left-leaning Social Democrats, now in government, of betraying the cause of unity a decade ago. It was Kohl's cultivation of friendships with leaders such as then Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev that convinced the wartime Allies to let Germany reunite, only 11 months after the Berlin Wall fell on Nov. 9, 1989. But his 1990 promise of "blooming landscapes" for East Germans turned sour as the noncompetitive communist economy collapsed, killing millions of jobs, shaking many easterners' faith in western values and leaving the area dependent on massive federal handouts. Not a merger of equals, German union was really a western takeover. High joblessness and the disorienting loss of eastern identity are reasons often cited for the high incidence of extreme-right violence in the east. Even now, eastern wages are about 15 percent lower than those in the west and regional unemployment is about twice the national average. On the eve of Unity Day, labor unions renewed calls for employers to finally close the wage gap. Dresden, the Saxony state capital, proves that unification also has worked. Saxony is the economically most dynamic of the five former East Germany states, successfully attracting high-profile modern manufacturing and information technology firms over the last decade to replace outdated smokestack industries. Devastated by U.S. and British bombers in February 1945, the city once known as "Florence on the Elbe River" for its magnificent architecture is now a growing high-tech center, and its landmarks are undergoing a lavish facelift. Polls show support for reunification growing in both east and west. But as festival tents and sausage stands went up Monday in central Dresden, some were resisting that growing consensus. "There's been a collapse of values," declared a 43-year-old Dresden social worker who withheld her name, saying she didn't want her boss to know her opinion. "Now, everything is about money." |