| German Unity Day on 3 October, a public holiday, is a date that most Germans do not emotionally connect to. The right national holiday would be 9 November, the fall of the Berlin Wall, which is, however, a cursed date for the country. On 3 October 1990, the East German Democratic Republic ceased to exist. The states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia joined the (West German) Federal Republic after the first freely elected parliament of the GDR, decided to do so. The date was chosen not for any symbolic reason but simply because German politicians wanted to complete the process as fast as possible, doing so the day after the last meeting of the former occupying forces. Most Germans do not feel an emotional connection to what is now the national holiday, and no tradition has emerged on that day (apart from a separate tradition to celebrate the 'open doors' of mosques). Thirty-four years on, most West Germans still grapple with understanding the Ossis (slang for people from East Germany), currently relevant following three regional elections in the east, which saw the far-right AfD “winning one gold medal and two times silver,” as party leader (and Ossi) Tino Chrupalla put it. While most East Germans take pride in the Wende, the peaceful revolution that ended their communist dictatorship, debate has emerged over how many people were actively protesting (probably fewer than who now say so, which is normal) and whether joining the Federal Republic (instead of setting up a new, joint constitution) was a mistake. More meaningful would be to find joint experiences that can finally unite the country emotionally, after legal and economic unification (the latter remaining incomplete). So far, it is mostly football that has managed to do so, as seen in this year’s European Championship (even though only 1 of 10 stadiums was located in the East, which accounts for 17% of the German population) and particularly in the Sommermärchen of 2006. | 