Schwesig thanks people for their moral courage at the time of change at the ceremony for the Day of German Unity

On the 36th Day of German Unity, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig thanked the citizens for their civil courage during the time of reunification. “Without their courage we wouldn’t be here today,” she said at a ceremony to mark the upcoming German Unity Day.

The people in the East fought for their freedom when no one in the West believed in it and they themselves didn't know "whether they would come home in the evening or end up in the Stasi prison." In front of around 120 invited guests, including students from Schwerin, she appealed to young people to continue to work for freedom.

If some people today act as if we were in a GDR 2.0, "then that's not true," she emphasized, referring to the AfD, which spoke of the need for a blue transition during the election campaign. Schwesig viewed the result of the state elections almost two weeks ago as a signal of the current problems in the country. However, the current exploratory talks provide the chance for a stable government for all citizens in MV and overcoming the division in society, said Schwesig.