Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned against extremism in his speech on German Unity Day. "The unbearable political demagoguery of extremist forces, who enjoy destruction and mock and threaten other people, not only endangers freedom and democracy today. It endangers our unity," said Steinmeier during the ceremony in Bremen.
“Every vote counts, everyone must be taken seriously,” said the Federal President. This is precisely why one cannot avoid the fact that “a quarter, a third and more are declaring with their voting decision that they are turning away from important fundamental rights of our republic.” The motives can vary from person to person, says Steinmeier. “But the fact remains: Voters who go to extremes loudly insist on their own rights while being prepared to compromise the rights of others.”
Steinmeier emphasized that this “shock in politics” does not lie in one area. "We know it is East German as well as West German. It affects us all," said the Federal President. “If so many voters in East German countries have gone to political extremists, we should not forget about the high percentages: Extremists find the absolute most votes in West German countries.”
The Federal President also spoke of failures in the 36 years of German unity. "People don't just want to be passive recipients of support. They have something to give, something to achieve and want in all areas, whether economics, politics, science or media," said Steinmeier. Therefore, the low representation of East German biographies in such positions is no glory. Even in the fourth decade of unity, this deficiency remains serious. “It’s not too late to change that,” said the Federal President.
As his speech continued, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier appealed to German citizens to assert themselves against a “flood of manipulation and lies.” “Let us not allow ourselves to be paralyzed by the deliberately fabricated distorted images of our country – fabricated by Kremlin trolls, by German right-wing extremists or by left-wing authoritarian will-o-the-wisps, flooded onto the Internet by unscrupulous Internet oligarchs,” said Steinmeier. The Federal President spoke of “oligarchs whose private wealth and whose financial influence on politics exceed all previously known limits.”
The official celebrations for the Day of German Unity began with an ecumenical service on Saturday in Bremen. For security reasons, the service in St. Peter's Cathedral was only open to invited guests. The sermon was given by the Bremen Protestant Church President, Bernd Kuschnerus, and the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Osnabrück, Dominicus Meier.
On the eve of the celebration of German Unity Day, hundreds gathered at an Antifa demonstration in downtown Bremen. The rally was registered by the “Basic Group Antifascism Bremen” under the title: “No peace with the nation!” In the evening the situation on Sielwall escalated. Several people gathered at a street intersection and threw stones, bottles and pyrotechnics at emergency services, the police said. A police officer was injured and required medical treatment.
The citizens' festival for German Unity Day in Bremen opened with a symbolic rocket launch. “That was a surprise for me too,” said Federal Council President and Bremen’s Prime Minister Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD) after the official starting signal. The celebration will last three days and up to 450,000 visitors are expected.
