It's October 3rd, German Unity Day. On this day in 1990, leaders of the former East and West Germanies signed the Treaty of Unification, making Germany’s unification official. In Berlin, this event's celebration is expanded to a three-day festival around the Brandenburg Gate and at the Reichstag around Platz der Republik.
After the end of World War II in 1945, the Soviet Union occupied eastern Germany, and the Western Allies occupied the western half. A divided Germany, and especially a divided Berlin, came to be looked upon as one of the most enduring symbols of the Cold War.
Berlin was the location of some of the Cold War's most dramatic episodes. The Soviets blocked all ground travel into West Berlin during the Berlin Blockade (June 1948 – May 1949) and constructed the Berlin Wall in 1961. As the Soviet Union's power gradually waned in the late 1980s, the Communist Party in East Germany began to lose its grip on power. Tens of thousands of East Germans began to flee the nation.
On September 4th, 1989, East Germans protested peacefully against their government in Leipzig. More demonstrations in other East German cities followed. Then on November 3rd, 1989, crowds of East German citizens joined protesters in forcing open the Berlin checkpoints between the two Germanies and toppled the Berlin Wall. Democratic elections then paved the way for eventual unification on this day, October 3rd, 1990. ☮️ Peace… Jamiese of Pixoplanet
