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GERMAN AMERICAN JOURNAL
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2014
Germany’s "Destiny Day" November 9th is a date in German history that has, as the German news magazine Der Spiegel described it in 2009, marked the highs and lows of the German people. Known in German as der Schicksaltag, or “destiny day”, the 9th of November has continuously popped up in the course of German history, especially in times of great upheaval or societal change. The first occurrence that shaped the history of the German people on November 9th was the end of the 1848 revolutions with the death of liberal leader, Robert Blum. The revolutions that had swept through Europe in 1848 saw the different social classes unite, though shakily, to push for further democratization of their government. Blum’s execution was the symbolic end to these revolutions. Germany’s destiny day was more frequent in the 20th century, starting with the end of the First World War and the overthrow of the German Kaiser. Dissatisfied with the wartime conditions, the Germans revolted against their monarchy and established Germany’s first republic, the Weimar Republic, on November 9, 1918. After years of failure to install any effective form of democracy in Prussia and the later German Empire, the German people finally had their own government. But, as described above, the highs of destiny day were accompanied by lows. In the mid-20th century, the 9th of November was stained by the dark cloud of
Nazism. 1923 saw the “Beer Hall Putsch,” the Nazi’s first attempt to gain control over the German government and the first appearance of the future dictator, Adolf Hitler, on the national stage. November 1938 saw the horrific anti-Jewish pogrom known as Kristallnacht, the Night of the Broken Glass. The tide of democracy ushered in by the Weimar Republic was, by 1938, completely dismantled. This trend of dark days of Nazi domination and the later dismemberment of the German people and country during the Cold War would come to an end finally on November 9, 1989 with the breaking down of the maligned Berlin Wall. The peaceful and joyful rise of the new German people captured the world’s attention and signaled the end of the Cold War the renewal of a unified German people. Though Germany’s destiny day has its highs and lows, it remains important to the Germans who have survived the dark times or lived through the jubilant times of the reunification. No one knows what next event will become part of the story of der Schicksaltag, but Germany’s current place in the international community indicates it will be one of national pride and celebration of the true German spirit of unity and progress. · Ryan Maloney
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