Nocturnal Reflections on German (?) Dreams and Nightmares about November 9 in the 20th Century

Abstract

In the course of the 20th century, Germany experienced four important political and social upheavals on November 9th: The Novemberrevolution in 1918, the Hitler putsch in 1923, the “Night of Broken Glass” in 1938 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. That is why prominent personalities have suggested to declare November 9th a national holiday. The article gives an account of the respective order of events and demonstrates that November 9th is as much a German as a European day. The commemoration of November 9th divides the German society up to the present day. On this account and because an adequate way of commemoration can no longer be prescribed in postmodern societies, the author regards November 9th to be unsuited for a national holiday. Instead of that, he suggests to commemorate November 9th as a European day in history. The consequences of intolerance in the historical context as well as the preconditions for a successful alliance of plural societies should be made an issue.