Germany celebrates national day on reunification anniversary

Germany is celebrating the 17th anniversary of its reunification. It’s now a well-attended national celebration to mark the country’s political merger, 11 months after the Berlin Wall came down.

This year it’s being hosted by Mecklenberg-Western Pommerania, in the former East Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel has her constituency.

“This, for me, is the perfect venue,” Merkel said.

The 15 other German federal states are participating too.

There have also been more ceremonies at the former Checkpoint Charlie in the heart of Berlin.

It’s become the pilgrimage point for many who escaped the iron curtain.

Among them, American John Ireland who smuggled ten people out in the mid 1960s in a hidden compartment of his rebuilt Cadillac.

October 3rd has now been designated Germany’s national holiday.

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