On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of German Reunification of 3 October, German community of the Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC NE) organised an official celebration combined with a lecture, held in Baltic Barracks on 6 October 2010.
A lecture by Mr Ablaß was titled “From Awakening to Unity”. As a witness and an active participant of the past events, Mr Ablaß was talking about people’s moods, subsequent events awakening the unity leading to the reunification of two German states after 40 years of separation as well as the evolving geopolitical situation in the region. “Even 20 years later, I still rejoice and like to mark this day, 3 October, the Day of German Unity,” he admitted. “The East Germans have won freedom and democracy by themselves,” Mr Ablaß underlined. “Two brothers of one family came home in 1945 from a terrible war. After a 40-year separation, they have again united into a single family,” he said. After the lecture, the participants used the chance to ask questions to the honorable guest. Among other things, the questions referred to differences between the Armed Forces in East and West Germany and their integration. As Mr Ablaß stressed, the reunion has been extremely successful on the military plane.
After the question-and-answer phase, a short speech by the Corps’ Commander and a prayer said by the Archbishop Dzięga, all participants of the event met at the common reception.
For members of the Headquarters, who come from eleven nations, celebrating national holidays is of vital importance. It proves mutual respect for national traditions and, at the same time, is a fruitful source of information about the different nations and their history.
