November 9 – Schicksalstag der Deutschen – Fateful Date of the Germans
Most people nowadays remember or know about the fall of the Berlin Wall (Mauerfall) on November 9, 1989. But many other events took place throughout German history on November 9, from an execution in 1848 to the horrible events of the Reichspogromnacht in 1938.
November 9, 1848
Robert Blum, a freedom fighter of the March Revolution 1848/49, is executed by Austrian troops. His last words were:
“I die for freedom for which I have fought – may the fatherland bear me in mind.”
November 9, 1918
Philipp Scheidemann, a democratic leader, proclaimed Germany a republic after WWI was lost. He stood on the western balcony of the Reichstagsgebäude. Emperor Wilhelm II officially abdicated on November 28, at that point already in exile in the Netherlands, and ended the constitutional monarchy.
On the same day, the socialist politician Karl Liebknecht proclaimed the free socialist republic of Germany. He did so in the pleasure park (Lustgarten) in front of the Berlin Stadtschloss, and then again from a window of the Palace after storming it.
November 9, 1923
Hitler and his Nazi Party tried to seize power of the German government in a coup; often called “Beer Hall Putsch” because it started in a beer hall in Munich, the Bürgerbräu Keller. Sometimes, the coup is referred to as the Hitlerputsch, Hitler-Ludendorff Putsch or the Bürgerbräu Putsch.
The photo shows the happenings on the Marienplatz in Munich on November 9, 1923. You can see Hitler’s supporters and members of his party, with the swastika armband. The speaker is Julius Streicher, a Nazi from the start, who was later convicted for crimes against humanity at the Nuremburg trials and executed in 1946.
The coup failed of course and Hitler and other participants had to stand trial for treason in April 1924. Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison. However, he was released after a couple of months in December ’24.
The photo shows some participants in the coup d’état; from left to right: Pernet, Dr. Weber, Frick, Kriebel, Ludendorff, Hitler, Bruckner, Röhm, Wagner
November 9, 1938
In the night from November 9 to 10, 1938, synagogues and Jewish stores in many cities in Germany were destroyed, vandalized, and burned by Nazis and their sympathizers. This night is referred to as Kristallnacht, Reichskristallnacht, Reichspogromnacht, and “Night of Broken Glass”.
Be aware that the word Kristall is a term that the Nazis used and that generally speaking has a positive connotation, as in crystal or crystalware.
The next day, Jews were arrested, restrictions and discriminatory laws were put into place, the so called November Pogrome. Around 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps in the immediate aftermath of the Reichspogromnacht.
November 9, 1989
In a televised press conference, the border between East and West Berlin was declared open on November 9, 1989. Thousands of people flocked to the Berliner Mauer, climbed it and started destroying it. They were celebrating the end of 28 years of the Wall.
After WWII, Germany was split between the Allied Forces, the U.S., France, Britain, and the Soviet Union. Under the leadership of the US Americans the Western part of Germany became Bundesrepublik Deutschland (BRD), and in the East the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) was established. Berlin was also split, West Berlin belonging to the BRD, the East part of the DDR.
However, people in Berlin could still go from East to West and vice versa, until the Communist East German government decided to build a wall to keep their people in. Right in the middle of Berlin a wall was erected. The Bernauer Straße for example was split, one side being in the East, the other in the West. Families and friends were separated.
At the Berlin Wall over 100 people died trying to flee to the West. Around 200 more were shot or stepped on mines in the Todesstreifen (death zone) at the German-German border, and possibly another 200 drowned in the Baltic Sea.
Sources and Resources
- Wiki – Robert Blum
- Wiki – Ausrufung der Republik
- Wiki – Hitlerputsch
- Beer Hall Putsch
- Wiki – Reichspogromnacht
- Kristallnacht – Engl.
- Wiki – Berliner Mauer
- BBC Berlin Wall
