Schicksalstag

November 9, a “Day of Fate” in Germany as so many consequential events - triumphs and tragedies - seem to fall on this day.

Here are some examples:

November 9, 1848 — Liberal leader Robert Blum is executed in Vienna, which dramatically sets back any hope of democratic reforms in the German states.

November 9, 1918 — The birth of democracy in Germany as the last emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, flees into the exile and the Weimar Republic is proclaimed.

November 9, 1923 — Exactly five years later, Adoph Hitler and his followers attempt to seize power in what is remembered as “The Beer Hall Putsch.” Sixteen Nazis are killed and the coup fails, but it’s a major moment in Hitler’s eventual rise to power.

November 9, 1938 — Fifteen years later, Nazi Germany unleashes brutal and coordinated attacks against Jewish citizens, synagogues and businesses. It’s remembered as Kristallnacht (“Night of Broken Glass”).

November 9, 1989 - East German authorities, overwhelmed by bureaucratic confusion and frustration, announce that citizens could cross the border freely. Within hours the Berlin Wall was coming down and freedom emerged in a reunited Germany.