by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
BERLIN/BREMEN (Worthy News) – German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has used his final German Unity Day address to warn that the country’s democracy is “being challenged anew,” expressing alarm about right-wing extremists seeking to erase the memory of Holocaust victims.
The 70-year-old president used Saturday’s ceremony in the northern city of Bremen to reflect on more than three decades of political change since the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification.
“I thought everyone had learned the lesson from history, and now I see supporters of right-wing extremism seeking to erase the memory of the victims of the Holocaust,” Steinmeier told those attending the official ceremony.
Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered six million Jews during the Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, while millions of other people were persecuted and killed during Nazi rule and World War Two.
“I believed our democracy was secure and now have to experience it being challenged anew,” Steinmeier added.
BITTER SETBACKS
Steinmeier, whose second and final term as president ends in March 2027, acknowledged that his expectations following the dramatic changes that began in 1989 had been greater than what ultimately became reality.
Those hopes included greater progress for liberal democracy and what he called “the undeniable reason of international cooperation,” but Steinmeier acknowledged there had been “bitter setbacks.”
His remarks came as Germany continues to grapple with political polarization, antisemitism and concerns about right-wing extremism, while the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) has gained substantial electoral support.
Germany’s domestic intelligence authorities have scrutinized the AfD and several of its structures over suspected right-wing extremism, assessments the party has challenged while rejecting accusations that it threatens democracy.
NEXT PRESIDENT
Looking ahead to his successor, Steinmeier warned that Germany’s presidency was “not an office to be taken lightly.”
He said promoting social cohesion and preserving the country’s unity would become increasingly demanding in the coming years.
The largely ceremonial German presidency carries significant constitutional and symbolic responsibilities, including representing the country internationally and serving as a voice on major national issues.
Steinmeier, a former foreign minister and prominent Social Democrat, became Germany’s president in March 2017 and was reelected for a second five-year term in 2022.
UNITY CELEBRATIONS
The official German Unity Day celebrations began earlier Saturday with an ecumenical service at Bremen’s St. Peter’s Cathedral attended by Steinmeier, Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other senior officials.
Germany marks Unity Day each October 3, commemorating the formal reunification of East and West Germany in 1990 following the collapse of communist rule in East Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall the previous year.
More than 550 events were being held in Bremen through Sunday to mark the 36th anniversary of reunification.
The celebrations rotate among Germany’s 16 states and are traditionally hosted by the state holding the presidency of the Bundesrat, the upper house of parliament. Bremen currently holds the rotating presidency at a time of social and political challenges in Europe’s largest economy.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
