Schwarzer, stilisierter Bundesadler auf transparentem Hintergrund. Daneben steht der Schriftzug "Der Bundespräsident"

When Frank-Walter Steinmeier calls us into the hallowed halls of Bellevue Palace, we get curious. Especially when the mission is to travel the length and breadth of Germany and meet and interview 30 of the country’s most interesting citizens. Their stories, experiences and destinies concerning being German are shown in the video collage “Geteilte Geschichte(n) – Geteilte Wünsche” (Shared History – Shared Wishes).

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30 Years of German Unity.

The video collage was shown as an installation in public space for 30 days on the occasion of the Day of German Unity 2020. The multimedia LED cube designed by brot & salz captivated passers-by and created a special and highly emotional experience of history. The statements of the 30 personalities as well as the speeches of the Federal Presidents were translated into sign language and created an inclusive dialogue.

Schwarzer, stilisierter Bundesadler auf transparentem Hintergrund. Daneben steht der Schriftzug "Der Bundespräsident"

Shared History –
Shared Wishes.

To mark the 30th anniversary of German unity, brot & salz was commissioned by the Office of the Federal President to produce a video collage with quotes from 30 people whom Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier met during his term of office in the “Divided History(s)” dialogue series and on other issues of togetherness in Germany. In their spoken contributions, the 30 interlocutors complete the following four sentences: “My name is… In 1990 I was… Today I am… For Germany I wish…” To commemorate important debates surrounding German unity, seven quotes from the speeches of the German presidents in office since 1990 were also woven into the collage.

Thomas Milster Colonel of the Reserve, Berlin
Gloria Boateng Teacher, recipient of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Hamburg
Mevlüde Genç lost five relatives in the 1993 Solingen assassination attempt, recipient of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Düzen Tekkal Human rights activist, social entrepreneur and journalist, Berlin
Alexander Gerst Astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA), Cologne
Margot Friedländer Holocaust survivor, recipient of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Gerald Asamoah Former national soccer player, FC Schalke 04
Prof. Dr. Antje Boetius Marine biologist, Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremen, recipient of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Martin Fleig National cadre athlete with the Nordic Paraski Team Germany, Freiburg
Ingo Schulze Writer, Berlin, recipient of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Prof. Dr. Richard Schröder Chairman of the parliamentary group in the first freely elected Volkskammer of the GDR, later member of the Bundestag
Marco Thiele Managing director of a family business in Halle/Saale
Dirk Balster Managing Director of Chemnitz Hospital
Anastassia Pletoukhina Sociologist, witness of the attack on the Halle synagogue in 2019
Georg Mascolo Journalist, Hamburg
Carla Reemtsma Climate activist with “Fridays for Future,” Münster
Bernd Richter Chairman of the Prisoners’ Initiative of the Lindenstrasse 54 Memorial Foundation, Potsdam
Prof. Dr. Hacı-Halil Uslucan Director of the Center for Turkish Studies and Integration Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen
Robert Wüst Metalworker and President of the Potsdam Chamber of Crafts and Trades
Dr. Annika Badorreck Volunteer with THW Cottbus
Ali Can Social activist, author and head of the Viel- Respekt-Zentrum in Essen, Germany
Pauline Kling Student at the TU Dresden
Elke Büdenbender Lawyer and wife of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Pia Findeiß Mayor of the city of Zwickau
Marco Seiffert Journalist, Berlin
Maria Groß Cook, Erfurt
Peter Schneider Writer, Berlin
Julian Vonarb Mayor of the city of Gera
Igor Levit Pianist, Berlin
Angela Marquardt Speaker at the Bundestag

The Villa Hammerschmidt:
History(s) of the
White House on the Rhine.

Greeting from the Federal President.

Thank you very much for taking a little time to reflect on 30 years of German unity, even though the Corona pandemic is challenging us in so many ways. Keeping our distance has become one of the most frequently heard pleas in this crisis, but that must not mean that we restrict the kind of closeness and exchange that our country needs right now for cohesion: between East and West, North and South, old and young, and all the other differences in origins, feelings of home, cultures, creeds or political convictions. Unity lives from the courage to make differences an issue and from the perseverance to negotiate democratic compromises. Unity lives from the determination to defend the values of our Basic Law again and again. Unity is what we have to win anew every day: we with each other.

Foto für die Referenz Bundespräsident: Abgebildet ist der Bundespräsident Deutschlands im Jahre 2020, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Federal President
Bild: © Bundesregierung / Steffen Kugler

Schwarzer, stilisierter Bundesadler auf transparentem Hintergrund. Daneben steht der Schriftzug "Der Bundespräsident"