Partnership Day in Erlangen

To mark the Day of German Unity, 200 residents from Jena traveled to the twin city of Erlangen. Lord Mayor Thomas Nitzsche and many city councillors were part of the delegation. The Franconian city offered the visitors a rich program.

A particular highlight was the ceremony with keynote speaker Gesine Schwan. She called for the completion of unity. This can only succeed if more effort is made to think in terms of other life experiences.

Young people from a comprehensive school in Erlangen symbolically represented the overcoming of the separation of the two German states. The thought of being imprisoned was unbearable.

Both mayors praised the voluntary commitment that made the town twinning possible in the first place. Erlangen's Lord Mayor Florian Janik was able to summarize the happiness of unity with a little episode from the breakfast table. His young son asked his slightly older daughter how they had removed the wall back then. Her answer: "They just did it!"