Schicksalstag - November 9 - "Day of Fate"

November 9, 2016, may seem like a "Day of Fate" for the United States as Americans processed the results of the Presidential election that took place on November 8th.  But November 9th has been called the "Day of Fate" - Schicksalstag - in Germany due to events stemming back to 1848.  5 major, history-altering events happened in Germany on a November 9th. But first, a little vocab lesson: 

VOCAB TIDBIT

In that infamous German compound noun way, the word Schicksalstag is actually a lot easier to understand if you break it down.  Schicksal means fate; it can also be translated as fortune or doom, depending on the context.  Tag means day.  

Tag is a word that is added to many simple nouns to make words that you may or may not be familiar with.  Examples:

Geburtstag.  Geburt is birth + tag = birthday.  

Feiertag is a holiday.  Feier is celebration.

Similarly, a Ruhetag is a day of rest (Ruhe).  Sonntag is meant to be a Ruhetag (Sonntag = Sunday).   All weekdays in German end in -tag except Wednesday, which is Mittwoch (mid of the week):  Montag, Dienstag, Donnerstag, Freitag. Samstag & Sonntag.  

**By the way, a German week traditionally starts on MONTAG, and German calendars reflect this.**

(calendar source)

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Now getting back to the SCHICKSALSTAG of November 9th ...

Here is a list of 5 fateful events that happened in Germany on a November 9th in history, courtesy of wikipedia:

• 1848: After being arrested in the Vienna revolts, left liberal leader Robert Blum was executed. The execution can be seen as a symbolic event or forecast of the ultimate crushing of the German March Revolution in April/May 1849.

• 1918: Monarchy in Germany ended when Kaiser Wilhelm II was dethroned in the November Revolution by his chancellor Max von Baden, who published the news of abdication before the emperor actually abdicated. Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the Weimar Republic from a window of the Reichstag. Two hours later Karl Liebknecht proclaimed a "Free Socialist Republic" from a balcony of the Berliner Stadtschloss. 

• 1923: The failed Beer Hall Putsch, from 8 to 9 November, marks an early emergence and provisional downfall of the Nazi Party as an important player on Germany's political landscape. Without sufficient preparation Hitler simply declared himself leader in Munich, Bavaria. Hitler's march through Munich was stopped by Bavarian police who opened fire. Sixteen nationalists and four policemen were killed. 

• 1938: In what is today known as Kristallnacht (or The Night of Broken Glass), from 9 to 10 November, synagogues and Jewish property were burned and destroyed on a large scale. More than 400 Jews were killed or driven into suicide. The event demonstrated that the antisemitic stance of the Nazi regime was not so 'moderate' as it had appeared partially in earlier years. 

(photo source:  wikipedia)

• 1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall ended German separation and started a series of events that ultimately led to German reunification and the Fall of Communism in eastern Europe. November 9 was considered for the date for German Unity Day, but as it was also the anniversary of Kristallnacht, this date was considered inappropriate as a national holiday. The date of the formal reunification of Germany, 3 October 1990, therefore, was chosen as the date for this German national holiday instead, to replace 17 June, the celebration of the uprising of 1953 in East Germany.