Sombre Germany marks anniversary

Schroeder, centre, and his wife and Thierse mark Germany's 11th anniversary during a church service

MAINZ, Germany -- Muted celebrations have marked Germany's 11th anniversary of unification between East and West

Organisers of the official annual Unity Day birthday celebrations in Mainz cancelled fireworks and scaled back festivities out of respect for those who died in the terror attacks on the U.S..

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and other dignitaries attended an interfaith Mass in Mainz and 300,000 people were attending a street party in the city.

But Wolfgang Thierse, president of the parliament, said Germany should "celebrate" its freedom symbolised by the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and the subsequent unification and end to the Cold War on October 3, 1990.

"The events of September 11 show us how precious freedom is, how threatened freedom is, and how vulnerable our good fortune is.

"We have to defend freedom and today, especially today, we have every reason to celebrate it."

The official location rotates annually among Germany's 16 federal states with one city chosen to be the centre of official events.

An atmosphere of fear hung over the celebrations though, as Germany, who saw six million of its civilians and soldiers die during World War II, contemplated the possible onslaught of further war.

Germany, a NATO member, is standing firm behind the U.S. in its declared war against terrorism, following the suicide attacks on the New York and Washington.

Manfred Kock, the Lutheran bishop who presided over the service at Mainz's 1,000-year-old cathedral on Wednesday, said: "Again and again, people justify violence and terror in the name of religion.

"All calls for war and crusade follow the same folly. We must firmly resist that."

The guest of honour, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, called for the strengthening of ties between his country and Germany as part of the continued efforts to unify eastern and western Europe.

Divisions still exist between former East and West Germany despite $100 billion having been spent in federal aide on trying to bridge the economic and social gap.

Unemployment in the former communist east is 17 percent, twice as much as in the west, while wages are 15 percent lower in the east.

A march by the far-right National Democratic Party attracted about 1,000 supporters in Berlin on Wednesday. It was re-routed to prevent clashes with dozens from the far-left who had gathered to oppose the annual demonstration.

Some officials in the party, which the government is trying to ban on charges of spreading racism and anti-Semitism, welcomed the September 11 terror attacks as retribution for the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

One of the rally leaders, Steffen Hupka, called for "the death of the United States as a world power."