An alternative choice to commemorate the reunification could have been the day the Berlin Wall came down : 9 November 1989 , which coincided with the anniversary of the proclamation of the German Republic in 1918 , and the defeat of Hitler 's first coup in 1923 . However , 9 November was also the anniversary of the first large-scale Nazi-led pogroms against Jews in 1938 ( '' Kristallnacht '' ) , so the day was considered inappropriate as a national holiday . ( See November 9 in German history . ) Therefore , 3 October 1990 , the day of the formal reunification , was chosen instead and replaced the " Day of German Unity " on 17 June , the national holiday of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1954
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
German Unity Day