The third of October is the German National day. We call it Tag der Deutschen Einheit (German Unity Day), as it marks the date when East and Wester Germany got reunited in 1990. As a German living in the Netherlands, and having experienced how the Dutch celebrate their national identity, I wanted to seize this opportunity to try and explain what I think is one of the biggest differences between the Dutch and the Germans.

While the whole country here converts into a blurry, a little frightening tsunami of orange every year when it’s the royal’s birthday time, in Germany you hardly notice any difference in the streets. Sure, if you turn on the TV in the evening, there might be an important politician in a gray suit giving a speech and the shops are closed, but other than that, its just a casual day in October.

While I find it fascinating and adorable how the Dutch dress up in the national colors, paint the flag on their faces and embrace their Dutchness, no matter the weather, it also disturbs me a little bit. Don’t get me wrong, the Netherlands are a great country and there is absolutely nothing wrong with being proud of being Dutch. It is just that, as a German, I dare to say as quite many Germans, I just don’t feel the same way about my home country.

While many countries have fought terrible wars and shed blood in the past, the German history seems, at least in terms of national pride, to be very present still. Most of us would never say that they are ‘proud to be German’ or paint flags on their faces unless it’s the world championships. Putting a German flag in your garden might cause your neighbor to raise an eyebrow and question your political stance, and many kids do not know our anthem by heart. We are not necessarily ashamed of our heritage, but we also don’t really want to discuss the subject. I guess many Germans are terribly afraid, that, by being openly proud of their national identity, other people might be reminded of the Nazi regime and the many horrible things that happened during this period of time – an over correction, if you will: For some time, we were too proud of Germany, so we try to make it up by not being proud at all.

Don’t get me wrong, we know Germany is a great place to live and we should be grateful for it, and there are countless German inventors, artists and authors that made the world a better place. We just need a little bit more time to be able to show, how much we really appreciate that. And until we manage, we will just celebrate with the Dutch and learn from them.