"Are we not at times moving toward a collective depression?" Rau asked. "We must overcome the crisis of confidence. We must, most of all, again find confidence in ourselves."
It was against this backdrop of insecurity that the governing party proposed last week to de-emphasize German Unity Day, a holiday celebrated on Oct. 3.
Schroeder's Social Democrats said they wanted to celebrate it on the first Sunday in October, eliminating it as a paid holiday. By requiring people to work one extra day a year, the government reasoned, Germany's gross domestic product would grow about 0.1 percent a year.
Reaction to the plan was swift and angry, even among many members of Schroeder's party. Angela Merkel, leader of the opposition Christian Democrats, said it was a "disgraceful" idea and "forgetful of history."
"The federal government has a remarkable talent of destroying budding confidence, again and again," scolded the Munich daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung in an editorial on Monday. "What does it say about the state of a country when in order to save a few million euros, national and religious symbols are questioned? And that in a republic that already feels deeply insecure."
Schroeder's government quickly backed away from the proposal.
Along Bernauer Street, where one of the few remaining sections of the Berlin Wall still stands as a memorial, 28-year-old law student Alexander Sick rolled his eyes when asked what he thought of the plan to move Unity Day.
"Nonsense," he said. "It is the most absurd idea this government has come up with."
His girlfriend, Anke Martens, a 27-year-old physical therapist, added: "It's no wonder people in France and England laugh their heads off at us. Who would ever consider getting rid of holidays there?"
Special correspondent Shannon Smiley contributed to this report.
