As the reunited Germany's first major international event, the 2006 World Cup helped forge a new national identity. What was it that made the football tournament so special?
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00:00What do you think of when you think of the 2006 World Cup?
00:04One million people on the streets and we were such a great host.
00:08Philipp Lahm's unlikely opener?
00:19Cannavaro's Italy on top of the world?
00:22Ronaldo's role in Rooney's red card?
00:25The first moments of Lionel Messi's World Cup journey
00:28or the infamous last moments of Zinedine Zidane's?
00:32Ask someone that question here in the host country
00:35and you're likely to hear an answer that has little to do with the football.
00:45The so-called summer fairytale was nothing less than a milestone in post-war German history.
00:51What was it that made the tournament so special?
00:53And are we in for another new chapter in 2024?
00:59The story of the Sommermärschen begins in a nation with a reflexive aversion to patriotism.
01:04It's part of the legacy of the country's Nazi past
01:07that flag-waving and anthem-singing were long taboo in post-war Germany,
01:12including in the context of sporting events.
01:14This sentiment survived the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of the country,
01:19when many prominent German figures were worried about a potential resurgence of nationalism.
01:44The players said in their first moment of euphoria,
01:46if the players from East Germany join us now, we'll be unbeatable for years.
01:50And that didn't come true in football.
01:53As far as the growth of East and West fans is concerned, it worked,
01:57but it didn't lead to the great wave of nationalism or chauvinism
02:01that some people predicted.
02:0416 years later, the World Cup would be an unexpected turning point
02:08in the history of the reunited Federal Republic.
02:11In the sizzling summer sunshine, and of course helped by the home team's first-rate performances,
02:17the atmosphere within Germany quickly became one of unabated elation.
02:22In this special World Cup climate, a major cultural shift took place.
02:27Germany's inhibited relationship with its own national symbols underwent a transformation.
02:33I remember the opening game in Munich,
02:36and it was the first time that the stadium, the whole stadium, was singing the anthem,
02:40which before never happened.
03:05The previous time that a major football tournament had taken place in Germany,
03:09the 1988 Euros in the West,
03:12the competition was overshadowed by outbreaks of violence.
03:40The 2006 tournament's German-language motto was
03:43Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden.
03:45The world comes to stay with friends.
03:48The summer fairytale also saw a sea change in the perception of Germany
03:52outside the country's borders.
04:09Nobody expected that in Germany it's sunny and that people are laughing.
04:29In the German popular memory, the footballing near-miss of 2006,
04:33when the hosts had their hearts broken in the semi-final,
04:37even competes with the team's World Cup triumph eight years later.
04:42Of course, we were all happy when Germany won the World Cup.
04:46But in retrospect, 2006, this euphoria, this atmosphere,
04:51this unity, as if the whole nation was behind you, behind this national team,
04:57that was simply much greater than winning the World Cup.
05:12The euphoria of the summer fairytale of 2006 is a feeling that people have
05:18and that many contemporary witnesses remember.
05:21It's a collective memory that historians like to invoke.
05:42A summer of shared euphoria is just what the doctor ordered.
06:03Now we have a bad mood in Germany, political-wise, economic-wise.
06:08Hopefully football can help to bring back fun and happiness.
06:39It's hard to imagine any tournament living up to the legacy of the 2006 World Cup.
06:44But then again, no one expected the summer fairytale in the first place.
06:49How do you think 2024 will be remembered in years to come?