9 November has been the date of a series of events that are considered political turning points in recent German history, some of which also had international repercussions. In particular the anniversaries of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the beginning of the November pogroms in 1938 (German: Kristallnacht or Reichspogromnacht), the Munich Putsch in 1923 and the proclamation of the Republic in 1918 during the November Revolution in Berlin, when viewed together in their respective contexts and received in relation to one another, form contextually and ideologically contrasting and polarizing highlights of the historical-political examination of Germany's history, especially that of the 20th century.
After the end of the Second World War, various historians and journalists coined the expression Schicksalstag (lit. 'Day of Fate' in German) for this date, but it only became widespread after the events of autumn 1989.
In remembrance of the November pogroms against German Jews in 1938, 9 November is a day of remembrance in Germany for the victims of Nazism — in addition to the official national Holocaust memorial day on 27 January and the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp (January 1945). 27 January is also the international day of remembrance of the victims of Nazism proclaimed by the General Assembly of the UN.