Green Week Celebrates 90th Edition - And 100-Year Anniversary - Berlin’s Green Week Celebrates 90 Years as Germany’s Agricultural Heartbeat
Berlin’s Green Week has opened its doors for the 90th time, marking nearly a century as Germany’s premier agricultural trade fair. Federal Agriculture Minister Alois Rainer compared the event to ‘Christmas and Easter rolled into one’ for the industry, highlighting its enduring significance.
The fair began in 1926, inspired by industry meetings where representatives gathered in Berlin wearing green loden coats. Its name, Grüne Woche, reflects this origin. The first edition drew 50,000 visitors, establishing it as a key event for farming and food.
By 1962, the fair adopted an ‘International’ focus, shifting to Western European exhibitors after the Berlin Wall’s construction the previous year. Earlier, under Nazi rule, it had been repurposed as a propaganda platform for the ‘Blood and Soil’ ideology, barring Jewish and persecuted groups. After World War II, the 1948 fair resumed despite the Soviet blockade, with supplies flown in via the Allied airlift. Following reunification, eastern German states joined, expanding the event with new exhibition halls. Today, the Green Week is also a stage for political debate, particularly on sustainable farming. Annual protests like ‘We’re Fed Up!’ now accompany the trade displays. This year, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier opened the event, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled to tour the fairgrounds.
The 2024 edition continues a tradition that has adapted through war, division, and reunification. With its mix of trade, politics, and protest, the Green Week remains a vital platform for agriculture. The fair will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2026.
Read also:
- American teenagers taking up farming roles previously filled by immigrants, a concept revisited from 1965's labor market shift.
- Weekly affairs in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Landslide claims seven lives, injures six individuals while they work to restore a water channel in the northern region of Pakistan
- Escalating conflict in Sudan has prompted the United Nations to announce a critical gender crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the ongoing violence on women and girls.
