Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 6.djvu/1018

 104 STAT. 5408 PROCLAMATION 6194—OCT. 3, 1990 NOW, THEREFORE. I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Wednesday, October 3, 1990, as "Atlanta: Olympic Host City Day." I invite all Americans to observe this day by rededicating themselves to the Olympic ideal. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifteenth. GEORGE BUSH Editorial note: For the President's remarks of Oct. 3, 1990, on signing Proclamation 6193, see the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (vol. 26, p. 1525). Proclamation 6194 of October 3, 1990 Gennan-American Day, 1990 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation On October 6, 1683, the first German immigrants to America landed near Philadelphia. This small group of men, women, and children had sailed across the vast, treacherous waters of the Atlantic in search of religious freedom and a more prosperous future in the New World. Seven million other Germans eventually followed in their wake. These courageous, hardworking individuals and their descendants have helped to write the story of the United States. The rich heritage we celebrate each year on German-American Day consists of more than cultural, familial, and historic ties, however; it is also rooted in shared values and aspirations. Ever since General Friedrich von Steuben stood on the front lines in this Nation's struggle for liberty and independence, German immigrants and their descendants have demonstrated—through word, deed, and sacrifice—their strong devotion to democratic ideals. German-American Day, 1990, is like none before it, for this year's commemoration coincides with the achievement of the goal Americans and Germans have long shared: a united, democratic, and sovereign Germany. During the past year, the German people have torn down the artificial barriers that, for too long, cruelly divided their country. The Berlin Wall, which once stood as a bleak and even deadly symbol of division, now lays in ruin—a fitting reminder of the discredited regime that had directed its construction 29 years ago. Today Germany is at peace with its neighbors and, on this day of German unity, at peace with itself. The achievement of German unity will also give hope to others, particularly the Baltic peoples, that a peaceful but determined struggle for national self-determination can succeed even over seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The United States remains true to its policy of nonrecognition of the annexation of the Baltic states, just as we never

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