Sombre mood as Germany prepares to mark 35 years since reunification

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called on his compatriots to defend democracy and freedom, as the country prepares to mark 35 years since reunification on Friday.

"On the 35th anniversary of German reunification, let us be grateful for the good fortune we have in freedom and democracy," Steinmeier said at a ceremony in Berlin on Wednesday. "Let us do everything we can to preserve and protect it!"

On October 3, 1990, the states that made up formerly socialist East Germany were integrated into the Federal Republic of Germany - the formal name for West Germany - ending the long division of the German nation after World War II.

The date is a national holiday known as German Unity Day. As part of celebrations to mark the 35th anniversary, French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to give a speech at a ceremony on Friday alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the western state of Saarland.

But decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the consequences of reunification are still heavily contested, with the continuing discrepancies between eastern and western regions laid bare by the results of February's parliamentary elections.

Steinmeier - whose role is largely ceremonial - said he was concerned to see that "the political centre has less and less support, especially in the east of our country, and this at a time when our democracy as a whole is being increasingly challenged."

Political forces that disdain democracy, want to undermine its institutions and poison political debates with hatred are seeing greater success, the president said, in a pointed reference to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).