The work was first performed in Germany in two thousand to mark two hundred fifty years since the death of the composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

VOA: special.2010.07.19

Germany will officially mark the reunification milestone on Sunday.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Before the advent of the euro, Germany's mark was Switzerland's main point of reference including a period in the 1970s when the Swiss National Bank pegged the franc against the mark to rein in a surge in the Swiss currency.

WSJ: Banks Prep for Life After Euro

In abandoning the D-mark, Germany has already made the biggest sacrifice of all for European unity.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne