Ahead of an evening election rally in Dachau, the nearby Bavarian town, she toured the memorial site at the camp and spoke with Holocaust survivors. Max Mannheimer, a camp survivor who invited the German leader to visit, described the gesture as “historic”.
Describing the Nazi era as “a horrible and unprecedented chapter of our history”, Chancellor Merkel linked her act of remembrance to concerns over the rise of new far-Right extremism in Europe.
“For me this is a special moment. The memory of these fates fills me with deep sorrow and shame,” she said.
“At the same time, this place is a constant warning: how did Germany reach the point of taking away the right of people to live because of their origin, their religion ... or their sexual orientation?.”
No German head of government has attended the camp before, although German president Horst Köhler, attended 65th anniversary commemorations in 2010. » | Jeevan Vasagar, Berlin | Tuesday, August 20, 2013
My comment:
I have a lot of time for, and a lot of respect for, Angela Merkel. She is about the only statesman/stateswoman in Europe. I take my hat off to her for visiting Dachau, and expressing her "deep sorrow and shame". Es lebe Angela Merkel! – © Mark
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