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The memory of Nazi crimes is "inseparable" from the German identity, declared on Friday, December 6, Angela Merkel, in the former Nazi camp of Auschwitz that she was visiting for the first time as German Chancellor.
The first visit to this site by Angela Merkel, symbol of the Holocaust, comes at a time when the far-right party AfD, which has been sitting for two years in the Bundestag, advocates the end of the culture of repentance.
" To remember crimes, to name their perpetrators and to pay the victims a dignified homage is a responsibility that never stops. It is not negotiable. And it is inseparable from our country. Being aware of this responsibility is part of our national identity , "said the leader, the first head of a German government to visit Auschwitz since 1995.
" It's important to clearly name criminals "
The voice altered, she insisted that it was " important " to give Auschwitz its " full name ". Located in present-day Poland, the camp was in a region " annexed in October 1939 by the Reich " and was " administered by the Germans ". " It's important to clearly name criminals. We Germans owe it to the victims and to ourselves , "she said.
I am deeply ashamed of the barbaric crimes committed here by the Germans. I do not have words to describe the horror of what has been done to women, men and children in this place. What words could do justice to the sorrow that this place has caused?
Angela Merkel, German Chancellor visits Auschwitz 06/12/2019 - by France Inter Play
In her speech, she warned against " the rise of racism and the spread of hatred ", as well as anti-Semitism that threatens Jewish communities in Germany, Europe and the world. In Germany, the authorities are worried about a sharp rise in anti-Semitic acts.
The Chancellor is accompanied by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and 87-year-old Auschwitz survivor Bogdan Bartnikowski, as well as representatives of the Jewish community.