Credit: Yad Vashem
Last week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made his first official visit to Israel since taking office. One of the key moments of the agenda was his visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, where he paid tribute to the victims of the Nazi regime and reaffirmed Germany’s historical commitment to the Jewish people.
During the ceremony, Merz was accompanied by Dani Dayan, president of Yad Vashem. The chancellor rekindled the eternal flame and laid a wreath in memory of the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.
In an emotional statement at the site, Merz said: "I bow my head in deference to the six million men, women and children from all over Europe who were murdered by the Germans because they were Jewish. We will ensure that the memory of the heinous crime of the Shoah that Germans perpetrated against the Jewish people is kept alive. Here, at Yad Vashem, Germany's enduring historical responsibility becomes palpable: Germany must stand up for the existence and security of Israel. This will forever be inextricably woven into the fabric of our relationship."
Credit: Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz - X
In addition to visiting the memorial, the German chancellor also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a meeting that reinforced diplomatic and strategic ties between the two countries. The trip marks a symbolic and political gesture of continuity in Germany’s commitment to the memory of the Holocaust and to the security of the State of Israel.
