French President Emmanuel Macron commemorated the victims of the Holocaust in Berlin on Monday morning during the second day of his official state visit to Germany.
Macron, together with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, located near the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag building in the heart of Berlin’s government district.
Both presidents laid wreaths with flowers in the colors of their national flags. They were accompanied by their wives, Brigitte Macron and Elke Büdenbender. The couples walked into the monument, which consists of rows of large concrete blocks, and then visited the museum.
During the Holocaust, approximately 6 million Jews were systematically murdered by the German Nazi regime throughout Europe.
Later on Tuesday, the Macrons are expected to arrive at Moritzburg Castle near the city of Dresden in the eastern German state of Saxony, accompanied by Steinmeier and Büdenbender.
The highlight in Dresden is expected to be Macron’s speech on European policy in front of the city’s famous Frauenkirche.
It is thought the speech will be aimed at young people in Europe, and thousands of people from Saxony, Poland, the Czech Republic and France are expected to attend.
Also on the program on Monday is a visit to the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems in Dresden, where an expert discussion on artificial intelligence (AI) and the European microchip industry is planned.
Macron is expected to conclude his state visit on Tuesday in the western German university city of Münster, where he will be awarded the International Prize for the Peace of Westphalia.
This will be immediately followed late Tuesday afternoon by consultations with the French-German government at Meseberg Palace, a German government guesthouse north of Berlin.
