Berlin, May 27: French President Emmanuel Macron commemorated victims of the Holocaust in Berlin on Monday during the second day of his official state visit to Germany. Macron, along 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 Budenbender. The couples walked into the Memorial, which consists of rows of large concrete blocks, and then visited the museum.
Around six million Jews were systematically killed by Germany’s Nazi regime throughout Europe during the Holocaust. 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 Budenbender.
The highlight in Dresden is expected to be Macron’s speech on European policy in front of the city’s well-known Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). It is thought that the speech will be directed toward young people in Europe, and thousands of people from Saxony, as well as Poland, the Czech Republic, and France, are expected to attend.
A visit to the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems in Dresden is also planned for Monday, where an expert discussion on artificial intelligence and the European microchip industry is planned. On Tuesday, Macron is expected to conclude his state visit in the western German university city, Munster, where he will be awarded the International Peace of Westphalia Prize.
This will immediately be followed late on Tuesday afternoon by France-German government consultations at the Meseberg Palace, a guest house belonging to the German government located north of Berlin.