Munich (dpa) – Germany’s Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz appeared very emotional at the reopening of the synagogue on Reichenbachstrasse in Munich. In his speech, he recalled the inhuman crimes to which Jews were subjected by the Nazis and expressed how appalled he was that anti-Semitism had flared up again in Germany.
“I would like to tell you how ashamed I am of this: as chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, but also as a German, as a child of the post-war generation, as a child who grew up with ‘never again’ as a mission, as a duty, as a promise,” Merz said.
He said he hoped “that Jewish life in Germany will one day be able to take place again without police protection,” underlining this by adding: “I therefore declare war on all forms of old and new anti-Semitism in Germany on behalf of the entire federal government of the Federal Republic of Germany.”
Nearly 87 years after being destroyed by the Nazis, the synagogue has been extensively restored on the initiative of Rachel Salamander from the Reichenbachstrasse Synagogue Association.
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