German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday reflected on the end of World War II in Europe, 76 years ago. The Chancellor called it an eternal obligation to remember the victims of the Nazi regime.
“May 8, 1945, was a day of liberation. It marked the end of the Nazi dictatorship and the violation of the civilization that was the Shoah,” writes government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Twitter on behalf of Merkel. The Shoah is the Hebrew term for the Holocaust.
“It remains our eternal responsibility to keep alive the memory of the millions of people who perished during the years of National Socialist tyranny,” the message continued.
During the May 5 lecture that Merkel gave on Wednesday during the Dutch Liberation Day, Merkel already emphasized that the crimes committed by Germany during the Second World War “never expire” and must serve as lessons for the future.
The Chancellor also said that it is Germany’s most important responsibility to keep alive the memory of the horrors of the Holocaust. It was the first May 5 lecture ever given by a German government leader.
On May 8, 1945, all German armed forces capitulated after nearly six years of war.