
German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivered an online speech on Wednesday to mark the 76th anniversary of the Netherlands being liberated from the Nazis, reported Deutsche Welle.
In her remarks, Merkel spoke of the atrocities carried out by the Nazis who murdered three quarters of the Jews in the Netherlands, more than any other Western European country.
“Nothing can take away the pain of the survivors of the concentration camps," Merkel said. "We Germans will never forget that the Netherlands reached out to us for reconciliation after World War II.”
Merkel called the effort to keep alive the memories of the crimes of the Nazis “Germany’s eternal responsibility.”
Merkel also spoke about the pandemic.
"For the first time since World War II, fundamental freedoms are restricted to an extent that was beyond our imagination before the pandemic," she said.
"European solidarity as the result of a unique process of reconciliation and unification" has helped overcome the crisis, she added.