Nazi camp visit: Merkel criticized for trip to Dachau, Angela Merkel visited the former Nazi concentration camp at Dachau on Tuesday, where she was expected to warn Europeans of right-wing extremism.
Since the visit, she has drawn criticism for visiting the camp amid her election campaign.
Merkel is the first German chancellor to visit the site. There, Merkel will give a short speech, tour the site museum, lay a wreath and meet with a group of survivors.
"I know that this will not be an easy visit," she said in her weekly podcast. The visit would be conducted with a sense of "shame and dismay," she said.
The visit comes less than a week after she launched her election campaign for a third term as chancellor. Merkel is slated to have an election rally following the visit in a Munich beer tent.
Opposing politicians criticized the juxtaposition of the somber Dachau visit and the beer tent rally, saying it was "tasteless."
"If you are serious about the commemoration at such a site of horror, you surely do not make such a visit during an election campaign," Renate Kuenast, of Germany's Greens party, said.
But Dachau officials, including 93-year-old survivor Max Mannheimer and Gabriele Hammermann, director of the Dachau commemoration site, praised Merkel for becoming the first chancellor to visit the camp.
"Mrs. Merkel's visit sends a strong signal, reflecting the estimation for the survivors and the work of the memorial site," Hammermann said.
"The chancellor is making good for the necessary attention that her predecessors neglected in the past."
Since the visit, she has drawn criticism for visiting the camp amid her election campaign.
Merkel is the first German chancellor to visit the site. There, Merkel will give a short speech, tour the site museum, lay a wreath and meet with a group of survivors.
"I know that this will not be an easy visit," she said in her weekly podcast. The visit would be conducted with a sense of "shame and dismay," she said.
The visit comes less than a week after she launched her election campaign for a third term as chancellor. Merkel is slated to have an election rally following the visit in a Munich beer tent.
Opposing politicians criticized the juxtaposition of the somber Dachau visit and the beer tent rally, saying it was "tasteless."
"If you are serious about the commemoration at such a site of horror, you surely do not make such a visit during an election campaign," Renate Kuenast, of Germany's Greens party, said.
But Dachau officials, including 93-year-old survivor Max Mannheimer and Gabriele Hammermann, director of the Dachau commemoration site, praised Merkel for becoming the first chancellor to visit the camp.
"Mrs. Merkel's visit sends a strong signal, reflecting the estimation for the survivors and the work of the memorial site," Hammermann said.
"The chancellor is making good for the necessary attention that her predecessors neglected in the past."
