Merkel to become first German chancellor to visit Dachau concentration camp

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Merkel to become first German chancellor to visit Dachau concentration camp

(Xinhua) 16:43, August 20, 2013

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BERLIN, Aug. 20 - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau near Munich on Tuesday afternoon to call for vigilance against far-right extremism, becoming the first head of the German government who visits the memorial.

Merkel is set to lay a wreath of flowers and make a short speech in front of an audience of some 3,800 guests at the memorial before attending a campaign rally in the town for the upcoming state and general elections, which fall on September 22.

The Dachau concentration camp, about 16 km from Munich, was opened in 1933 as the first Nazi concentration camp in Germany.

It served as a model for other concentration camps operated by the Nazis, imprisoning over 200,000 Jews and political prisonsers among others in the twelve years of its existence from 1933 to 1945 when it was liberated by the U.S. troops. Over 41,000 prisoners died in the camp.

Merkel called for vigilance against far-right extremism in Europe last Saturday during her weekly podcast, urging more courage in the fight against neo-Nazi extremism.

"We must never accept that such ideas have a place in our democratic Europe," she said.

Merkel's visit to the memorial comes shortly after she launched the final phase of her campaign after returning from her summer break, taking no chances even as she claims a 68-percent approval rating among voters and maintains her position as the most popular politician in Germany.

Polls indicate that Merkel's ruling coalition still takes a narrow lead just five weeks before the vote, giving it enough support to win a parliamentary majority in the election when Merkel will seek a third term as chancellor.

（Editor：LiangJun、Zhang Qian）