German Chancellor Olaf Scholz honoured the Allied landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944, as a "day of liberation" for France, many other European countries occupied by Nazi forces, and also for Germany.
The date marked "the beginning of the end of the inhuman system of National Socialism, of its racial mania and militarism, of the will to destroy and imperialist fantasies," Scholz said in an article published in Ouest France, a French newspaper, as the world marks the 80th anniversary of the landing of Allied troops in Normandy during World War II.
The courage of the liberators had paved the way for Germany to democracy and freedom, prosperity and the rule of law.
"Their courage gave us Germans the chance of a new beginning," he wrote, saying the liberators had paved the way for Germany to have democracy, freedom, prosperity and the rule of law.
Allied soldiers fighting Nazi Germany landed on the beaches of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944, marking the start of the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany in a push from the west.
Scholz was to attend the central memorial service on Omaha Beach in Normandy on Thursday. "The fact that I am able to take part in the commemorations today as German chancellor is anything but a matter of course," Scholz wrote.
"It is an expression of a united Europe and shows the endurance of our trans-Atlantic partnership," he said, adding that his participation also testifies to the deep Franco-German bond that has grown since the end of the war.
He also referred to Russia's ongoing war on Ukraine. "For Germany and our partners and allies, one thing is clear: brutal Russian imperialism must not succeed. And it will not succeed because we will continue to support Ukraine in its heroic defence campaign for as long as necessary."
An economically, militarily and socially strong Europe, firmly anchored in the trans-Atlantic alliance, forms the basis for preserving peace and freedom in the future, he said. "Working for this Europe is the legacy of June 6, 1944."
