President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for people to fight against growing anti-Semitism in Germany, during the opening of a new synagogue in Potsdam, just outside Berlin.
"I am ... determined not to rest, so that we in our country do everything we can to protect Jewish life and combat all forms of anti-Semitism," said Steinmeier.
"Jewish life is part of us! Only when Jews feel completely at home in Germany will this country feel completely at home."
The new synagogue, which cost €17.5 million ($18.9 million) was inaugurated under heavy police protection. The project was difficult and accompanied by lengthy disputes between the Jewish communities, which represent different religious movements.
Since the Hamas attack on Israel, hostilities against Jews in Germany have reached a new dimension.
Brandenburg's State Premier Dietmar Woidke said: "It is a disgrace for our country that we have to protect Jewish life."
Steinmeier added: "Germany remains a home for Jews. That's what I personally stand for and that's what the majority of all Germans - I assure you - stand for."
Steinmeier also addressed protests in connection with the Gaza war. "Of course it must also be possible in our country to show the pain, the grief over the Palestinian victims, the fear for relatives and friends, including in public spaces."
However, the line is crossed "where the grief, the pain, the despair, where all this turns into incitement, into sheer hatred, in the worst case into violence against Jews."
The new building with its sand-coloured brick façade is equipped with bulletproof glass and a security gate. "Still talking about courage when it comes to the inauguration of a synagogue unfortunately sounds very right in these times," said Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews.
A third of the Jewish communities in Germany had experienced anti-Semitic attacks in the weeks following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 - from vandalism and psychological pressure to attacks.
Four Jewish communities are to share the new religious and cultural centre in the historic centre of Potsdam, the capital of the state of Brandenburg. One Jewish community has not signed up. The old synagogue was destroyed in 1945.
This makes Potsdam the last state capital in Germany to have a synagogue again.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Israel's ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, and Brandenburg Premier Dietmar Woidke also took part in the inauguration ceremony.
According to a government spokeswoman, Chancellor Olaf Scholz was not present as a guest due to scheduling reasons.
The synagogue centre is being run for three years by the Central Welfare Office of Jews in Germany. In addition to prayer rooms, there is an event hall, a visitors' café, a library, offices as well as music and art rooms. The building is heavily secured.
