Edited by: TJVNews.com
Commander of the German Air Force Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz together with his Israeli counterpart, Commander of the Israeli Air Force Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, visited Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center this past Sunday, October 17th. They were greeted by Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan.
The Commanders toured the “Flashes of Memory: Photography during the Holocaust” exhibition and the Museum of Holocaust Art, as well as participating in a memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance. During the ceremony, the commanders lit the eternal flame and laid a memorial wreath in honor of the victims of the Holocaust.
They also visited the Children’s Memorial, and signed the Yad Vashem Guestbook. Afterwards, they visited a tree honoring to Righteous Among the Nations Karl Laabs.
“Roughly one year ago, we stood in the Dachau camp and together we visited the Olympic village where 11 athletes were murdered in Munich, and we said and declared together: Never again,” Norkin said in a speech at Yad Vashem.
Also on Sunday, as part of the “Blue Flag” exercise, an honorary flyover was held in Israeli skies, as was reported by Israel National News.
A joint Israeli-German formation was led by the Israeli Air Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, and German Air Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz.
The flyover passed over the Israeli Knesset building and ended over Malcha.
This was the first time that German aircraft have flown over Jerusalem since World War I, as was reported by the Times of Israel.
“The flyby expresses the strong partnership and connection between the air forces and the countries, as well as the commitment to continued cooperation in the future,” the IDF said.
Lt General Gerhartz said he felt a “special responsibility” to maintaining good ties with the IAF as commander of the German air force.
“We still feel the suffering of the Jewish victims of the Shoah,” he said, using the Hebrew term for the Holocaust.
“Our responsibility will not expire. The eternal flame of remembrance must not fade,” he said.
