国际英语新闻：Germany pays respect to victims of Second World War

UNITED NATIONS, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Germany on Thursday paid respect to the countless victims of the Second World War, who died at the hands of Nazi Germany.

"It was Germany that brought unspeakable suffering upon its neighbors and, as a consequence, also upon its own citizens," German Ambassador to the United Nations Peter Wittig said at a special meeting of the General Assembly commemorating the 65th anniversary of World War II.

"I stand before you today to reaffirm that my country has accepted its responsibility for the crimes committed by Nazi Germany," he said. "This responsibility we will never abdicate."

Nazi Germany was responsible for the systematic killing of approximately six million Jews. During the era of the Holocaust, German authorities also targeted other groups because of their perceived "racial inferiority," such as the Slavic peoples, the disabled and homosexuals.

As Allied forces moved across Europe in a series of offensives against Germany, they began to encounter and liberate concentration camp prisoners, as well as prisoners en route by forced march from one camp to another.

The marches continued until May 7, 1945, the day the German armed forces surrendered unconditionally to the Allies. For the western Allies, World War II officially ended in Europe on the next day, May 8 (V-E Day), while Soviet forces announced their " Victory Day" on May 9, 1945.

"Today, we also remember the soldiers of the allied forces -- Americans, Soviets, British and French -- who sacrificed their lives to liberate Europe from the inhumanity and tyranny of the Nazi regime," Wittig said. "Because indeed, the early days of May of 1945 were a time of liberation for Germany and for large parts of Europe."

The German ambassador reiterated his country's special relationship with Israel and said the Holocaust and the " despicable crime against humanity" ensured a particular obligation for Germany towards the State of Israel.

The United Nations, which was established after World War II in 1945, remains a testament to the founding principles of human rights, justice and social progress, he said.

"The legacy of the horrors of the Second World War, the legacy of the countless victims -- they commit us and they command us to strive to attain those common goals together," he said.