Ivanka Trump visits Berlin's Holocaust memorial

Ivanka Trump visits Berlin's Holocaust memorial



First Daughter Ivanka Trump visited Berlin's Holocaust memorial during her first international trip as an official adviser to her father as he condemned Holocaust deniers and anti-Semitism while delivering remarks at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's annual Days of Remembrance event Tuesday.

Ivanka, who converted to Judaism herself ahead of her 2009 marriage to Jared Kushner, met with the director at the information center before walking slowly through the downtown Berlin monument.

She was photographed wearing dark sunglasses while walking among stellae at the memorial where she was flanked by Secret Service agents keeping tourists and others at a distance.

The 35-year-old eventually took her sunglasses off before gently touching a slab, which are meant to symbolize the chaos of the Holocaust.

Her visit to the German capital's memorial to the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis comes on the heels of Press Secretary Sean Spicer's Holocaust gaffe.



During Passover earlier this month, Spicer favorably compared Adolf Hitler to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, causing international outcry.

'We didn't use chemical weapons in World War II,' Spicer said.

'You know, you had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons.'

Spicer apologized multiple times, but the gaffe didn't do the Trump administration any favors as acts of anti-Semitism have increased since President Trump has taken power.

CNN reported Monday that anti-Semitic incidents are up 86 percent compared to the same period of time last year.

Ivanka's visit is in honor of, Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, but is also a savvy public relations move for the administration, in the aftermath of the Spicer incident.

Crowds of people snapped cellphone photos and yelled out 'Hi, how are you?' as she entered the center to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe for a short visit Tuesday.

The First Daughter walked slowly through the undulating grounds filled with concrete slabs, along with U.S. Embassy personnel.

She paused occasionally to look at the slabs, meant to symbolize the chaos of the Holocaust, before emerging on the other side of the monument to a crush of cameras and onlookers.



On Monday, Ivanka tweeted: 'Today, we honor the six million Jews whose lives were taken during the Holocaust and pledge - never again.'

Early last month, she paid a private visit to the Holocaust museum in Washington with her husband, Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to the president.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., her father spoke at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's National Days of Remembrance at the Capitol.

His speech is part of the museum's unveiling of its new conservation and research center, home to a vast collection of artifacts donated by those who survived Hitler's massacre of Jews during World War II.

Congress established the Days of Remembrance as the nation's annual commemoration of the Holocaust.

Reading from prepared remarks, the president vowed to snuff out anti-Semitism at home and take action when the Jewish people are threatened abroad as he honored victims of the Holocaust on Tuesday.

'Those who deny the Holocaust are an accomplice to this horrible evil, and we'll never be silent. We just won't. We will never, ever be silent in the face of evil again,' he declared.



Trump said to the veterans, Holocaust survivors and legislators attending the event, 'We will stamp out prejudice. We will condemn hatred. We will bear witness, and we will act.

'As president of the United States, I will always stand with the Jewish people, and I will always stand with our great friend, and partner, the state of Israel.'

Six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis 'without mercy,' he said. 'Without even a sign of mercy.'

Attacks on the Jewish people continue, he noted, bringing up the terror calls that were sweeping across Jewish community centers in America when he took office.

'The Jewish people have endured oppression, persecution,' he said, 'yet through the suffering they have persevered. They have thrived, and they have enlightened the world.

'We stand in awe,' the president said. 'I am deeply moved to stand beside people who survived history's darkest hour. Your cherished presence transforms this place into a sacred gathering.'



He added, 'The state of Israel is an eternal monument to the undying strength of the Jewish people.

'The fervent dream that burned in the hearts of the oppressed is now filled with the breath of life, and the Star of David waves atop a gr