Pope Benedict XVI warned of rising anti-Semitism today as he visited a synagogue in Cologne in his native Germany.
Condemning the ‘unimaginable crime’ of the Holocaust, he joined in prayers before a memorial to the six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany.
11,000 of the victims of the Holocaust had lived in Cologne.
The Pope said Christians and Jews must join forces to prevent the insane racist ideology, that led to the Holocaust, from resurfacing.
During his visit, he was also urged by a leader of Cologne's Jewish community to open up the Vatican archives for the World War II period.
The visit was only the second time a head of the Catholic Church has visited a Jewish place of worship in modern history.
His predecessor Pope John Paul II made an historic visit to the Rome synagogue in 1986.
Earlier, Pope Benedict made a courtesy visit to German President Horst Koehler, and he will meet Protestant leaders as part of his four-day trip.
The pontiff arrived in Germany yesterday where he was greeted by thousands of young Catholics taking part in World Youth Day.
