The Second Gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff, stands between concrete steles after a wreath laying ceremony as part of his visit at the 'Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe' in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)The Second Gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff, right, greets refugees from Ukraine during a visit of the 'Neue Synagoge' (New Synagogue) in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)The Second Gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff, right, and Mehmet Daimaguler, left, antiziganism commissioner of the German government, leave after a visit at the memorial to the victims of the Sinti and Roma communities killed during the holocaust in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. In the background is the Reichstag building, home of the German federal parliament, Bundestag. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)The Second Gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff, gestures as he meets refugees from Ukraine during a visit of the 'Neue Synagoge' (New Synagogue) in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)The Second Gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff, left, stands next to the council's vice chairman, Abraham Lehrer, as he arrivers for an interfaith roundtable at 'Central Council of Jews in Germany' in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. In the background is a picture of the former council's chairman Ingatz Bubis. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)The Second Gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff, center, receives informations about the building during a visit of the 'Neue Synagoge' (New Synagogue) in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)The Second Gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff, walks between concrete steles during his visit at the 'Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe' in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)The Second Gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff, right, and Mehmet Daimaguler, left, antiziganism commissioner of the German government, talk during a visit at the memorial to the victims of the Sinti and Roma communities killed during the holocaust in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)The Second Gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff, center, arrives for a visit of the 'Neue Synagoge' (New Synagogue) in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)
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The Second Gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff, stands between concrete steles after a wreath laying ceremony as part of his visit at the 'Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe' in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, pool)
BERLIN – Doug Emhoff, the husband of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, met with Ukrainian refugees at a Berlin synagogue and visited the city's Holocaust memorial on Tuesday as he wrapped up a tour of Poland and Germany focused on Holocaust remembrance and combating rising antisemitism.
Emhoff took part in a roundtable event with Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders on interfaith dialogue. He then visited Berlin's New Synagogue, with a golden dome topped by a Star of David, which was badly damaged in the 1938 Nazi pogrom against Jews and then largely destroyed during World War II.
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He met with refugees from Ukraine during his visit to the synagogue, which reopened in the 1990s after partial reconstruction.
The second gentleman later visited Berlin's memorial to the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust, a field of 2,700 gray concrete slabs near the landmark Brandenburg Gate that opened in 2005. He also was visiting other memorials to those murdered and persecuted under the Nazis — Sinti and Roma, gay people and people with physical and mental disabilities.
Emhoff is the first Jewish spouse of either a U.S. president or vice president. His six-day tour of Poland and Germany is meant to further the Biden administration’s work combating antisemitism and to deepen ties with U.S. partners.
He visited the former Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp on Friday, and joined commemorations of the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the camp. He said that he was deeply moved by that “solemn and sad” visit.
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