By ROB CRILLY, CHIEF U.S. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT AT DACHAU, GERMANY
Vice President JD Vance visited the Dachau concentration camp memorial Thursday, seeing a powerful reminder of the cost of World War II in Europe.
The visit came a day before he is due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for key talks about the war with Russia.
Almost three years after troops loyal to Vladimir Putin marched into Ukraine, President Donald Trump has stepped up efforts to push the two sides to negotiate a peace.
But before he attends the Munich Security Conference, Vance and his wife took time to tour the scene of one of the most brutal periods in European history.
They toured the Dachau site and laid a wreath in front of a memorial sculpture depicting emaciated bodies twisted in barbed wire.
‘I really am moved by this site, and I think that while it is, of course, a place of unspeakable atrocity and terror and evil, it’s very important that it’s here,’ said Vance.
‘And it’s very important that those of us who are lucky enough to be alive can walk around, can know what happened here and commit ourselves to prevent it from happening again.’
They also met the youngest survivor of Dachau. Abba Naor endured four years at the camp and was 17 when it was liberated by American forces.
They held hands in the gloomy, German weather, as they heard his story.
Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife Usha stand with former prisoner Abba Naor during a visit to the Dachau Concentration Camp memorial
They laid a wreath during their visit on Thursday afternoon
They laid the wreath beneath a sculpture depicting emaciated bodies caught in barbed wire
They toured the site with him including the intake room, where new arrivals were stripped of their possessions. A display case showed personal belongings such as watches and government ID cards.
‘That’s where you started?’ the vice president asked Naor.
At one point Naor showed him a prisoner card.
‘I’m still here,’ he said.
Vance laid a shoulder on his hand and replied: ‘Well, we’re very lucky you’re here.’
The vice president is in the middle of a five-day trip to Europe, delivering Trump’s message to a major AI summit in Paris before appearing at the Munich Security Conference Friday.
But Thursday brought a moment of reflection as he visited a powerful symbol of the scourge of war.
Dachau was established in 1933 — in the same year Hitler took power — making it one of the earliest concentration camps. More than 200,000 people from across Europe were held at the camp, and over 40,000 prisoners died there in horrendous conditions. U.S. soldiers completed the liberation on April 29, 1945.
The weather was wet and cold as the Vances toured the site of infamous prison camp
The Vances were shown a map of Nazi death camps and Naor traced his journey
The vice president thanks Naor for sharing his story
Vance thanked Naor for sharing his story.
‘I asked him, would he ever forget what happened here? And he said, “No.”‘ Vance said.
‘He lives with it every day, but he goes on with his life anyways. And I think that incredible resilience is something that we shouldn’t forget.’
On Friday he is due to sit down with Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference, to discuss a conflict that has brought war to Europe once again.
‘The Trump administration has been clear that we care a lot about Europe,’ said Vance when he met European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
‘But we also want to make sure that we’re engaged in a security partnership that’s both good for Europe and the United States.’
Vice President J.D. Vance with daughter Mirabel, three, Vivek, five, visits Notre-Dame Cathedral. Wife Usha and son Ewan, seven, are seen behind them
Vance arrived Monday morning with wife Usha, and children Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel
Vance has also met with President Emmanuel Macron of France and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
And on Tuesday he outlined a vision of American dominance in the global AI race, warning that Washington will block foreign efforts to weaponize the new technology.
‘Some authoritarian regimes have stolen and used AI to strengthen their military intelligence and surveillance capabilities, capture foreign data and create propaganda to undermine other nations’ national security,’ he said during an address at France’s AI Action Summit in Paris.
‘I want to be clear, this administration will block such efforts. Full stop.’
There has been time for sightseeing along the way. Vance and his family visited Notre-Dame Cathedral on Wednesday evening.
