Merkel urges Germans to stand up to right-wing extremists

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that Germans must stand up to right-wing extremists and honor the failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler 75 years ago.

On July 20, 1944, a bomb in a suitcase exploded in Hitler's office, but the Nazi leader survived the attack with only mild injuries. The plot's orchestrator, German army colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, and some 200 co-conspirators were executed.

In her weekly video podcast, Merkel paid tribute to those who opposed Hitler's rule, saying they followed their conscience and thereby shaped a part of Germany's history that otherwise would have been solely defined by the darkness of National Socialism.

Merkel said Germany owes them a debt of gratitude, noting that the country's post-war Basic Law may not have come into existence without such actions.

The chancellor mentioned the murder last month of German politician Walter Luebcke, who was believed killed with political motivation by those with links to neo-Nazi extremism.

Merkel said his killing showed how important it is to support those who assume political responsibility, and it requires a clear response from everyone in the society.

The chancellor invited all Germans "to do their part in our society to ensure that democracy is strong, that civil society is strong and that right-wing extremism has no chance."

The Germany government will hold a ceremony to commemorate the failed assassination attempt on July 20 and Merkel will lay a wreath for those who resisted Nazi's rule. a