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NRW Prime Minister Laschet, Federal President Steinmeier in Aachen Cathedral (2018)
Photo: Henning Kaiser / dpa
The victims of the recent flood disaster are to be honored with a memorial service.
This is planned for August 28th at the invitation of the Catholic German Bishops' Conference and the Evangelical Church in Germany and is expected to take place in Aachen Cathedral.
According to SPIEGEL information, both Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) have already announced their participation.
In addition, the presidents of the Federal Constitutional Court and Federal Council as well as the prime ministers of the states that were particularly affected by the flood, primarily Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, were invited.
It is unclear whether the Aachen Cathedral has sufficient capacity
According to previous knowledge, 181 people were killed in the flood.
Numerous people are still missing in Rhineland-Palatinate.
The Aachen Cathedral as a place of worship would be particularly favorable for the CDU candidate for Chancellor and NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet, who comes from the city.
His commitment is considered certain, as is that of Malu Dreyer (SPD), the head of government of Rhineland-Palatinate.
However, it is still unclear whether the cathedral will offer enough space for the event under pandemic conditions.
Guests from the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg
According to SPIEGEL information, it is planned to also invite guests from the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, which were also affected by the flood.
However, the focus should be on people who are directly affected by the floods: the survivors of the dead, employees of the aid organizations and mayors from the disaster area.
It is the second major mourning event that the Federal President and Chancellor will take part in this year.
On April 18, a central memorial for those who died of the corona pandemic had already taken place in Berlin.
At that time there was a state memorial service in addition to a church service.
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