Germany remembered the Holocaust's forgotten victims on Wednesday by opening a memorial in the heart of Berlin to the 500,000 ethnic Sinti and Roma murdered by the Nazis.
As the mournful strains of a solo violin sounded through the trees, political leaders and frail survivors approached a dark pool close to the German parliament building.
Its still water is intended to evoke tears for the dead but also, in reflecting the beholder, inspire new generations to protect minorities from hate.
"This memorial commemorates a group of victims who, for far too long, received far too little public recognition -- the many hundreds of thousands of Sinti and Roma who were persecuted by the Nazis as so-called gypsies," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "The destiny of every single person murdered in this genocide is one of unspeakable suffering. Every single destiny, fills us, fills me, with sadness and shame."