At the conclusion of his state visit to France (July 2– 8, 1962), Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (left) joined French President Charles de Gaulle (right) at a Catholic Mass in the Cathedral of Reims. The site was symbolic of reconciliation, and its choice was meaningful on several levels: the Merovingian King Clovis I was baptized in Reims, and Ludwig I, the son of Charlemagne, was crowned there. For centuries, the coronation of every French king was held in the Cathedral of Reims. During the First World War, it was heavily damaged by targeted German artillery fire; it was also the place where the German Wehrmacht surrendered on May 7, 1945. Photograph by Egon Steiner.
Source: Chancellor Konrad Adenauer’s trip to France. Mass in Reims Cathedral with Charles de Gaulle and Chancellor Adenauer. Date: July 8, 1962. Photo: Egon Steiner. German Information Center.
This photograph can also be found in the Image Archive of the Bundesarchiv (Signature: B 145 Bild-F013405-0028).
Courtesy of the German Information Center