ANGELA Merkel was again spotted losing her balance during her first ever trip to the Auschwitz concentration camp amid Germany's anti-Semitism spike.

It comes amid growing fears for the German Chancellor's health after she was seen shaking uncontrollably in public at least three times.

8 During her visit, the German Chancellor was spotted losing her balance Credit: Reuters

8 Angela Merkel has arrived at Auschwitz concentration camp for the first time Credit: Reuters

8 Merkel held a minute's silence at the Black Wall, where prisoners were executed in the original camp Credit: Reuters

8 The German Chancellor placed a wreath at the Birkenau death camp Credit: Reuters

However the growing health concerns did not interfere with today's ceremony, as Merkel paid tribute to the 1.1million who died in Auschwitz more than 75 years ago.

The vast majority of whom the Nazi regime murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau were Jewish.

Merkel is taking part in a ceremony alongside a camp survivor and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during her visit.

It comes amid a rise in German anti-Semitism and ahead of the 75th anniversary of the camp's liberation.

CHILLING ECHOES OF HISTORY

In October, a gunman in Halle killed two people while attempting to storm a synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

A German government spokesperson said Merkel travelled to Auschwitz to "commemorate the victims of the National Socialist crimes and remember Germany's everlasting responsibility for the Shoah."

The camp was liberated on January 27 by the rapidly advancing Soviet troops – the date is now commemorated each year as Holocaust Memorial Day.

Auschwitz, the largest of the Nazi death camps, was the scene of the most appalling mass murder in human history.

What happened during the Holocaust? The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah - which means "destruction" in Hebrew - took place between 1941 and 1945. It was an event that shocked the world when the full extent of the horror came to light. It was a genocide carried out during World War II, where Jews were targeted among other groups. The Romani people, ethnic Poles, Soviet citizens, Soviet prisoners of war, political opponents, homosexuals and Jehovah's Witnesses were also killed. Any group which did not match the behaviour of the prescribed norms was targeted. The Nazis were the orchestrators of the Holocaust. After coming to power in 1933, Adolf Hitler's government passed laws to exclude Jews from society - most notably the Nuremberg Laws in 1935. Following the invasion of Poland in 1939 ghettos were set up to segregate Jews, and more than 42, 000 camps and other detention sites created. Nazi Germany occupied or influenced many countries during the war, and killed nearly two out of every three European Jew as part of the "Final Solution". The Allies won the war and liberated the survivors from the remaining death camps in 1945. The Nazi regime's state-sponsored persecution resulted in up to 17million deaths overall. It was estimated in the United Stated Holocaust Memorial Museum that 15-20million people had died or been imprisoned. Many of those who survived the horrors of the Holocaust found shelter in displaced persons camps. Between 1948 and 1951 almost 700,000 Jews migrated to Israel, with others heading to the United States and other nations. The last displaced persons camp closed in 1957.

During the Holocaust over a million people – the vast majority of them Jews – lost their lives at the sprawling complex.

Major events are planned for the anniversary of the camp's liberation, however the German Chancellor decided to visit the site before that date.

Merkel was invited to attend the 10th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, a group that tries to preserve the camp as a memorial and a warning for future generations.

There, she held a minute's silence at the Black Wall, where prisoners were executed in the original camp.

She also placed a wreath at the Birkenau death camp.

RECENT RISE IN ANTI-SEMITISM

Earlier this year, German Jews were warned by a leading government official not to wear traditional kippahs in public settings because of safety concerns following the rise in anti-Semitic attacks.

In October, Merkel referenced statistics by the European Fundamental Rights Agency, which said 89 per cent of the Jews interviewed in Germany think anti-Semitism is growing.

Her visit to Auschwitz is another important gesture in the fight.

The foundation wrote: "Help us to warn humanity against itself. Do not allow history to become a deafening silence. Save the memory."

Although the German leader has visited other concentration camps, this is her first visit to the Nazi site.

The concentration camp was constructed in the suburbs of the Polish city Oświęcim, near the modern nation's southern border, in 1940.

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In total, an estimated 1.3 million people were sent to Auschwitz – and at least 1.1 million of these died.

Around 90 per cent of the dead were Jewish, representing approximately a sixth of all Jews killed in the Holocaust.

The rest of the inmates were comprised of Polish and Soviet prisoners, thousands of Romany people and an unknown number imprisoned for being homosexual.

8 Merkel's visit comes amid a rise in German anti-Semitism and ahead of the 75th anniversary of the camp's liberation Credit: Reuters

8 Auschwitz, the largest of the Nazi death camps, was the scene of the most appalling mass murder in human history Credit: AP:Associated Press

8 Merkel is taking part in a ceremony alongside a camp survivor and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki Credit: AP:Associated Press

8 The concentration camp was constructed in the suburbs of the Polish city Oświęcim, near the modern nation's southern border, in 1940 Credit: AP:Associated Press

Angela Merkel arrives at Auschwitz for the first time after pressure to address rise in anti-Semitism in Germany