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Sunday, 28 May 2006, 21:01 GMT 22:01 UK

In pictures: Pope visits Auschwitz

Pope walks through gate of Auschwitz camp

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Pope Benedict XVI had insisted on visiting Auschwitz. He walked alone through the camp gate, under its infamous sign reading "Arbeit macht frei" (Work makes you free).

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A former Auschwitz prisoner, Michnol Jerzy, shows pictures of his parents as he walks through the camp. Pope Benedict was greeted by 32 former inmates during his visit.

Pope bows in front of the execution wall, watched by Auschwitz survivors

Pope bows in front of the execution wall, watched by Auschwitz survivors

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The Pope said a prayer in front of the execution wall, watched the survivors who had returned to the camp to meet him. The Nazis killed thousands of inmates at the wall.

Cardinals Jean Marie Lustiger (left) and Joachim Meissner

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Emotion grips Cardinals Jean Marie Lustiger (l) and Joachim Meissner as the Pope prays in courtyard 11 of the former Auschwitz death camp.

Pope Benedict looks at the tablets at the memorial to victims

Pope Benedict looks at the tablets at the memorial to victims

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At Birkenau, the Pope walked along a row of 22 tablets in front of the memorial to victims. Each tablet represents a different nationality of those who died at the camps.

Pope prays in front of memorial at Birkenau

Pope prays in front of memorial at Birkenau

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As he prayed in front of the Birkenau memorial, watched by a 500-strong crowd, a rainbow appeared in the sky.

Pope delivers prayer

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The Pope said a prayer for peace in his native German tongue. He said it was particularly difficult for a Christian, and a German pope, to speak from a place of such horror.

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