William and Kate visit Berlin's Holocaust memorial

Reuters The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge walk through the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of EuropeReuters
The royal couple also met Holocaust survivors in Poland

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have visited Berlin's Holocaust memorial to pay tribute to the millions of Jewish people who died.

Prince William and Catherine saw the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which represents a graveyard.

One survivor told them about his time at Auschwitz, where his parents were killed, and recalled the smell of burning bodies.

The couple are on a five-day tour of Poland and Germany with their children.

After looking around an underground museum at the memorial, the royal couple learned about some of the stories of the six million Jewish people killed during the Holocaust.

The duke and duchess then met a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Leon Schwarzbaum, 96, told them what life was like inside the camp.

At the age of 21, he worked as a runner for the camp commander.

AFP Prince William and Catherine with Holocaust survivor Leon SchwarzbaumAFP
Leon Schwarzbaum says it took him 10 years to talk about his experience

Mr Schwarzbaum showed the duke and duchess pictures of his family and told the duchess six people slept in one bunk.

He spoke about the smell of bodies while pointing to a chimney, adding: "You could smell the chimney throughout the whole camp. It was a terrible smell."

The couple also met several children on their first day in Berlin, at a centre for mental health and young people and also at the Strassenkinder charity for disadvantaged children.

EPA The duchess met children, who greeted her with hugs in BerlinEPA
Catherine was greeted with hugs by some children, rather than traditional handshakes
PA Prince William high fives a member of the crowdPA
Some children opted for a high five from Prince William
PA The royal couple were greeted with cheers and high fives by children in BerlinPA
While others cheered alongside the royal couple

The duke and duchess also met German Chancellor Angela Merkel and attended a private lunch.

Prince William and Catherine were expected to discuss European politics, global issues and volunteer work.

The royals were given a tour of the chancellery by Angela Merkel
EPA The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Brandenburg GateEPA
The duke and duchess visited Berlin's famous landmark, the Brandenburg Gate

The royal couple, accompanied on the tour by Prince George, three, and Princess Charlotte, two, arrived in Germany after spending two days in Poland, where they met its first democratically-elected president, Lech Walesa, and visited a former concentration camp.

On Thursday the royals will move on to the German city of Heidelberg, which is twinned with Cambridge.

A boat race is planned which will see William and Catherine cox opposing rowing teams in the race, with crews from Cambridge and Heidelberg.

Getty Images Charlotte arrives at Berlin Tegel Airport holding her mother Kate's hand and a flowerGetty Images
AFP Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George and Princess CharlotteAFP
Prince George and Princess Charlotte are accompanying William and Kate on the tour