WASHINGTON — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has received the 2017 Elie Wiesel Award, the highest honor from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Merkel was presented with the award Monday, which is Holocaust Remembrance Day. She accepted it in a video message. She was selected for her contributions to Holocaust memory and education.

In the video, Merkel called the award a "great honor" and "a major gesture toward me and my country." She said that for Germany to have a bright future, it's essential to understand the Holocaust as "the ultimate betrayal of all civilized values."

The award was established in 2011 and named for Wiesel, who was also its first recipient. Wiesel, who died last year, was a Holocaust survivor and author and the founding chairman of the museum.