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Emergency helper in Trier
Photo: Lukas Schulze / Getty Images
SPIEGEL:
You are the victim commissioner for the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and therefore the contact person for people who have experienced immense suffering.
What did you do when you heard about the rampage in Trier?
Detlef Placzek:
I didn't know the details yet, but I knew straight away: Now you have to help.
I got information from the State Criminal Police Office and the helpers on site.
And then I got in the car and drove from my office in Mainz to Trier.
SPIEGEL:
What did you do on site?
Placzek:
I went to the theater where those affected gathered.
It is important that the victims are given a point of contact right from the start.
On site, the Psychosocial Emergency Care (PSNV) had already taken care of the victims and cared for them.
All people who help the victims or who were eyewitnesses have to have someone by their side.
The PSNV does this as emergency aid.
These include pastors and trauma therapists, they are the first point of contact for the victims.
I also made contact with the trauma clinics in Rhineland-Palatinate and asked the psychotherapists in the region via the professional chamber who was available for care.
The country has signed contracts with the ambulances so that victims of attacks can definitely be treated there quickly.
To person
Icon: enlarge Photo: Krisina Schäfer / LSJV RLP
Detlef Placzek,
63, is the President of the State Office for Social Affairs, Youth and Welfare in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Since 2018 he has been working as a voluntary victim commissioner for the state government.
Placzek looks after the concerns of those affected after natural disasters, terrorist attacks or major accidents.
SPIEGEL:
What else have you done?
Placzek:
Together with the accident insurance company, the city of Trier and the police, we set up an emergency hotline and ensured that it was staffed with trauma therapists and psychologists.
The hotline is already activated.
Those affected are advised directly on the phone or referred to other institutions.
Victims and traumatized eyewitnesses can call 0800 0010218 around the clock.
The hotline will be around for a long time because some people will not answer until much later and say that they cannot cope with the situation.
SPIEGEL:
How are you helping the victims of the attack?
Placzek:
I get in touch with them and offer help and support.
With the necessary restraint on the part of the seriously injured.
The message is important: you are not alone.
Those affected should know that they can turn to me for help.
If so desired, I can also visit her in the hospital.
SPIEGEL:
Do you also want to visit the mother who lost her nine-week-old baby and her husband?
Placzek:
With those who are in the hospital, I have to wait.
I first speak to their relatives and ask if they would like to visit.
Otherwise I would give them my card with them so that the victims can find out who to turn to.
Which is the best way has to be decided individually.
SPIEGEL:
To what extent are the victims of such an attack being financially compensated?
Placzek:
In Germany everyone who has been a victim of violence is entitled to state aid.
The state must protect its citizens, if that is not possible, the Victims Compensation Act applies.
SPIEGEL:
The law was amended after the attack on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin.
Attack victims now receive significantly higher compensation.
Placzek:
Before the attack on Breitscheidplatz, it was not anchored in the law that people would be compensated if a car was the weapon of attack.
This is now ruled out, but this change will not come into force until 2024.
But the law provides for a hardship regulation, in which the agreement with the responsible Federal Ministry must be established.
This has already been requested.
SPIEGEL:
How much money would the victims receive?
Placzek:
The entitlement is calculated individually.
Essentially, it consists of medical and medical treatment, injured persons and survivors' pensions.
No compensation for pain and suffering is paid.
Property damage and pecuniary damage are also not compensated.
SPIEGEL:
When can the victims expect the first payments?
Placzek:
That requires an application.
This must show that it is an act of violence.
So a deliberate, illegal physical attack against a person.
However, such procedures may take time to complete.
It is important that the victims can quickly call on the help of the trauma clinic.
And they are immediately available.
SPIEGEL:
How can you still help people come to terms with such an act?
Placzek:
We offer them the opportunity to come into contact with each other and to exchange ideas about what they have experienced.
Many will ask themselves the same questions: “Why me?
Why was I in this place at that moment?
If I had gone somewhere else beforehand, I would not have been there.
Why did the perpetrator do that? «Victims can come to terms with something like this by exchanging ideas.
We also offer to accompany you on certain dates and take care of the material questions.
If the victim compensation right should not apply to anyone, contact has already been made with the traffic victim assistance.
Those affected can also make claims there.
Everything has to be prepared so that help arrives quickly.
SPIEGEL:
When you were there yesterday and saw some of the people affected, how did you fare?
Placzek:
I'm a grandfather myself and try not to think about it at first and to deal with it professionally.
I think of the victims, but I mustn't suffer.
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