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A bouquet of flowers near a crime scene in Hanau (symbol picture)
Photo: Nicolas Armer / dpa
The director Uwe Boll, known for his trash strips, is planning a film about the racially motivated attack in Hanau.
The victims' families and the city reacted with indignation to the film project.
"All of us - the families of the victims, the magistrate as well as the head of the city council and the parliamentary groups - urge you to stop preparations immediately and to refrain from shooting to make this film," said an open letter to Boll the city of Hanau published on Friday.
In addition to the families of the victims, it was signed by Hanau's mayor, Claus Kaminsky, among others.
Initially, »Bild« reported on the film project.
Boll defended the plan on Friday evening.
He is on the side of the victims and wants to contribute to the required clarification of the events, said the director of the dpa.
It is understandable if the topic is emotionally stressful.
He was also of the opinion "that the film should not necessarily be viewed by the families of the victims," said Boll.
However, the attack once again made clear the dangers of growing right-wing extremism and increasing conspiracy theories, which is why it is important to take up the issue.
The film has already been shot and should be finished in a few months.
A 43-year-old man shot nine people for racist motives in several locations in the city in the Rhine-Main area on the evening of February 19, 2020, before allegedly killing his mother and then himself.
He had previously published racist pamphlets and videos of conspiracy stories on the Internet.
A Hanau city spokeswoman said that Boll had not previously contacted the city about the film project.
The victims' families and associations also learned about it from the press, the letter said.
Boll explained that he had contacted the Ferhat Unvar education initiative, but received a signal from there that it was refraining from the project.
Unvar was one of the victims of the attack; his mother founded the education initiative.
In the open letter, the city and the victims' families stated that the attack on February 19, 2020 had torn many wounds - in the families affected, in the entire city community.
“The city has not been the same since, and we are all doing our best to deal with events appropriately.
It is beyond our imagination what mindset is necessary to film the violent death of nine fellow human beings in a way that, in your own words, is too harsh for the public broadcasters, "said the city and the relatives in the letter looking at a quote from Boll in the "Bild".
In the event that the project was to be implemented, they asked Boll to "respect the personal rights of relatives, their sense of piety and the continued human dignity of the deceased."
Otherwise, legal action has been announced.
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