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Central memorial event at Hanau's main cemetery: Prime Minister Bouffier, Interior Minister Faeser and Mayor Kaminsky (from left)
Photo: Thomas Lohnes / Getty Images
On the second anniversary of the racist attack in Hanau that killed nine, representatives of the federal government, the state of Hesse and the city of Hanau called for joint action against racism, hatred and hate speech in Germany.
“This attack didn't come out of nowhere.
And it was anything but random," said Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) at the central commemoration event at Hanau's main cemetery.
The breeding ground is “a climate of contempt for human beings that incites violent extremists and, in the worst case, allows them to take action”.
Together with the Prime Minister of Hesse, Volker Bouffier (CDU), the Lord Mayor of Hanau, Claus Kaminsky (SPD) and other representatives from politics and religious communities, Faeser commemorated the victims of the attack and assured the bereaved of their support.
Bouffier also said that racism is a poison that is sometimes thoughtless, sometimes insidious and, more and more often, quite openly.
“We must therefore be vigilant, we must not remain indifferent.
We have to contradict racists and certainly not show any understanding.«
Chancellor Olaf Scholz recalled the victims by name.
»Fatih, Ferhat, Gokhan, Hamza, Kaloyan, Mercedes, Sedat, Said Nesar, Vili Viorel.
You were part of our country, part of us," said the SPD politician in a video message distributed on Twitter.
Scholz attended the security conference in Munich at the weekend.
"We owe you, your families and friends, answers to the questions that remain unanswered to this day," the Chancellor said to the victims.
He promised that the federal government would "resolutely fight racism and right-wing terror."
The aim is to stop “extremist networks” and to ensure that state authorities support the victims and their families.
More should also be invested in political education and the prevention of racist crimes, said Scholz.
Although the gap left by the victims cannot be filled, people can remember the dead of Hanau every day.
"Today we say your names out loud because we won't forget you," said Scholz.
On February 19, 2020, a 43-year-old murdered nine people in Hanau for racist motives.
The mentally ill right-wing extremist then killed his mother and took his own life.
The victims included Sedat Gürbüz, Gökhan Gültekin, Said Nesar Hashemi, Mercedes Kierpacz, Hamza Kurtovic, Vili-Viorel Paun, Fatih Saraçoglu, Ferhat Unvar and Kaloyan Velkov.
A parliamentary investigative committee of the Hessian state parliament is currently dealing with the processing of the crime.
Above all, he investigates the question of whether the authorities failed before, during or after the attack.
Numerous politicians are demanding a complete investigation into the facts and a more determined fight against racism and right-wing extremism, hatred and hate speech.
In addition to the commemoration at Hanau's main cemetery, numerous other commemorative events, rallies and demonstrations in Hanau, Frankfurt and other cities throughout Germany were planned for Saturday.
wit/dpa