The perpetrator from Hanau wanted to kill people with foreign roots. On the evening of February 19, 2020, he shot eight men and one woman at six crime scenes in the Hessian city. He injured six people. The 43-year-old then drove home, killing his mother and himself.
Faeser announces decisive action against right-wing extremism
The racially motivated attack triggered nationwide horror. On the second anniversary, a central hour of remembrance took place at the main cemetery in Hanau. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced a “complete and transparent clarification of all the background to this horrific attack” and decisive action against right-wing extremism. Fighting it is her “top priority”.
“What was done to them breaks my heart,” Faeser said to the families of the murdered. “If the assassin wanted to split Hanau, then he achieved the opposite: more cohesion, solidarity, humanity. The victims of February 19, 2020 will remain a part of us forever.” The SPD minister called each individual victim by his name and described his life story and plans for the future.
Hessian Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU), Hanau Mayor Claus Kaminsky (SPD), Hanau Imam Macit Bozkurt and several relatives also spoke at the commemoration. There is also a rally in the market square. The motto is “Two years after Hanau: No forgiveness, no forgetting”.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised in a video message distributed via Twitter that the federal government would decisively fight racism and right-wing terror.
In other cities in Hesse and Germany, people remember the victims this Saturday and stand up for political consequences. There are more than 100 demonstrations, rallies and campaigns nationwide, including in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Bremen, Hanover, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Stuttgart and Munich.
On the eve of the second anniversary of the attack, hundreds of people demonstrated against racism and right-wing extremism in Frankfurt am Main
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Committee of Inquiry of the Hessian State Parliament
An investigative committee of the Hessian state parliament is currently dealing with the investigation of the crime, which is particularly investigating the question of whether the authorities failed before, during or after the attack. Before his violent act, the assassin had published racist pamphlets and videos with conspiracy theories on the Internet.
Left chairwoman Janine Wissler called for more government efforts against racism on the anniversary. “Fighting structural racism means that the police and other security agencies must be democratized,” she told the German Press Agency in Berlin. Extreme right-wing attitudes, networks and racist practices there must be scientifically examined. An independent complaints and investigation body is needed at the federal level.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wants to present an action plan against right-wing extremism by Easter
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Federal Interior Minister Faeser emphasized in Berlin on Friday: “We will continue to increase the pressure to investigate extremists.” But consistently countering “deeply rooted enmity” is not just the task of a strong police force and well-equipped security agencies. “It’s a task for us as a society,” she said, announcing that an action plan against right-wing extremism would be presented by Easter.
At the end of December, the federal prosecutor’s office stopped investigating the attack. There is no evidence of accomplices, instigators, assistants or accomplices of the assassin, the authority said. This caused criticism among the families of the victims.
se / kle (dpa, afp, epd, kna)
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