The armed attack in Hanau, in which at least eleven people died, triggers grief and horror. Top politicians express their sympathy – in clear words.
Eleven people are in Hessen on Wednesday evening Hanau shot, including the alleged gunman. The Attorney General took over the investigation on suspicion of an extreme right. Many politicians reacted to the fact with dismay.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed his horror in a message. He expressed his deep sorrow and sympathy to the victims and their relatives, and wished the injured a speedy recovery. “I am on the side of all people who are threatened by racist hatred. They are not alone,” said Steinmeier. “I am convinced that the vast majority of people in Germany condemn this act and all forms of racism, hatred and violence. We will not stop to stand up for peaceful coexistence in our country.”
Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed in a press statement on the Hanau attack. The CDU politician condemned the act and said: “The poison of racism is responsible for too many crimes in our country”. She also expressed sympathy for the victims and their families. The alleged perpetrator was probably acting for right-wing extremists, Merkel said.
CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Hanau saw the act of violence as evidence that the CDU and other parties are not allowed to work with the AfD. She feels that her position is reinforced that there should be no cooperation with the party that “tolerates right-wing extremists, yes, I also say very deliberately Nazis, in its own ranks and that lays a foundation, also in the political discussion, for exactly this idea, “said Kramp-Karrenbauer in Paris. She referred to the CDU decision not to cooperate with the AfD. “How important it is to hold this firewall can be seen in a day like today.”
Gunfire in Hanau: the locations of the attacks in Hesse. (Source: t-online.de)
“How quickly words can become actions”
Katja Kipping, Leader of the left, sided with victims and relatives. She said t-online.de: “Our thoughts are with the victims, injured, relatives and with all those who are now afraid of further racist terror. The racist terror in Hanau shows us again how quickly words become actions can.”
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Kipping further said: “Such acts are fired up by right-wing agitation, which speaks of ‘well-tempered cruelty’ (Höcke) and ‘remigration’ and denies people their dignity.” She called for solidarity to be opposed to right-wing hatred: “We all have a duty to make it clear to those who are now afraid of further racist attacks: You are not alone. We are at your side.”
“Expressing dismay is not enough”
CDU member of the Bundestag Frank Heinrich told t-online.de: “It is necessary to show a political stance now, because hatred and racism must not be allowed to remain in our society. But we have to think about how we can get the poison Angela Merkel has named out of Want to get company. Expressing our consternation now is absolutely correct and appropriate, but: It is not enough. We have to consider how we can find a recipe for detoxifying our society. “
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Member of the federal executive board of the FDP, said to t-online.de: “The seeds of the right-wing radicals are growing. It is time for the Democrats to get up! Simply incredible. My thoughts are with the bereaved.”
The deputy group leader of the FDP, Stephan Thomae, said t-online.de: “The bloody deed in Hanau was an attack on the center of our society and leaves deep wounds. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims. Our unreserved condolences go out to them.”
The top priority now is to further clarify the motive and the background. There are many indications that the murders had a radical right-wing and racist background: “Objectivity and quick clarification are the order of the day,” continued Thomae.
Ria Schröder, the leader of the young liberals said: “The terrible racist murders in Hanau are stunned, sad and angry. We must not allow people in Germany to be discriminated against, threatened, injured or even killed because of their origin, skin color or descent. We commemorate Today to the victims and donate our consolation and our sympathy to the relatives. In addition, actions must also follow: the terrible assassinations of Walter Lübcke in Kassel, a synagogue and a kebab shop in Halle and yesterday in Hanau must not be relativized as isolated cases of confused sole perpetrators, the federal government must finally take the structural threat of right-wing terrorism seriously and take decisive action against it. “
Merkel canceled trip to Halle
Several top politicians expressed their horror on Twitter. government spokesman Steffen Seibert expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims:
The thoughts are in with people this morning #Hanau, in the midst of which a horrific crime was committed. The families affected, who mourn the loss of their dead, express deep sympathy. We hope that the injured will recover soon.
– Steffen Seibert (@RegSpeaker) February 20, 2020
He also announced that Chancellor Angela Merkel “because of the murders in Hanau” canceled their planned trip to Halle. The Chancellor is constantly informed of the status of the investigation.
Secretary of State Heiko Maas the events hurt and he wishes the injured a speedy recovery:
The terrible events in #Hanau hurt all of us. After this cruel night, our thoughts are with the dead, their families and relatives. We hope that the injured will recover soon.
– Heiko Maas ?? (@HeikoMaas) February 20, 2020
Bouffier: “This is terrible”
Prime Minister of Hesse Volker Bouffier (CDU) was also shocked by the fatal shots in Hanau. “That is terrible,” said Bouffier in Wiesbaden. This act made “basically speechless”. All citizens in Hesse are “horrified”. He did not want to take part in speculation about the background to the crime.
SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil called for a demonstration in view of the events in Hanau. “We have to make a statement. Against right-wing terror, against right-wing hatred, against fascism,” he wrote on Twitter. “Let’s meet at the Brandenburg Gate at 6pm and make it clear that we are not leaving our country to the agitators and right-wing terrorists.”
The CSU chairman Markus Söder was stunned after the act of violence by Hanau and wrote on Twitter:
The brutal and inhumane acts in Hanau leave us stunned. In our thoughts we are with the relatives of the victims. We wish the injured a complete recovery. The rule of law will oppose such violence with all severity and determination.
– Markus Söder (@Markus_Soeder) February 20, 2020
Katrin Goering-Eckardt, Group leader of the Greens, called the events on Twitter “terrible”:
It’s terrible. My thoughts are with the victims and the injured, their families and friends. Thanks to all emergency services. #Hanau #Trauer
– Katrin Göring-Eckardt MdB (@GoeringEckardt) February 20, 2020
Politicians classify deed as terror
The voices of the federal politicians on Twitter were increasingly mixed with those who demanded a clear description of the fact after the Attorney General took over the investigation for evidence of a xenophobic background. Among them was the SPD chair Saskia Esken:
What an appalling act in #Hanau! For far too long we have shied away from naming it with clear words:
Right-wing terror in Germany.
We are shocked and we mourn. All our thoughts are with the victims, relatives and friends.
– Saskia Esken (@EskenSaskia) February 20, 2020
The SPD member of the Bundestag Karamba Diaby Expresses itself similarly: “Let’s say it: This is #Terror in #Hanau. Several people are murdered because of their assumed belonging to a group. I am shocked,” Diaby tweeted.
Even the FDP chief Christian Lindner has meanwhile expressed itself accordingly and calls the attack in Hanau “racist terror”:
The apparently racist terror of #Hanau shakes me. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families. We must oppose right-wing extremism with all determination. CL
– Christian Lindner (@c_lindner) February 20, 2020
The former Minister of Justice made particularly clear statements Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger in a tweet. She called for right-wing terror in Germany to be taken seriously.
A right-wing extremist murders Walter Lübcke. A right-wing extremist carries out an anti-Semitic attack in Halle. A right-wing extremist kills ten people in #Hanau, What needs to be done before the terrorist threat is finally taken seriously?
– S.L.-Schnarrenberger (@sls_fdp) February 20, 2020
The CDU member of the Bundestag Eckhardt Rehberg said t-online.de: “Our sympathy and sympathy goes to the victims and their relatives. The democratic, free Germany has to prove its defensibility at all levels and with the rule of law. Clear edge and demarcation against right-wing populism and right-wing extremism.”
The CDU deputy made a similar statement to t-online.de Marc Henrichmann: “The horrific racist act of Hanau deeply shook me. AfD politicians share responsibility for this crime. They stir up hatred and poison the social climate. In doing so, they reinforce violent offenders. We have to take decisive action against this it has brought the Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) through the cabinet to better enforce the law in social networks.
But Henrichmann has more far-reaching demands in the fight against extremism: “Extremists and terrorists must not come into the possession of weapons in the first place. The Bundestag has recently passed changes here. Nevertheless, we also have to talk about further powers for our security authorities. They have to get the opportunity to recognize hate pamphlets faster on the Internet and to be able to act against their originators. We need a strong and capable digital police. “
AfD is cautious
The leaders of the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Alice Weidel and Alexander Gaulandsaid about the act of violence: “The hideous crime in Hanau deeply shakes us and leaves us stunned. Our thoughts and compassion go to the victims of this horrific act of violence and their relatives. We wish the wounded a speedy recovery.”
AFD-national speakers Jörg Meuthen denied on Twitter that the events were a political attack. He wrote:
This is neither right nor left terror, this is the delusional act of a madman. Any form of political instrumentalization of this terrible act is a cynical mistake. Instead, all people in our country should mourn the loss of their victims together with their relatives.
– Prof. Dr. Jörg Meuthen (@Joerg_Meuthen) February 20, 2020
Björn Höcke, head of the AfD in Thuringia, also avoids speaking on Twitter of a politically motivated act:
The hideous murder of Hanau, in which ten people were suddenly torn from life, leaves us stunned. We mourn with the bereaved.
The madness seems to be spreading more and more in this country. pic.twitter.com/eylUmv3HWa– Björn Höcke (@BjoernHoecke) February 20, 2020
International concern
The crime also affects people internationally: Sebastian Kurz, Chancellor of Austria, shared his condolences on Twitter with the relatives and friends of the victims:
My thoughts are in during these difficult hours #Hanauwhere a terrible crime was committed. My sincere sympathy goes to the relatives and friends of the victims.
– Sebastian Kurz (@sebastian short) February 20, 2020
Also EU Council President Charles Michel expressed horror at the violent crime. “The senseless loss of life is a tragedy no matter where it occurs,” Michel wrote on Twitter. “After the terrible attack, we are thinking of the people in #Hanau,” added Michel. He condoled the relatives and friends of the victims.
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