Seven years ago, on July 22, nine people fell victim to a racist attack at the Olympia shopping center (OEZ). On Saturday afternoon, the relatives and the city of Munich commemorated the murdered at a joint memorial service.
“Nothing in the world,” said Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) in his speech, “can undo this incredible crime.” Even after seven years, this terrible act remains “incomprehensible and incomprehensible”. The city also found it difficult, explains Reiter, to understand them and thus really “anchor them in the collective memory”.
That should change now. The city wants to commemorate July 22nd. Not just one day a year, but always. So that nothing is forgotten. In order to “show the continuity of right-wing terror and to commemorate the victims,” Reiter explains, the graves of the victims buried in Munich would become memorial graves.
The City of Munich would bear the costs of maintaining and maintaining the graves. Above all, however, the crime should be explained and the focus should be on the murdered. “So that they are not forgotten and so that commemoration is possible on site, at the graves,” says Reiter.
For the first time, after long discussions about a worthy commemoration, the city and its relatives have managed to organize the commemoration together. According to the wishes of the relatives. Many conversations with each other made this possible.