It was the evening of December 19, 2016 when an Islamist terrorist raced through the Christmas market on Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz in a truck. 13 people died in the attack, their names are engraved on the steps leading to the Memorial Church. “The state has not been able to keep its promise of protection, security and freedom,” said Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the fifth anniversary on Sunday.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) emphasized: “The state must be able to defend itself and protect its citizens.” Scholz spoke of a terrible incident that was deeply engraved in the collective memory.
Before the anniversary, victims of the attack expressed dissatisfaction in an open letter to the federal government. They demanded a dignified treatment of those affected and the full investigation of the crime. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser agreed to do so. “As far as there are still unanswered questions, we will look for answers,” said the SPD politician. “Nothing is swept under the carpet. We owe that to the victims and the bereaved.” Federal President Steinmeier also called for new findings on the crime to be investigated. “This is the only way people can trust their state to grow again.”
“Second Class Victim”
The outgoing federal victim commissioner, Edgar Franke (SPD), stated in the World on sunday: If a citizen injures himself on the way to work, the state has to rehabilitate him today “by all appropriate means”. It should not be the case that such an automatism has not yet existed and that “victims of terrorism are poorly cared for,” said Franke, who is now Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Health.
The new coalition agreement already speaks of a better way of dealing with those affected by terrorism. Among other things, it is planned to declare March 11th as the “national day of remembrance for the victims of terrorist violence”. The former Federal Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière (CDU) praised the project: “It is no small matter to introduce a day of mourning for victims of terrorism.” The hours and days after terrorist attacks “were among the most depressing as ministers”. He has often asked himself why the society is no longer showing sympathy for those affected by terrorism – this particularly applies to the IS attack in Istanbul in 2016, in which twelve Germans died: “With the dead in Istanbul, forgetting is very obvious. That is depressing” said de Maizière the World on sunday.
Those affected by various terrorist attacks spoke out in the newspaper in favor of setting up a central memorial site for attacks at home and abroad in addition to a day of remembrance. “A place of remembrance for all victims, that would be wonderful,” said Nora Zapf from Berlin, whose grandmother died in Istanbul. She doesn’t want to put up with feeling like a “second class victim”.
Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) emphasized: “As the new federal government, we will do everything we can to provide the best possible support to victims and survivors of terrorist attacks.” He supports the idea of declaring March 11th as the national day of remembrance for victims of terrorism, said the FDP politician.