Two years after the right-wing extremist terrorist attack, the victims and their relatives were remembered in Halle with wreaths, flowers and roll calls. Several hundred people came together in the Saale-Stadt for a public commemoration, from 12:04 p.m. the bells of the market church and the red tower rang.
At that time, the heavily armed right-wing extremist and anti-Semitic assassin tried to cause a bloodbath in the synagogue of the Jewish community in Halle on October 9, 2019, on the highest Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur. When he did not succeed, he shot a 40-year-old passerby. A little later he killed a 20-year-old in a kebab shop. The assassin is in prison. The higher regional court in Naumburg had sentenced him to life imprisonment with subsequent preventive detention.
“Red Line of Decency”
Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) said on Saturday in front of the synagogue of the Jewish community that October 9, 2019 was a turning point for Saxony-Anhalt and all of Germany. “Our special memory goes to the victims and their relatives, for whom the perpetrator brought endless suffering,” he said. Actions, vigils and rallies are planned across the city by the evening.
Haseloff warned society against forgetting and playing down right-wing extremist violence. “We mustn’t leave that unchallenged,” he said. “Let’s draw a red line of decency together. We have to consistently oppose defamation of the other, and we have to stand up to right-wing extremists together,” he said. Anti-Semitism and racism are also spreading in the middle of society.
This can be seen not only in social networks, but also in face-to-face conversations. “The limit of what can be said is shifting in a way that we would not have thought possible ten or 15 years ago.” The change and brutalization of the language is a warning signal. The attack in Halle shows that word and deed are not far from each other and how important it is to keep the memory of the Shoah alive and to pass it on from generation to generation. Not only the schools would have to take care of this, but also families, friends, clubs, associations and parties.