At the memorial event for the victims of the Solingen arson attack 30 years ago, Federal President Steinmeier found clear words. Right-wing extremism remains an urgent problem.
30 years after the racist arson attack in Solingen, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier commemorated the victims. “I am here today to commemorate the five dead, the young women and girls who were murdered on May 29, 1993. Today we pause together and mourn for Gürsün Ince, for Hatice Genc, for Gülüstan Öztürk, for Hülya Genc, for Saime Genc. And of course for Mevlüde Genc, who left us last autumn,” said the head of state in memory of the peace ambassador who died in October, who lost two daughters, two granddaughters and a niece in the attack.
Steinmeier spoke to the bereaved and around 600 invited guests. In his speech, Steinmeier also warned against trivializing right-wing extremist structures. “For far too long, our country sat on the unsupported but constantly repeated assertion that it was blinded individual perpetrators who were up to mischief,” said the Federal President. “The structures behind it and the ideology of the perpetrators have long been overlooked, ignored and sometimes suppressed.”
“Continuity of far-right and racist violence”
Steinmeier recalled the “brown breeding ground” of the arson attack. On May 29, 1993, four right-wing extremists set fire to the house of a Turkish family in the North Rhine-Westphalian city.
Solingen marked the climax of a whole series of racist crimes in the first half of the 1990s in the Federal Republic. There were right-wing extremist acts in Hoyerswerda, Saarlouis, Rostock-Lichtenhagen and Mölln, which, according to Steinmeier, have become engraved in the collective memory. The President also recalled the recent attacks in Halle and Hanau. “There is a continuity of right-wing extremist and racist violence in our country,” said the Federal President.
I call that terrorism. This right-wing terror is responsible for the dead here in Solingen. This right-wing terror existed before Solingen, and it will exist after Solingen.
state and security agencies with special responsibility
Steinmeier warned of the special responsibility of the state and its security authorities in the fight against right-wing extremism, racism and any form of misanthropy. “Everyone must be able to live in security and peace in our common country, and the state must protect especially those who are at higher risk of becoming victims of violence. To do this, it must do everything, yes, it must do even more for this”, he said. It therefore makes him “stunned” when “individual members of security authorities” organize themselves in right-wing chat groups, the Federal President added in his speech. “We cannot and must not tolerate that.”
At the same time, he reminded of the responsibility of politics and society, for example in the use of language. “Words can activate a society’s potential for violence. And we have all too often seen words turned into deeds. When politicians believe they have to verbally court the right fringe, when politicians also shift the boundaries between the unspeakable and the unspeakable, then they fuel the violence.”
With a view to society as a whole, Steinmeier referred to “prejudices and discrimination in everyday life”. This is the case, for example, when looking for a job, looking for an apartment or checking tickets. In addition, he would like “people who intervene at a bus stop if a girl is racially insulted and attacked” and “who object if lies, hatred and hate speech are spread at work or in social networks, in the hallway or at the regulars’ table”. More “courage” is needed, said the Federal President.
“Worst misanthropy in meanest Shape”
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) and other politicians also took part in the commemoration event. According to Wüst, “racism and the threat of extreme right-wing violence” persist. “Even today, people are excluded, discriminated against and hostile to because of their roots, culture or religion,” said the CDU politician.
Racism can be seen from subtle everyday discrimination to hate speech online to right-wing extremist acts of violence, said Wüst. “It is very worrying that far-right ideas are so prevalent that racist and far-right propaganda and crime are on the rise again.”
North Rhine-Westphalia’s head of government called for “continuously opposing” this and standing up for respectful social coexistence. Because of the “insidious arson attack”, Solingen still stands for “the worst misanthropy in the most base form”, but the city in the Bergisches Land is not an isolated case, said Wüst. He recalled attacks and riots in other cities, but also the murders by the right-wing terrorist network NSU.
Reminder also of the strength of bereaved
At the same time, Solingen is also a symbol of “incredible strength and attitude,” emphasized the Prime Minister. He referred to the attitude of Mevlüde Genc, who, despite her loss, opposed hate with philanthropy. Despite her indescribable pain, she had the great strength “to reach out to an entire society and to show us the way in these dark hours”. As a result, she became “a great example of reconciliation”.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) described the arson attack in Solingen 30 years ago as a “dark day”. “The right-wing extremist murder of five people with Turkish roots reminds us to protect everyone who lives here, to punish the crimes and to help the victims,” Scholz wrote on Twitter. “With respect for our diverse society, we can achieve a lot,” warned the Chancellor.