Agency Report –
Hanau, Germany – About 1,000 people demonstrated in the central German city of Hanau on Saturday to commemorate a racist attack there five years ago in which nine people were killed.
At a rally in the market square, the demonstrators called for clarification of the background to the crime and for the fight against racism and right-wing extremism. Afterwards, they marched through the city centre.
The demonstration was organized by the youth alliance Remember Hanau under the motto “To remember is to change.”
The police had tightened security in the wake of an attack in Munich on Thursday and deployed additional forces in Hanau on Saturday.
The relatives and friends of the murdered, as well as their supporters, held a vigil Saturday evening at the Congress Park Hanau (CPH) event centre.
The organizers aimed to look back on the past five years, but also look to the future with the help of music, film, theatre excerpts, local reports and speeches.
Several people who spoke on Saturday renewed their criticism of the government, police and judiciary, accusing them of a lack of will to investigate the attack and charged that the authorities had failed to take action against those responsible at the time.
On the actual anniversary, this coming Wednesday, an official memorial service will also take place at the CPH. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to attend.
On February 19, 2020, a 43-year-old German man shot dead nine people in Hanau for racist reasons. He then killed his mother and himself.
By Michael Bauer
