In June 2019, a right-wing extremist shot the Kassel district president Walter Lübcke. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will also be present at the commemoration ceremony for the fifth anniversary of the murder on June 2nd.
The Kassel regional council and the Kassel democracy initiative “Open for diversity – closed against exclusion” announced this on Friday. The Federal President’s Office confirmed Steinmeier’s participation in the event in St. Martin’s Church.
1000 guests expected at memorial service
“We are very grateful and it means a lot to us that Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has accepted the invitation and will give the commemorative speech in Kassel as guest of honor,” explained the initiators. In addition to political representatives, cabinet members of the Hessian state government and members of the state and federal parliaments, many citizens from the region are invited. A total of 1,000 guests are expected.
Lübcke was shot by right-wing extremists
The CDU politician Walter Lübcke was shot by the right-wing extremist Stephan E. on the night of June 1st to 2nd, 2019 on the terrace of his home in Wolfhagen-Istha, northern Hesse. The murder is considered the first right-wing extremist murder of a politician in the Federal Republic. Lübcke had previously defended the admission of refugees and was subsequently threatened. Stephan E. was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder.