On Sunday, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) called on state investigative authorities to re-investigate the terrorist attack on Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz five years ago with unusual severity. In his speech, the Federal President spoke about the mistakes in coming to terms with the past five years. The state must correct these errors and “continue to investigate if there is new information about the act”. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also reminded of the duty of the state on the occasion of the memorial day. “The state must be able to defend itself and protect its citizens,” said Scholz.
Five years have passed since the terrorist attack on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, but the wound has not healed. With another commemorative event, the leaders from the state and society together with the bereaved and those affected remembered the loss caused by the worst Islamist terrorist attack that the Federal Republic of Germany has ever experienced. “The crack is deep. It still hurts to this day. He stays, ”said Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the memorial event in the Memorial Church. For several years now, a gold-colored crack has been running through the steps in front of the church to commemorate the church. The names of the dead are embedded on the left and right.
Eleven people died when terrorist Anis Amri drove a stolen truck into the Christmas market around the Memorial Church on December 19, 2016. His twelfth victim was the Polish truck driver Lukasz Urban, whom the terrorist had previously shot. There has been a thirteenth fatality since this year with Sascha Hüsges, a first aider who died in October of the long-term effects of his injuries that day five years ago. For the first time this year, at the end of the memorial event, the dead were remembered with the ringing of 13 bells.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier: Keep investigating new findings
In his speech, the Federal President spoke of the “onset of violence in our society”. He called for cohesion, but he also admitted that the state had not been able to keep its “promise of protection, security and freedom”. He is therefore in the debt of society, the victims, the more than a hundred injured and their families. “The process of coming to terms with the past five years has shown that there have been mistakes. The state – and I stand before you as its representative – has to correct these errors, it has to investigate further in the event of new findings. Only in this way can people’s trust in their state grow again, ”said Steinmeier.
Shortly before the anniversary, the RBB published a research that again cast a bad light on the work of the security authorities. An RBB team succeeded in clearing up the identity of a suspected person who had commissioned the attack. The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) had concrete evidence of this man early on, but could not identify him.
The relatives of the victims then expressed their dissatisfaction in an open letter to the federal government. They demanded a dignified treatment of those affected, “further investigations into the crime and possible accomplices and masterminds” and the comprehensive investigation of the crime. So far, the authorities have “not sufficiently followed up on possible accomplices” and there have been “serious errors in criminal prosecution”.
Berlin’s victim commissioner Roland Weber has expressed understanding for the dissatisfaction of the bereaved. There was an unfortunate communication from the start. According to Weber, around 200 applications under the Victims Compensation Act have been decided largely positively. Of the hardship payments made available by the federal government for victims of terrorist attacks, more than 3.7 million euros were paid to the victims of the attack in Berlin. However, there are still processes going on within the framework of victim compensation. Many of those affected are unable to work.
Marco Buschmann: Memorial day for victims of terrorist violence on March 11th
Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann has meanwhile assured those affected that he will be there for them and make dealing with them more dignified and empathetic. The attack on Breitscheidplatz showed that the state structures for averting dangers had to be better organized. “Hate and violence must have no place in Germany and must be fought with all means of our constitutional state,” said Buschmann on Sunday. He advocates declaring March 11th as the national day of remembrance for victims of terrorist violence. This date is already considered European Remembrance Day.
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