Berlin – There are places and there are days when all the contradictions in life are revealed. Sadness and joy are then close together, despair and laughter, anger and exuberance. Breitscheidplatz is one such place, and not just on December 19th. On that day five years ago, an Islamist terrorist murdered the Polish truck driver Lukasz Urban and sped the stolen truck into the Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz. The attack on the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church cost the lives of twelve passers-by, and more than 70 people were injured, many of them life-threatening.
Five years later, as it has been for 40 years, the square is again a Christmas market. At lunchtime, Christmas music rings out from the boxes. Ulrike and Gerd Schlirgs are sitting next to the church with mulled wine. “We come from the Harz region,” says the 59-year-old. They don’t even know that they are so close to the site of the attack. At the stand next door, parents buy their child a few sweets.
December 19, 2016 is not over yet
Next to the church entrance there is a Christmas poster that says: “Now is the time to be happy.” A golden crack runs through the floor of Breitscheidplatz less than 50 meters away. The memorial to the victims. There it becomes clear that December 19, 2016 is far from over.
Volkmar Otto
The memorial: The crack in the floor leads to the stairs with the names of the victims.
This can be seen on the stairs. The names of the people who were murdered have been there for years. The metal letters are faded and stand out clearly from the steps. But at the very bottom left there are also letters that can hardly be seen because they are still fresh and dark. There is a photo of Sascha Hüsges from Bonn, a first aider. Immediately after the attack, he helped victims, was hit by a beam and seriously injured. This year, the 49-year-old died on October 5 of the long-term effects.
The construction of the church is also celebrated
In the Gedächtniskirche, joy and sorrow are very close to one another on this day: It is noon and around 250 believers pour out of the church. You have just celebrated the church service for the 60th anniversary of the Church. The new building stands next to the ruins of the old church. A woman thanks Pastor Martin Germer for the celebration and asks whether she can attend the memorial service for the victims of the attack with the Federal President that evening. He says: “Unfortunately, all the places have long been taken.”
Volkmar Otto
The pastor: Martin Germer also prepared the memorial service with the Federal President.
Germer says it was a historical coincidence that both events coincide with one day. Joy and sorrow fell on each other five years ago, says the 65-year-old. First the attack, five days later at Christmas. “For me, the Christian faith does not mean superficial happiness, but also a hope that can grow out of pain and suffering.” At the time, he welcomed the fact that after three days of respectful mourning the market was reopened in a subdued form. “We must not allow our lives and everyday life to be stolen from us by acts of violence,” says the pastor. Now the organ starts to play. Short and loud. Germer has to go, continue preparing for the funeral service.
13 chimes for the 13 victims
In the evening the church bells will ring. Exactly at 8:02 p.m., at the time of the attack. Exactly 13 times. Once for each victim – once more than the last time.
Outside in front of the church armed policemen are running across the square. One of them has a notebook with a list of every gully. Two employees of the water company open a metal lid in the ground. Then a man drops a two-meter-long metal rod. There’s a mirror at the bottom. A fourth man shines down. Together they see if there is an explosive device somewhere. The policeman ticks off the gully. Then it’s the next one.
The mulled wine stalls and all other stalls on this side of the church are closed due to the funeral service. Most of the dealers from back then still have their old location. Hardly anyone is there that day, and those who are there don’t want to talk about the traumatic event. Market manager Michael Roden says: “The funeral service is an important sign of respect for the bereaved. And the fact that our market still exists is a symbol that the terrorists have no access to our lives. “
Volkmar Otto
The boss of the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz: Michael Roden.
This is how Martin Frey, parliamentary group leader of the CDU in the district, sees it, who is putting down a bouquet of flowers with a few others. The 33-year-old businessman says that he lived nearby at the time. He points to the golden crack in the ground. “I never step on them,” he says, “not even on the stumbling blocks in the city. It’s a question of respect. “
Frey also says that he’s not only here on the memorial days. “Whenever I’m around – even if I’m just shopping across the street – I come here,” he says. “Then I stop for a moment. A moment to pause. Then life goes on. “
.