Christmas market attack
Silent Christmas – mourning after the attack in Magdeburg
Updated on December 26, 2024Reading time: 2 min.
A week after the attack, Magdeburg is still in mourning. This year, the traditional Christmas concert will become a symbol of cohesion.
Boxing Day is actually a day of joy – but there is still a heavy silence over Magdeburg six days after the attack on the Christmas market. Several hundred people gathered in the opera house to commemorate the five dead and up to 235 injured.
“This attack has left a big wound in our city. A wound that bleeds,” said the mayor of the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt, Simone Borris (independent), shortly before the concert began. It is now up to the people of Magdeburg to stop this bleeding. However, the great wound will leave a scar that will change the city. “We have to try to stand by one another in our grief and then look forward,” emphasized Borris. The guests then stood for a minute’s silence.
The first performance of the annual Christmas concert was quickly rededicated to send a signal of cohesion and solidarity. The guests included relatives of the victims, those affected, rescue workers and first responders. 200 free cards were provided especially for them.
The city is continuing to deal with the consequences of the attack, in which the perpetrator, Taleb A., a doctor from Saudi Arabia, drove a car specifically through the Christmas market. Five people lost their lives and up to 235 were injured. According to the responsible clinic director, all of the 72 injured people who were treated at the Magdeburg University Clinic are now out of danger.
Many suffered severe fractures and internal bleeding, and some were stabilized in intensive care. A nine-year-old boy and an adult woman admitted to the clinic could not be saved despite all efforts.
In addition to the investigation into the attack, we are also looking for errors in police work. According to the Saxony-Anhalt Ministry of the Interior, among other things, this involves a police vehicle that was not at a designated location. Questions about the security concept of the organizer of the Christmas market would also be addressed. According to the Interior Ministry, the public prosecutor’s office currently has a criminal complaint against the city of Magdeburg and the Magdeburg police station.
According to the German Association of Cities, complete security against attacks on Christmas markets is not possible. The cities’ main concern is to keep the risks as low as possible, said Managing Director Helmut Dedy.
The debate about political consequences also continues. SPD leader Saskia Esken called for complete clarification and called for social cohesion. “Especially in times of need and sadness, we can trust that our “being human” and our cohesion are stronger than hate and violence,” she said on Christmas Day.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) warned against instrumentalizing the crime after loud calls for deportations were made at an AfD rally on Monday. She emphasized: “All I can say about the AfD is: Any attempt to exploit such a terrible act and abuse the suffering of the victims is disgusting.”