Solingen arson attack of 1993
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. On the night of May 28 to May 29, 1993, four young German men belonging to the far right skinhead scene, with neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
ties, set fire to the house of a large Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
family in Solingen
Solingen
Solingen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and with a 2009 population of 161,366 is the second largest city in the Bergisches Land...
in North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Three girls and two women died; fourteen other family members, including several children, were injured, some of them severely. The attack led to violent protests by Turks in several German cities and to large demonstrations of Germans expressing solidarity with the Turkish victims. In October 1995, the perpetrators were convicted of murder and given prison sentences between 10 and 15 years.
Societal context
In the early 1990s after German reunificationGerman reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, the topic of foreigners, and especially of asylum seekers
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
, was hotly debated in Germany. The CDU
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
party and the tabloid newspaper Bild Zeitung were main forces calling for limiting their numbers.
Several instances of anti-foreigner violence preceded the Solingen attack. In September 1991, violent disturbances in Hoyerswerda
Hoyerswerda
Hoyerswerda is the largest city in the district of Bautzen in the German state of Saxony. It is located in Lusatia, a region where many people speak the Sorbian languages in addition to German.-Geography:...
forced the evacuation of an asylum seeker's hostel. During the three-day riot of Rostock-Lichtenhagen
Riot of Rostock-Lichtenhagen
From August 22–24, 1992 a violent anti-Vietnamese and anti-Roma riot took place in Rostock-Lichtenhagen; it was the worst mob attack against foreigners in postwar Germany. Although there were stones and petrol bombs thrown at an apartment block that housed asylum seekers, no one was killed...
in August 1992, several thousand people surrounded a high-rise building and watched approvingly while militants threw Molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
s; the Vietnamese inhabitants barely managed to survive by fleeing to the roof.
In November 1992, an arson in Mölln perpetrated by right-wing youth killed three Turks.
In December 1992, large demonstrations against xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
took place all over Germany, with over 700,000 participants.
Several Neo-Nazi groups were outlawed by the end of 1992.
Three days before the attack, on May 26, 1993, the German Bundestag, by the required 2/3 majority, resolved to change the Grundgesetz to limit the numbers of asylum seekers. Previously, the Grundgesetz had granted every political refugee in the world a direct right to refugee status in Germany.
The Solingen attack, with five people killed, was at that time the most severe case of anti-foreigner violence in Germany. One week later, an arson attack on a house in Frankfurt with 34 foreigners was detected early and nobody died. A case of arson in an asylum seeker's hostel in Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
in 1996 in which 10 people died was never solved.
A total of 135 foreigners have died in Germany to date as a result of similar xenophobic violence.
Events of May 29
According to the police report, fire broke out at the entrance of the house at 1:38 am on May 29. The fire had been set with gasoline. Mevlüde Genç, 50 years old at the time and the oldest member of the family, was able to climb out of a window and alert neighbors. She lost two daughters, two granddaughters and a niece that night.Fire fighters arrived after five minutes, but it was too late. Gürsün İnce, 27 years old, jumped out of a window and died. Her four-year old daughter, whom she had held in her arms, survived. The girls Hatice Genç (18 years old), Gülistan Öztürk (12 years old), Hülya Genç (9 years old) and Saime Genç (4 years old) died in the flames. Bekir Genç, 15 years old, jumped burning out of a window; he survived with severe injuries. A six month old infant and a three-year old child suffered life-threatening injuries.
Defendants
The defendants were:- Felix Köhnen, a 16 year old student at the time of the crime. His father was a doctor active in the peace movement and his mother an architect active in environmentalist causes. There were reports that Felix fell into right-wing circles because he felt unable to cope with the academic expectations of his parents.
- Christian Reher, a 16 year old student who grew up in children's homes. He lived close to the arson house and was the first to be arrested. He had previously distributed leaflets expressing his hatred of foreigners.
- Christian Buchholz, 19 years old, working odd jobs. He was the son of a middle-class workman. His diary contained anti-foreigner writings.
- Markus Gartmann, 23 years old, welfare recipient. As a youth, he was reportedly a loner who was unsuccessful with girls. He was a member of the nationalist DVUGerman People's UnionThe German People's Union is a nationalist political party in Germany. It was founded by publisher Gerhard Frey as an informal association in 1971 and established as a party in 1987. Financially, it is largely dependent on Frey....
party.
All of them were members of the far right skinhead scene of Solingen and exercised together in a martial arts school. This school was later revealed to be run by an informant of the North Rhine Westfalia Verfassungsschutz, which is the state's domestic intelligence agency.
Trials
The trial, before five judges of the OberlandesgerichtOberlandesgericht
The Oberlandesgericht is one of the 'ordinary courts' in Germany...
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, began in April 1994.
Kohnen, Reher and Buchholz were charged as minors (limiting the maximal penalty to 10 years in prison), while Gartmann was charged as an adult. The prosecutors claimed hatred of foreigners as motive.
Gartmann had confessed to police and he later confessed again before a magistrate with his lawyer present. He also apologized to the victims. According to the confession, Gartmann, Kohnen and Buchholz had clashed with foreigners at a party that night, met up with Reher and then, while drunk, decided to "frighten" some Turks.
Towards the end of the trial, Gartmann withdrew his confession, claiming that it had been issued under duress and that he had been threatened with having to share a cell with Turks. Interviewed in prison four months after the verdict, he explained that he had given a false confession because police had convinced him that that was the only way to avoid a sentence of life in prison.
Reher also confessed, but changed his story repeatedly, in the end claiming that he had acted alone. Kohnen and Buchholz denied any involvement.
No hard evidence was found linking the defendants to the crime, in part because the police had treated the crime scene in a sloppy manner. Witnesses could not clarify the events.
In October 1995, the four defendants were found guilty of murder, attempted murder and arson. The three defendants charged as minors received the maximal sentence of 10 years in prison and Gartmann was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The Bundesgerichtshof confirmed the convictions on appeal in 1997.
The Turkish family sued for civil damages and won. They received about 270,000 DM and a monthly pension for one severely burned victim.
Aftermath
The memorial services were attended by several high-ranking German officials, with PresidentPresident of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
Richard von Weizsäcker
Richard von Weizsäcker
Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker , known as Richard von Weizsäcker, is a German politician . He served as Governing Mayor of West Berlin from 1981 to 1984, and as President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1984 to 1994...
giving the first speech. Chancellor Helmut Kohl
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...
was criticized for not visiting Solingen nor attending the memorial or burial services; he had denounced what he called "Beileidstourismus" ("condolence tourism") of other politicians.
The case was widely reported in the international press. After a radio campaign in the Netherlands, 1.2 million postcards with the slogan "Ik ben woedend!" ("I am furious") were sent as a protest from there to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
, surrounded by a large number of rings, each sponsored by an individual. Initially the city had agreed to a monument in the very center of the city, but then reneged, citing concerns that "social peace" might be jeopardized. The location of the arson at Untere Wernerstraße Nr. 81 is marked by five chestnut trees and a plaque. In Frankfurt-Bockenheim the Hülyaplatz commemorates the events with a statue of a man hammering at a swastika.
In 1996 the German government presented Mevlüde Genç with the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Band
Bundesverdienstkreuz
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...
because she went on to advocate understanding and friendship between Turks and Germans after the attack. In 2008 Germany instituted the Genç prize in her name to honor people who work for understanding and integration. One of the recipients was Kamil Kaplan, a Turk who in February 2008 had lost his wife, two daughters and his mother in a fire catastrophe in Ludwigshafen in which a total of nine people had died; right-wing arson had initially been suspected, but the case was later found to have been an accident. Kaplan, like Mevlüde Genç, had called for peaceful cooperation between Turks and Germans.
Two of the perpetrators were released early because of good behavior. In September 2005, another perpetrator, Christian Reher, was sent to four months in prison for having used the Hitler salute
Hitler salute
The Nazi salute, or Hitler salute , was a gesture of greeting in Nazi Germany usually accompanied by saying, Heil Hitler! ["Hail Hitler!"], Heil, mein Führer ["Hail, my leader!"], or Sieg Heil! ["Hail victory!"]...
on two occasions.
As of 2008, the surviving victims still live in Solingen, in a house built with donations and insurance money, protected by cameras and special fire windows.
Books and films
- Yvonne Dobrodziej: Der Solinger Brandanschlag – 10 Jahre danach. Documentary film.
- Metin Gür, Alaverdi Turhan: Die Solingen-Akte. Patmos Verlag, Düsseldorf 1996, ISBN 3-491-72352-3
See also
- Turks in Germany
- Neo-NazismNeo-NazismNeo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
- Riot of Rostock-LichtenhagenRiot of Rostock-LichtenhagenFrom August 22–24, 1992 a violent anti-Vietnamese and anti-Roma riot took place in Rostock-Lichtenhagen; it was the worst mob attack against foreigners in postwar Germany. Although there were stones and petrol bombs thrown at an apartment block that housed asylum seekers, no one was killed...
- Murder of Marwa El-Sherbini
- Vítkov arson attack of 2009Vítkov arson attack of 2009The Vítkov arson attack of 2009 occurred during the night of 18 / 19 April 2009. Three Molotov cocktails were thrown through the windows of a house inhabited by a Roma family. Three people were injured...
