1993 Solingen arson attack

Neo-Nazi arson attack on Turkish home in Solingen August 2024 1993 Solingen arson attack Brandanschlag solingen 1993.jpg Germany North Rhine-Westphalia#Germany 200 center Solingen 8 51 10 07 05 Demonstration of Germans and Turks in front of the arson house Solingen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany 51 11 2.5 N 7 5 23.7 E region:DE-NW_type:event inline,title 1993 05 28 y UTC+1 Arson, hate crime Gasoline 5 14 four Neo-Nazi skinheads Anti-immigration, Racism, Right-wing extremism, Anti-Turkish sentiment, anti-Muslim sentiment The Solingen arson attack (de Solinger Brandanschlag) was one of the most severe instances of racist violence in modern Germany. On the night of 28–29 May 1993, four young German men (ages 16–23) belonging to the far right skinhead scene, with neo-Nazi ties, set fire to the house of a large Turkish family in the city of Solingen, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. 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 Turkish diaspora members in several German cities and to large demonstrations of other Germans (of non-Turkish descent) expressing solidarity with the Turkish victims.https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/04/world/thousands-of-germans-rally-for-the-slain-turks.html Thousands of Germans Rally for the Slain Turks The New York Times June 4, 1993 Kinzer Stephen A3 25 August 2024 In October 1995, the perpetrators were convicted of arson and murder and given prison sentences between 10 and 15 years. The convictions were upheld on appeal. Background In the early 1990s after German reunification, foreigners and especially asylum seekers were very controversial in Germany. The CDU party and the tabloid newspaper Bild Zeitung were the main forces calling for limiting their numbers. Several instances of anti-foreigner hate crime preceded the Solingen attack. In December 1988, a German extreme-right militant, Josef Seller, set fire to the "Habermeier Haus" building in Schwandorf, Bavaria, killing the Turkish couple Fatma and Osman Can, together with their son Mehmet. The arson attack also took the life of a German citizen, Jürgen Hübner.Hürriyet Avrupa newspaper, Tuesday, December 11, 2012, p. 12.Die Anschlagsopfer bleiben unvergessen http://www.mittelbayerische.de/nachrichten/rundschau/rundschau-schwandorf/artikel/die_anschlagsopfer_bleiben_unv/497156/die_anschlagsopfer_bleiben_unv.html Mittelbayerische Rundschau 10 December 2009 de 16 February 2015 15 February 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150216005701/http://www.mittelbayerische.de/nachrichten/rundschau/rundschau-schwandorf/artikel/die_anschlagsopfer_bleiben_unv/497156/die_anschlagsopfer_bleiben_unv.html dead In September 1991, violent disturbances in Hoyerswerda forced the evacuation of an asylum seeker's hostel. During the three-day riot of Rostock-Lichtenhagen in August 1992, several thousand people surrounded a high-rise building and watched approvingly while militants threw Molotov cocktails. The Vietnamese inhabitants barely managed to survive by fleeing to the roof.http://www.taz.de/1/politik/deutschland/artikel/1/die-luecke-in-der-stadt/ Die Lücke in der Stadt TAZ 28 May 2008 de In November 1992, an arson in Mölln perpetrated by right-wing youth killed three Turks.https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/02/world/2-germans-admit-arson-attack-that-killed-3-turkish-nationals.html 2 Germans Admit Arson Attack That Killed 3 Turkish Nationals The New York Times A10 December 2, 1992 Associated Press 28 August 2024 In December 1992, large demonstrations protesting against xenophobia ("Ausländerhass") took place all over Germany, with over 700,000 participants.http://www.sueddeutsche.de/deutschland/artikel/313/37276/10/ Was die Deutschen auf die Straße treibt Süddeutsche Zeitung 17 August 2004 de 2008-05-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20080605070914/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/deutschland/artikel/313/37276/10/ 2008-06-05 dead Several Neo-Nazi groups were outlawed by the end of 1992. On 26 May 1993, three days before the attack, the German Bundestag had resolved to change the German constitution (the Grundgesetz) to limit the numbers of asylum seekers.http://images.zeit.de/text/2008/22/A-Solingen Mord aus der Mitte Die Zeit 21 May 2008 de 2008-05-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20080528051124/http://images.zeit.de/text/2008/22/A-Solingen 2008-05-28 dead Previously, the constitution had granted every political refugee in the world a direct right to refugee status in Germany. The Solingen attack, with five people killed, was the most severe case of anti-foreigner violence in Germany at that time. One week later, an arson attack on a house in Frankfurt am Main, with 34 foreigners inside, was detected early and there were no deaths.Der Held hat am Morgen danach keine Worte mehr Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 9 June 1993 de A case of arson in an asylum seeker's hostel in Lübeck in 1996 in which 10 people died was never solved.Lübeck, 18. Januar 1996 http://www.zeit.de/2013/12/Luebecker-Terroranschlag Die Zeit 23 March 2013 de 2008 a total of 135 foreigners have died in Germany as a result of similar xenophobic violence.http://www.bpb.de/themen/ZV576A,0,0,Dem_Extremismus_begegnen.html Rechtsextremismus Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung 28 May 2008 de Events According to the police report, fire broke out at the entrance of the house Untere Wernerstraße 81 at 1:38 am on 29 May 1993. 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:Geschlagen, behütet, abgerutscht TAZ 14 October 1995 de 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. He was a member of the nationalist DVU 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-Westphalia domestic intelligence agency (the Verfassungsschutz). Trials The trial, before five judges of Düsseldorf's Higher Regional Court, 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.https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/14/world/neo-nazi-asks-forgiveness-for-death-of-turks.html Neo-Nazi Asks Forgiveness for Death of Turks The New York Times April 14, 1994 A3 Associated Press 28 August 2024 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.https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article646692/Man_hat_mir_nur_die_Luegerei_geglaubt.html Man hat mir nur die Lügerei geglaubt Die Welt 11 March 1996 de 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.Statt Gewissheiten groessere Zweifel Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung October 12, 1995 de In October 1995, the four defendants were found guilty of murder, attempted murder and arson. The three defendants charged as minors received the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and Gartmann was sentenced to 15 years in prison.https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E2DB1339F937A25753C1A963958260 Germans Sentenced in Arson Killing of Turks The New York Times October 14, 1995 Cowell Alan 25 August 2024 The Federal Court of Justice of Germany 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.http://www.wz-newsline.de/?redid=244086 Familie Genç lebt heute ohne einen Gedanken an Rache Westdeutsche Zeitung May 27, 2008 de Aftermath thumb|right|Memorial in front of the Mildred-Scheel-Schule thumb|right|Hülyaplatz in Frankfurt-Bockenheim The memorial services were attended by several high-ranking German officials, with President Richard von Weizsäcker giving the first speech. Chancellor Helmut Kohl 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. A memorial to commemorate the event was unveiled one year after the attack, in front of the Mildred-Scheel-Schule, a school that Hatice Genç had attended. It shows two large metal figures ripping apart a swastika, 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. October 2022 In 1996 the German government presented Mevlüde Genç with the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Band 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.http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,555553,00.html Miteinander in der Stunde des Schmerzes Spiegel Online May 27, 2008 de 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. In 2012, Mevlüde Genc was nominated by the CDU state party to be a member of the 15th Federal Convention to elect the next German President.http://www.wdr.de/Fotostrecken/wdrde/2012/02/wahlpersonen.jsp?hi=Politik Wahlmänner und -frauen fahren nach Berlin WDR.de de 28 February 2012 2012-02-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20120229174316/http://www.wdr.de/Fotostrecken/wdrde/2012/02/wahlpersonen.jsp?hi=Politik 2012-02-29 dead 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 on two occasions.Neo-Nazi firebomber gives Nazi salute, back in jail Deutsche Presse-Agentur September 22, 2005 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. See also 2024 Solingen arson attack 2024 Solingen stabbing Turks in Germany 1980 Hamburg arson attack 1984 Duisburg arson attack 1992 Mölln arson attack Neo-Nazism Rostock-Lichtenhagen riot Murder of Marwa El-Sherbini 2009 Vítkov arson attack National Socialist Underground Hanau shootings References 30em Sources Yvonne Dobrodziej: Der Solinger Brandanschlag – 10 Jahre danach. Documentary film. Metin Gür, Alaverdi Turhan: Die Solingen-Akte. Patmos Verlag, Düsseldorf 1996, 3-491-72352-3 Further reading Rede: Gedenken an die Opfer des Brandanschlags von Solingen Der Bundespräsident 23 May 2023 https://www.bundespraesident.de/SharedDocs/Reden/DE/Frank-Walter-Steinmeier/Reden/2023/05/230529-Anschlag-Solingen.html de 31 May 2023 (with English translation) External links Category:Arson in Germany Category:Building and structure fires in Germany Category:Hate crimes in Europe Category:1993 murders in Germany Category:1990s fires in Europe Category:Arson in 1993 Category:Solingen Category:1993 mass murders Category:Neo-Nazi attacks in Germany Category:1990s in North Rhine-Westphalia Category:Murder in North Rhine-Westphalia Category:May 1993 in Germany Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in Germany Category:20th-century mass murders in Germany Category:Persecution of Turks in Germany Category:Anti-Muslim violence in Europe Category:Terrorist incidents in North Rhine-Westphalia Category:Terrorist incidents in Germany in 1993 Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in 1993 Category:Building and structure fires in Europe Category:Violence against women in Germany Category:Incidents of violence against women Category:Incidents of violence against girls Category:Murder trials Category:Trials in Germany Category:1990s trials Category:Family murders Category:Child murder in Germany