The victims were commemorated on the sixth anniversary of the Islamist terrorist attack at the Berlin Christmas market. Berlin’s Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD), other politicians, victims and relatives attended a memorial service in the Memorial Church on Breitscheidplatz near Ku’damm on Monday evening.
The Protestant Bishop Christian Stäblein assured the victims and their relatives that they would never forget their suffering. “We will not forget that, nor the cohesion that was newly created at this moment – for the wounded, for the murdered, for those who have had to live with the loss since then. Berlin does not forget,” said Stäblein, according to a previously published article Sermon. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wrote on Twitter on Monday evening: “Our thoughts are with you and your survivors today.”
After the service, people wanted to gather at the memorial at the back of the church where the attack happened. There the names of the 13 fatalities are attached to the steps. These will be read out by General Superintendent Ulrike Trautwein. The commemoration is to end with 13 chimes at the time of the attack at 8:02 p.m.
On December 19, 2016, an Islamist terrorist drove into the Christmas market in a hijacked truck. A total of 13 people died as a result of the crime, one of them years later as a result. About 70 people were injured, some seriously. The assassin fled to Italy, where he was shot dead by police.
