Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other federal politicians commemorated the third anniversary of the attack on a synagogue in Halle. “This anniversary reminds us never to look away,” wrote Scholz (SPD) on Twitter. “We commemorate the victims and reaffirm our determination to fight right-wing extremism in any form.”
On October 9, 2019, a heavily armed assassin tried to break into the synagogue in Halle on Yom Kippur, the highest Jewish holiday. When he didn’t succeed, he shot a 40-year-old passer-by in front of it and a 20-year-old customer in a nearby kebab shop. During his escape, the assassin injured numerous other people before he was caught by the police. The 30-year-old German has admitted the crimes. The Naumburg Higher Regional Court sentenced him to life imprisonment with subsequent preventive detention in 2020.
Other politicians also commemorate the victims
“Nothing can undo what happened, but we are learning our lessons,” wrote Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) on Twitter. “We want Jews in Germany to be able to live safely and without fear, and we protect them.”
Vice-President of the Bundestag Katrin Göring-Eckardt also wrote to the short message service that her thoughts were with the victims and with everyone who continued to struggle with the consequences. Right-wing terror remains the greatest danger in the country and needs “our full resistance,” said the Green politician. The parliamentary group leader of the left in the Bundestag, Dietmar Bartsch, made a similar statement.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) emphasized via Twitter that it is not enough to first combat assaults and murder. Decisive action must be taken against the belief in conspiracies and the resentment that prepares the ground for such acts.
