After the fire in an accommodation for Ukrainian refugees in Groß Strömkendorf near Wismar in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the police suspect a political background. The police headquarters in Rostock announced that state security had taken over the investigation. The investigative group is supported by forces from the Wismar Criminal Police Office.
The former hotel burned down late Wednesday evening. According to the manager, a total of 14 refugees, mostly of Ukrainian origin, were staying there at the time of the fire, including two children, two teenagers and an elderly woman. Nobody got hurt.
During a visit to the scene of the fire, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Minister of the Interior, Christian level (SPD), pointed out that swastika graffiti had been discovered on the building on Monday. Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) wrote on Twitter: “People fleeing war need our protection and support. We do not tolerate hate speech and violence!”
The Vice President of the Rostock Police Headquarters, Michael Peters, was also dismayed. “Any attack on refugees or their shelters is also an attack on our core values. Such an attack is both shocking and unacceptable,” he said. The investigation into the fire has top priority.
Faeser: “Clear all backgrounds”
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser also reacted with horror. “People who found shelter in Germany before Putin’s war had to be rescued from the flames,” said the SPD politician in Berlin. The fire in the refugee accommodation is terrible news.
Faeser said: “The investigations are ongoing and now all the backgrounds have to be clarified.” She thanked the emergency services for being able to save everyone from the house. It “is very fortunate that everyone was unharmed,” said the minister.
Thatched roof was on fire
The fire broke out on Wednesday evening. A fire alarm had gone off. Employees tried in vain to extinguish the fire that had started on the outside of the house. However, according to initial investigations, the flames then spread to the thatched roof, the entire roof structure and the interior.
About 120 firefighters fought the flames, which were finally extinguished in the morning. It was said that when the expert could enter the fire ruins depended on the stability of the ruins.
The district was able to house the refugees in other accommodations. The mayor of Blowatz, to which Groß Strömkendorf belongs, Tino Schmidt (SPD) was concerned: “I’m shocked and upset,” he told the German Press Agency.
So far there have been no signs of right-wing activities in the region. You have a very good relationship with the war refugees. At times, up to 170 people from Ukraine were accommodated in the hotel.
In the summer, a happy summer party was celebrated together with the refugees and the DRK, which looks after the facility. Most of them have now been taken to other accommodations by the district. According to initial investigations, the police estimate the property damage to be at least a higher six-digit sum. The hotel is a timber frame building.
PM
