Anti-racist protests and vigils are taking place in Germany and elsewhere against hate mongering by far-right groups and on government inaction specially after nine people, mostly Muslims were killed late on Wednesday 19 February by Tobias Rathjen, 43, a white supremacist at two cafes in the town of Hanau in Germany.
A 35-year-old pregnant woman is also thought to be among the dead. At least six other people have been injured.
People attending the vigil for the victims of the terrorist attack in Hanau on Thursday evening came with signs denouncing racisms and xenophobia and blaming social media outlets for their inaction against hate speech and racist comments.
A woman sets a candle near the hookah bar scene where several people were killed late Wednesday in Hanau, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. A 43-year-old German man shot and killed nine people at several locations in a Frankfurt suburb overnight in attacks that appear to have been motivated by far-right beliefs, officials said Thursday. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
The alleged killer and his mother were found dead possibly as a result of murder and suicide in his apartment early on Thursday after police located his residence through registration details of his vehicle.
Police have said there are indications of a far-right motive since the Suspect had a manifesto that contained deeply racist material and conspiracy theories citing Donald Trump and other far-right politicians.
“On the suspected perpetrator’s home page, he had put up video messages and a kind of manifesto that, in addition to obscure thoughts and absurd conspiracy theories, pointed to deeply racist views,” the police said.
Mourners placed candles during the vigil to commemorate the victims of the attack in central Hanau [Ruairi Casey/Al Jazeera]
“The problem is exactly this guy Seehofer, these cowards or other politicians have to answer for it because they don’t do their politics properly… the AfD is growing day by day,” Akif said referring to the German opposition, far right party AfD who is anti Islam and against migrants.
He also laid blame at the feet of German media, which he says are complicit in stoking violence against Muslims in the country by painting them as extremists.
“They always say Islam is equal to terrorism – and we have so many ignorant people, sick people out there and they believe in bloodshed,” said Akif.
“Attacking Muslims; whether an Afghan, Turk or a Kurd, it doesn’t matter at all. It was a planned attack by people who are sick and who have been blinded by the media.”
It is pretty sad when the law of the jungle is being stoked in First World countries!
The rise of Nazism in Germany will surely not be able to make much progress given the de-Nazification and the facing of the past which has occurred in Germany since Adolf. Even in the 1930s the Nazis only succeeded because people did not understand who they were. They did manage to win a lot of support for the economic growth they encouraged once they took power but their reliance on the terror network of the Gestapo suggests that they did not feel secure even then.
Now that their real nature is clear, even hatred of migrants and refugees will not be enough to resurrect them. There are too many civilised human beings in Germany who will not allow them to succeed.