Solingen arson attack
"You have responded to an inhuman act with great humanity," said the Chancellor, on the anniversary of the Solingen arson attack, to Mevlüde Genç, who lost five of her family in the attack. Rather than seeking revenge, "you have called for reconciliation and understanding".
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Following the arson attack in Solingen in 1993, the victims were buried in Turkey
Photo: Bundesregierung/Stutterheim
"The gap in the family and the pain remain. For ever." Even 25 years after the shock of the arson attack in Solingen it is almost impossible to understand the crime. "It is a disgrace for our country." Nothing like this must be allowed to happen in Germany ever again, said the Chancellor. Speaking to the Genç family, she stressed, "It is extremely important to me that you and your entire family feel safe and at ease here, that you feel at home here."
Chancellor Angela Merkel with Mevlüde Genç at the ceremony to honour the memory of the victims of the attack in Solingen
Photo: Bundesregierung/Bergmann
Exemplary display of humanity
In her speech the Chancellor praised that way that Mevlüde Genç has acted in the wake of the cowardly attack on her family. Mrs Genç did not allow herself to descend into anger and seek revenge. She did not turn her back on Germany. She has reached out time and time again to bring about understanding and reconciliation. Mevlüde Genç said the Chancellor, is a shining example of humanity.
Extreme right-wing background
Right-wing radicals used petrol to burn down the house
Photo: Bundesregierung/Faßbender
In the night of 28 May 1993, the house of the Genç family was burned practically to the ground. Mevlüde Genç lost two daughters, two grand-daughters and a niece. Another eight people were injured, some of them seriously.
There was an extreme right-wing background to the crime. The four arsonists were found guilty of five counts of murder, 14 counts of attempted murder and severe arson and were sentenced to between 10 and 15 years in prison or young offenders’ institutions.
The memorial ceremony in Düsseldorf was hosted by the North Rhine-Westphalia State Chancellery. After the address of the Chancellor, the state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia Armin Laschet and the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu spoke to the group of fifty or so, who included the Genç family, members of the state government and the Federal Government Commissioner for Integration, Minister of State Annette Widmann-Mauz.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier thanks Mevlüde Genç
Last week Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier invited Mevlüde Genç to Schloss Bellevue, where he underscored the fact that our society and our institutions have the duty to "protect all people, irrespective of their country of origin".