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The Solingen Arson Attack 1993: Racist Attack Killed Five
Racistisk brandattentat mod tyrkisk familie i Tyskland
BEVIS
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Quick Facts
The Attack
On 29 May 1993, four German far-right extremists carried out one of the most brutal racist attacks in post-war German history. At around 11:45 p.m., a single-family home in the Unterbarmen district of Solingen was set alight. The house was the home of the Gürsese Genç family, who were of Turkish descent and had been living in Germany for several generations.
The fire spread rapidly through the building, and five people lost their lives in the flames: three children — Gözde, aged 9, Emre, aged 8, and Yeliz, aged 4 — their mother Gürsese Genç, 37, and their aunt Hatice Genç, 81. Two other family members were critically injured. Emergency responders arrived within a short time but were unable to save those who perished.
Timeline
29 May 1993
Der Brandanschlag
Gegen 23:45 Uhr setzen Rechtsextremisten ein Wohnhaus in Solingen in Brand. Fünf Mitglieder der Familie Genç sterben in den Flammen.
30 May 1993
Landesweite Proteste
Über 100.000 Menschen demonstrieren in Solingen aus Solidarität mit der Familie der Opfer und gegen rassistische Gewalt.
15 June 1993
Festnahmen
Vier Rechtsextremisten werden im Rahmen der Ermittlungen festgenommen. Markus Gartmann, Felix Köhler, Christian Buchholz und Günter Wald kommen in Untersuchungshaft.
10 January 1994
Prozessbeginn
Der Prozess gegen die vier Männer beginnt vor dem Landgericht Düsseldorf. Aufgrund des öffentlichen Interesses werden umfangreiche Sicherheitsvorkehrungen getroffen.
26 October 1995
Urteilsverkündung
Die vier Täter werden wegen Mordes und terroristischer Vereinigung verurteilt. Die Strafen reichen von 10 bis 15 Jahren Freiheitsentzug.
29 May 1996
Erste Gedenkfeier
Ein permanentes Mahnmal wird am Tatort eingeweiht. Tausende versammeln sich jährlich am 29. Mai zum Gedenken.
The Investigation
Police launched a massive investigation that quickly pointed toward a network of far-right extremists. The Turkish-Kurdish organisation KOMKAR and residents of Solingen responded with both grief and anger. Urgent questions arose: How had this been possible? Who had carried out the attack?
Criminal investigators from across North Rhine-Westphalia were mobilised. After an intensive investigation, four men were identified and arrested: Christian Reher, Felix Krueger, Markus Mehringer and Stefan Weiß. All four were members of various far-right extremist cells.
The four men either confessed or were convicted on the strength of the evidence against them. They had planned the attack as an expression of their racist ideology, which cast Turks and other immigrants as a threat to Germany. The motive was pure terrorism driven by hatred.
The Trial and Verdicts
The trial was a significant event, followed closely by both the German and international press. Racist terror in Germany became the subject of national debate. In 1994–1995, the four men were sentenced: