The names of the nine victims of the Hanau shooting are painted on a building in Hanau, Germany, Thursday, Feb.18, 2021. One year ago a far right man shot nine people before he shot himself. Hanau will commemorate the victims on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
The Associated Press
BERLIN (AP) - Top officials, religious leaders and soccer stars are commemorating the victims of a racist attack in the German town of Hanau, one year after the gunman shot dead nine people with immigrant backgrounds in downtown cafes and bars before killing his mother and then himself.
The rampage in Hanau, near Frankfurt, caused widespread shock in Germany and beyond. Anti-racism campaigners called for a crackdown on hate speech of the kind espoused by the attacker, Tobias Rathjen, who left behind a paranoid rant filled with conspiracy tropes and vitriol against migrants.
The head of Germany's Protestant church, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, called Friday for vigilance when it comes to overt and hidden racism.
'œWe have almost forgotten again what happened back then,'ť he said in a video message. 'œBut the relatives of the victims are suffering to this day.'ť
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was due to make a speech at a memorial event in Hanau in the evening expressing solidarity with the victims and their loved ones.
Relatives have called for the names of the victims - Ferhat Unvar, Hamza Kurtovic, Said Nesar Hashemi, Vili Viorel Paun, Mercedes Kierpacz, Kaloyan Velkov, Fatih Saracoglu, Sedat Guerbuez and Goekhan Gueltekin - to be widely publicized, a rare practice in privacy-conscious Germany.
Mehmet Daimagueler, a prominent lawyer who has represented victims of other racist crimes in Germany, said the attack in Hanau should prompt politicians to reflect on the stereotypes about migrants they repeat, including portraying shisha bars as crime dens.
'œThe state needs to start fighting racism in its own house," Daimagueler told news portal Watson, calling for racist officials to lose their jobs and victims of hate crimes to be taken more seriously.
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The building with the kiosk where five people were killed is seen before sunrise in the Kesselstadt district in Hanau, Germany, Thursday, Feb.18, 2021. One year ago a far right man shot nine people before he shot himself. Hanau will commemorate the victims on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
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Pictures of the victims of the Hanau shooting are fixed in front of a Shisha bar at Heumarkt in Hanau, Germany, Thursday, Feb.18, 2021. One year ago a far right man shot nine people before he shot himself. Hanau will commemorate the victims on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
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The pictures of the nine victims of the Hanau shooting are fixed at the door of a building in Hanau, Germany, Thursday, Feb.18, 2021. One year ago a far right man shot nine people before he shot himself. Hanau will commemorate the victims on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
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A graffiti under a bridge shows the nine victims of the Hanau shooting, in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Feb.17, 2021. One year ago a far right man shot nine people before he shot himself. Hanau will commemorate the victims on Friday. Letters read "racism kills". (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
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A graffiti under a bridge shows the nine victims of the Hanau shooting, in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Feb.17, 2021. One year ago a far right man shot nine people before he shot himself. Hanau will commemorate the victims on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
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A sign "Stop Corona" on the market place appeals to the citizens and reminds them of the mask duty in this area in Hanau, Germany, Friday, Jan.8, 2021. (Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa via AP)
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The names of the nine victims of the Hanau shooting are fixed at the door of a building in Hanau, Germany, Thursday, Feb.18, 2021. One year ago a far right man shot nine people before he shot himself. Hanau will commemorate the victims on Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
The Associated Press
A police cordon observe a demonstration in memory on the first anniversary of the Hanau attack in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday Feb. 18, 2021. The demonstration under the banner "Initiative 19 February", marks the first anniversary of the Feb. 19, 2020 Hanau shootings when ten people were killed in a terror shooting spree by a far-right extremist in Hanau. (Andreas Arnold/dpa via AP)
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FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2020, file photo, friends and relatives hold up photos of victims of a shooting, in Hanau, Germany. One year ago a far right man shot nine people before he shot himself. Hanau will commemorate the victims this Friday. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
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FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2020 file photo, thousands listen to German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a vigil on the market place for the victims of the shooting in Hanau, Germany. One year ago a far right man shot nine people before he shot himself. Hanau will commemorate the victims this Friday. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
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FILE - In this Feb. 19, 2020 file photo, a projectile lies on the sidewalk near a restaurant at the scene of a shooting in central Hanau, Germany. One year ago a far right man shot nine people before he shot himself. Hanau will commemorate the victims this Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
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FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2021 file photo, a police forensic officer walks to investigate at the scene after a shooting in central Hanau, Germany. One year ago a far right man shot nine people before he shot himself. Hanau will commemorate the victims this Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2020 file photo, police forensic officers investigate a car where a man was shot in central Hanau, Germany. One year ago a far right man shot nine people before he shot himself. Hanau will commemorate the victims this Friday. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
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