A spontaneous memorial created by bereaved families and local residents at a church overlooking Magdeburg’s Christmas market on Saturday turned into a political o
Magdeburg: A spontaneous memorial becomes a political stage after a tragic attack
gathering.
The change in tone at the scene of Friday’s car attack, which killed five people and injured more than 200, reflected political tensions in a country beset by debate over immigration and the growing popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Authorities arrested a Saudi national with a history of anti-Muslim rhetoric, but said the motive for the attack was not yet known.
At first, while people were leaving flowers in front of the church in the early hours of the morning, only sadness and mourning were expressed.
Andrea Reis (57) arrived with her daughter Julia (34) and reflected on their narrow escape from tragedy. She said they only escaped the attack because her daughter wanted to continue walking through the fair instead of stopping for lunch.
“It was horrible sounds, kids screaming ‘mom, dad,’ ‘help me’ — those sounds are playing in my head now,” Reis said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
A young woman cried, bent over with grief, as an elderly couple hugged her.
At first, the attack was compared on social media to the deadly attack on a Christmas market in Berlin in 2016, which was carried out by an immigrant influenced by Islam.
It was later learned that the suspect, a psychiatrist who had lived in Germany for 18 years, had criticized Islam and expressed sympathies for the far right in past social media posts. This caused damage to the image of the far right.
Martin Sellner, an Austrian popular among the German far-right, posted on social media that the suspect’s motives “appeared to be complex,” adding that the suspect “hated Islam, but he hated Germans even more.”
As the day wore on, politicians, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz, came to lay flowers at the impromptu memorial.
By the time Tino Chrupalla, co-president of the AfD, arrived, the crowd was filled with young people from across eastern Germany who had responded to the party’s youth wing’s social media invitations to attend the vigil.
The party, particularly strong in eastern Germany, came first or second in three regional elections this fall and is hoping for greater success in national elections in February.
Many of those gathered wore symbols associated with neopaganism and other mystical movements associated with the far right. One young man, who said he was a member of the youth wing of the AfD, wore an amulet depicting the Norse god Thor’s hammer.
“I believe in the old gods,” he said, declining to reveal his name.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser expressed concern that the attack could be exploited by the far right, but added that little could be done to prevent the seemingly coordinated gatherings.
“In this country we have freedom of assembly,” she said as she toured the scene of the attack. “We must do everything we can to prevent the attack from being abused by any side.”
(Vijesti.ba)
