Painting commemorates Hanau victims © Andreas Arnold
With regard to the 19. February: German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a common fight against right-wing extremism ahead of the first anniversary of the racist attack in Hanau.
"We must do everything possible to remove the ground from this devastating ideology," she said Saturday in her weekly video podcast. Violent acts such as the murders in Hanau, the attack in Halle or the murder of Kassel's district president Walter Lubcke have shown in a terrible way what right-wing extremism can do. "Racism is a poison," Merkel said. "Hate is a poison."
The attack in Hanau was a watershed for peaceful coexistence in society and for the cohesion of people in Germany, the chancellor said ahead of the anniversary on 19. February. All those who want to live together peacefully in Germany are united against the hatred of the racists.
Concrete measures against right-wing extremism
The German government is doing everything it can to curb right-wing extremism, Merkel stressed. In addition to the establishment of the Cabinet Committee on Combating Right-Wing Extremism and Racism, a number of concrete measures would be implemented in the meantime, such as the improvement of state structures to combat right-wing extremism and racism and more support for victims of racial discrimination.
"We oppose those who try to divide Germany with all our strength and determination," she said. In Hanau, a man had been shot on 19. February 2020 shot nine people from immigrant families and then killed his mother and himself.