“Who Belongs to Germany and who does not?”
This is a Central Question that Drove Director Marcin Wierzchowski in his docudrama “The German People” (The German People). The Work Premened at the Berlinale, Marking the Fifth Anniversary of the Racialy-Motivated Shootings that Shook Germany on February 19, 2020.
That evening, a reactionary extremist Killed 9 people-Gökhan Gültekin, Sedat Gürbüz, Said Nesar Hashemi, Mercedes Kierpacz, Hamza Kurtovi ć, Vili Viorel Păun, Fati çoğlu, Ferhat Unvar and Kaloyan Velkov-And Injured Five More in the City of Hanau, Near Frankfurt, in the State of Hesse.
After his rampage, The Perpetrator Returned to his Apartment, Where He Killed his Mother and afterwards Committed Suicide.
It was discovered the Gunman, 43-year-Old Tobias R.-Identified by his given name and last first in Keeping with German Privacy Laws-Had Published ARacist “Manifesto” Online Before Committing His Murders Documents Promoting Conspiracy concepts and Far-Right Views Were so discovered in his home.
At the moment, the Far-Right Populist Party Alternative for Germany (AfD) What Already Contributing to the Normalization of Strong Anti Immigrant placements.
The Hanau Shooting Came Just A Few Months After Other Far-Right Attacks Shook Germany, Including in October 2019 in A Synagogue in Hall that Killed Two People, And The Murrder Of Pro-Migrant CDU Politician Walter Lübcke in June 2019 by a Man with neo-nazi connections.
Director Spent Five Years Working with Survivors
Filmmaker Marcin Wierzchowski Immediately Began Documenting theDevelopments Surrounding The Hanau Shootings He Ended Up Accompanying The Victims’ Families and Survivors forNearly Five Years To Make His Film As an individual that was birthed in Poland and that can pertain to germany as a youngster, Wierzchowski Says He so Experienced Racism.
His docudrama, Shot in Black- and-White, Follows the Families in Their Grief and their fight to get Proper Information Surrounding the Death of theirLoved Ones The Victims’ Relative Have Denounced the Authorities for Having Failed to Critical Deal with the Circumstances That Led To The Murders – And For Having, At Times, Avoid Addressing Certain Aspects of the Investigation.
From the Start, The Affected Families Were Treated as Second-Class Citizens In some instances, The Police Took More Than 24 Hours to Inform the Victims’Parents Their Children’s Bodies Were Seized for Autopsy Without Their Consent and They Were just Told aWeek Later Where The Remains Could Be Found In that initially Week, they were not notified of what was simply understake by authorities and what they might anticipate – not also with with interview.
“Just imagine that, seven to very day trauma: their children Were shot, confiscated without their consent. It was later claimed that they give their consent, which is not true,” marcin wierzchowski Told dw.
The Victims’ Families Took Action
It remains in this context that the docudrama filmmaker learnt more about the targets’ Families, that dealt with to bring various step-by-step failings to the general public’s Attention.
Among Others, it was discovered the wrongdoer was legitimately enabled to have a weapon thouhh he carried numerous events Drawn the Attention of Authorities Due to his hostile, paranoid-schizophrenic Behaver and conservative extremist
Another Question that is Central in the Case Is That The Police Only Stormed theSuspect’s House Five Hours After His Attack It what Found that the Emergency Dispatch Center Could not Be Reached on the Night of the Crime.
Then there is the Issue that the wrongdoer’s daddy, that went to home when his child returned from his shooting spree, so what discovered to share the awesome’s ideological background. After his child’s criminal activity, he minimized the murders and openly disrespect the targets. He has actually consistently bothered among the Victim’s Mother, Serpil Temiz Unvar, with Letters and Contact Atempts,Ignoring All Restraining Orders
Despite the Theater Situation, The Police Instead Called Some of the Victims’ Families to Warn Them that They Shildn’t Undertake Anything That Could Be Sea As an Act of Retribution Against theMan “That Destroyed the Last Shred of Trust They [the victims’ relatives] Had Left in Authorities, “The Filmmaker Points Out in his press discussion of the docudrama.
Swat Team Police Officers Active on Far-Right Chats
A Year Later, in June 2021, a device of Hesse’s Special Forces was exploration after it. There were 13 police officers from that team at work in Hanau’s Swat Team on the Night of the Shootings.
Volker Bouffier, Hesse’s Minister-President Then, what estimated by the Frankfurter Rundschau Newspaper As Pointing Out That Even IF the Police Officers possibility had conservative extremist sights, it really did not supply any type of sign on just how they had actually done job that evening.
Facing the State’s Limited Investigation, The Victims’ Relative Commissioned Forensic Architecture, A London Research Group That Uses Architectural Techniques and Technologies to Investigate Cases of State Violence and Violations of Human Rights Around the World.
By Painstakingly Piecing Together Witness Statements, Police Helicopter Footage and Surveillance Cameras, The London Researchers Revealed More Details Surrounding the Special Forces’ Delayed Intervention.
They recognized an additional delicate problem – the reality that the fire escape was secured at the sector bar, among the criminal activity scenes, which protected against Several targets from fleing. According to some witnesses, The Police – Who Often Raided the Premises, Mainly Frequented by Migrants – Had Previously Pressured the Bar Owner Into Locking That Emergency Exit So that Customers Could Escape Through it.
Five Years Later, Support for the AFD – Whose Rhetoric was discovered to have actually straight affected the Murderer – Keeps Growing in the State of Hesse and in Germany.
For the targets’ loved one, The Whole Ordeal and the Current Developments just their pessimism: “My Children Were Born here, but we were made to feel like we’ve never belonged and that we would never Belong,” One of the Film’s Participants Told DW During the Berlinale.
“That’s the way it is. And we have to live with that.”
Edited by: Brenda Haas
Interviews: Andrea Horakh
