Commemoration of the victims of the NSU

Enver Şimşek was murdered in Nuremberg by members of the so-called National Socialist Underground on September 11, 2000, 23 years ago today. At Enver-Şimşek Square today, representatives of civil society, the city administration and the city council, together with Lord Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche, commemorated the victims of the NSU. The mayor's speech can be read here:

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased and grateful to you that we have come together today on a Monday afternoon to commemorate the victims of the National Socialist Underground, the NSU, again this year.

The debates of today's everyday political life are often rough, anti-democratic attitudes in our society are on the rise, as in many other countries. People are uncertain about the future. It is therefore all the more important that we keep alive in our minds what political extremism leads to.

Remembering the victims of the NSU and coming to terms with what happened, how the murders could occur and why the subsequent investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators was so flawed, threatens to fade into the background. Yet coming to terms with the past is important in order to gain or retain a clear view of developments and conditions in our country, even in these difficult times. That is why it is important that we have gathered here today to commemorate the victims of the National Socialist Underground. It is good that you are here!

The square here is named after Enver-Şimşek Square, after the person who had to die first. Because a name, a concrete person, a personal fate let us better understand and sympathize with what happened at that time. Enver Şimşek was murdered in Nuremberg on September 11, 2000, 23 years ago today.

However, the memorial plaque here and the naming of the square also stands for the other eight murdered migrants and the murdered policewoman Michele Kiesewetter.

When we come together here, as we did today, we commemorate all the victims of the NSU. After Enver Şimşek was murdered further.

• • in 2001, Abdurrahim Özüdoğru, Süleyman Taşköprü and Habil Kılıҫ were killed,
  • in 2004 Mehmet Turgut was assassinated,
  • in 2005 İsmail Yaşar and Theodoros Boulgarides.
  • in 2006 Mehmet Kubaşık and Halit Yozgat.
  • A year later, on April 25, 2007, the policewoman Michèle Kiesewetter was shot dead.

All of them, I am now talking about the migrant victims, had done nothing wrong. They had immigrated to Germany years ago, had migrated here to build a better life for themselves. Most of them were self-employed, with all the special challenges that entails. Many had families, they had children. Wives lost their husbands, children lost their fathers.

As if that were not horrible enough, the bereaved families had to face suspicions that the murders were motivated by involvement in organized crime, the red-light district or drug trafficking. These insinuations very often came from the state, while indications that the acts could have a xenophobic, right-wing extremist background were not seriously pursued or not pursued at all. The suffering that was inflicted on the families can hardly be truly comprehended.

It is therefore all the more important that we as a society come to terms with this failure, evaluate it self-critically and ask for forgiveness.

Five years ago, the criminal proceedings against the perpetrators who are still alive ended with guilty verdicts and in some cases long prison sentences. It is important to continue to remember what happened, the victims, the suffering inflicted on their relatives. It is important also to recognize the suffering inflicted on them by state authorities, because for far too long state authorities did not pursue the possibility of a right-wing extremist background to the murder of the ten people with the conscientiousness that would have been necessary and that was obvious.

We must keep the events of that time, the murders as well as the subsequent failure to clarify and come to terms with the deeds today and in the future in mind and in our thoughts, so that what happened here is not repeated. In order to learn from the past and prevent a repetition of the terrible events, we in Jena must also continue to address the question of how it was possible for the National Socialist Underground to come into being here in particular.

Remembering the victims can be done in many ways and is important to keep an eye on the present and the future. The artistic examination of the NSU murders and the slow investigation of the crimes is also an important approach.

After the NSU memorial year 2021, Jena should continue to work on the scientific reappraisal and the communication of the history of the NSU and its victims. We must continue to tell the story of Enver Simsek and the other victims of the NSU and, above all, show young people where extreme and inhuman ideologies lead.
With this goal in mind, the previous Rosenthal Fellowship for Visual Arts will be rededicated to a fellowship for political education and used to scientifically reappraise the time and environment in which the NSU was able to emerge in Jena.
The results of this work will then be translated into a mediation concept that can be used in Jena's schools. At this point, I would like to thank the partners of the Round Table for Democracy and JenaKultur, who have driven this important step forward and will accompany it in the coming years.

For the present, our focus must be on clearly countering crimes against immigrants and a climate of xenophobia. Three things continue to be needed: in addition to investigative successes by the police, we absolutely need the commitment of civil society, not least, but by no means only, the networks that have already stood up for refugees in the past. We as an urban society must work to improve the overall atmosphere for people with a migrant background in everyday life.

It is often small projects and signs of civil courage that make it clear that people with a migrant background belong to us and that we will not let this social consensus break us down.

This also includes that we as a city set visible signs that we do not tolerate a climate of fear, intimidation and violence in our city. By this I mean publicly visible signs as well as non-public meetings and conversations with those affected, with the victims, so that they know they are not alone and who they can turn to if necessary. We all have to stand up against these as well as all other right-wing extremist and anti-human acts!

The naming of Enver-Şimşek Square here at this location three years ago was an important and perceived sign that will last. The urban social confrontation with the NSU issue by means of the annual project "Kein Schlussstrich! Jena and the NSU Complex" two years ago was an important prelude to addressing many of the unanswered questions about the emergence and work of the NSU. The honest discussion of the content is a path that will hopefully heal open wounds from the past and raise awareness for a high level of vigilance in the present.

All this is a beginning to preserve memory in the urban consciousness and to accept and deal with one's own responsibility. At the same time, I see the great challenge of not losing sight of the subject area in light of current events.

In view of the pressure on our society, it is all the more important that the democratic constitution of our country, that human and civil rights are preserved. Jena has taken in more than 1,500 people from Ukraine who have fled the war. We want them to feel safe here in Jena, to feel comfortable and to find a home, even if it is only a temporary home. The same applies to the refugees from previous years and all other people with a migration background.

I am glad that the struggle for our human coexistence is supported by the breadth of the city's society. The commitment of the citizens' initiatives is essential here, because they have played a decisive role in bringing the process of our internal city debate so far forward.

Let us now lay a wreath in memory of Enver Şimşek and all the other victims of the NSU.

Gedenken an den 23. Todestag von Enver Şimşek am 11.9.2023 © Stadt Jena Oberbürgermeister Dr. Thomas Nitzsche gedenkt mit Vertretern der Zivilgesellschaft, Stadtverwaltung und Stadtrat den Opfern des NSU © Stadt Jena Kranzniederlegung am Enver-Şimşek-Platz © Stadt Jena