Arson attack on Turks in Germany's Solingen revives fears of 1993

Tragedy struck less than two weeks ago at a four-story building in western Germany, as a fire claimed the lives of four members of a Turkish-Bulgarian family, while leaving nine others injured.

The fire in the building in Solingen on March 25 was triggered by an accelerant that was found in the wooden stairwell, as Wuppertal's public prosecutor Heribert Kaune-Gebhard revealed during the investigation.

Indicating that the fire could have been caused by “deliberate arson”, he also informed that no evidence of a racist or xenophobic motive has been found yet.

But Osman Korkmaz, a citizen with Turkish roots who lives in Solingen, says German authorities are taking refuge in “lack of evidence” to avoid to react immediately.

Referring to the late and restrained reaction of the authorities, he said local authorities only reacted two days after the incident by meeting the affected families, although they never visited those injured in hospital.

As the event created unrest among the people of Turkish origin in Solingen, TRT World spoke with members of the community following it.

Solingen Brandanschlag, 1993

The incident, known as Solingen Brandanschlag happened in 1993 in the same city, after four German men with Neo-Nazi ties instigated a fire in a house owned by a Turkish-origin person. It was the most severe case of anti-foreigner violence in Germany at the time.

It was shocking for both the German government and the Turkish people in the country as it was unexpected, said Necmettin Gül, who has been living in Solingen for over 50 years.

“Afterwards, we could not sleep for days, and could not go to our homes,” Gul tells TRT World.

It was followed by large-scale demonstrations across German cities, with Turks and Germans protesting together against the incident.

Although the perpetrators were initially sentenced to 10 to 15 years, they were all released early due to good time credit.

A person from the Turkish community, preferring to remain anonymous due to security reasons, experienced the 1993 event first hand.

Referring to the fear the event caused among Turks, he said that since then, Turkish people have been keeping fire extinguishers at their homes.

Houses in Germany are generally very old, and their stairs are often wooden. Because they are considered akin to historical buildings, their owners haven’t been allowed to rebuild or change the wooden parts.

The situation led them to search for another solution, widely debated at the time, of attaching “permanent rope cords from the windows” to allow them to skip through it in case there was another case of arson or emergency, since the stairs wouldn't be available, he said.

As the motive behind the latest incident isn’t clear yet, Gul says, “I am trying to live by thinking that it was an accident or an attack due to some personal enmity, and hoping that anything like 1993 will never happen again.”

Delayed condolence by the German State

Four days after the incident, a press conference was held in Solingen, attended by Türkiye’s ambassador to Berlin, the Turkish consul general in Dusseldorf, the relatives of the family killed and of those injured, representatives of the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) in Solingen, and other NGOs.

Following this, people among the community drew attention to the fact that there has been no official message of solidarity or condolences from either the municipalities or the Bulgarian embassy on the fourth day of the incident.

Rasim Cetin, a member of the integration council of Solingen municipality, said that since it wasn’t yet clear if the attack was driven by racism or personal enmity, politicians were abstaining from statements. He added that in the end, such delays end up provoking reactions from the Turkish community.

“At least they could reach out to the families of those who lost their lives, offer condolences, visit their homes or address the issues faced by these people,” he tells TRT World.

Only after the people reached out to the local authorities on something they needed, German authorities helped the affected people. However this was exhausting for the people, he further points out.

Providing housing to the relatives of victims and injured ones

After the incident, the prosecutor’s office closed the whole area where the burnt building is located.

Even after the injured people are discharged from hospital, it would not be possible to return to that building, Cetin says.

There are already some people who are recovering and leaving the hospital. The authorities have given them alternative residences, but only after they insistently applied to them, Cetin says, noting that the accommodations lack basic furnishings and kitchens.

Another case a person prefers to remain anonymous due to privacy reasons shared is about a child whose mother was injured and unconscious, while the father was critically injured. He remained in limbo for days because there was no house provided to him for his care.

In this case, the municipality’s “Kinderschutz Einheit (Child Protection Unit)” could have easily taken the child’s care because the child has no house, but this would not be preferred option by the relatives of the families.

Only after the child’s mother recovered consciousness, and informed the authorities of her permit, could the child receive care from its aunt and grandparents.

He expressed disappointment, mentioning the late reaction of the German State in providing housing to the victims of the tragedy. They took several days to respond to people whose houses were burnt down.

Not only did those who were injured, but also the relatives of those who died, had faced the same problem.

The father and mother of the two young people who lost their lives in the arson had come from Bulgaria. Yet they were not hosted by the municipality, Cetin said, because of which they had to put up with their relatives.

“There are two young people, and two babies who lost their lives, so regardless of their origin, it required extreme sensitivity and a very different reaction from the officials,” Cetin notes, referring to shortcomings of the process following the incident.