Solingen Arson Attack of 1993 - Aftermath

Aftermath

The memorial services were attended by several high-ranking German officials, with President Richard von Weizsäcker giving the first speech. Chancellor Helmut Kohl was criticized for not visiting Solingen nor attending the memorial or burial services; he had denounced what he called "Beileidstourismus" ("condolence tourism") of other politicians.

The case was widely reported in the international press. After a radio campaign in the Netherlands, 1.2 million postcards with the slogan "Ik ben woedend!" ("I am furious") were sent as a protest from there to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

A memorial to commemorate the event was unveiled one year after the attack, in front of the Mildred-Scheel-Schule, a school that Hatice Genç had attended. It shows two large metal figures ripping apart a swastika, surrounded by a large number of rings, each sponsored by an individual. Initially the city had agreed to a monument in the very center of the city, but then reneged, citing concerns that "social peace" might be jeopardized. The location of the arson at Untere Wernerstraße Nr. 81 is marked by five chestnut trees and a plaque. In Frankfurt-Bockenheim the Hülyaplatz commemorates the events with a statue of a man hammering at a swastika.

In 1996 the German government presented Mevlüde Genç with the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Band because she went on to advocate understanding and friendship between Turks and Germans after the attack. In 2008 Germany instituted the Genç prize in her name to honor people who work for understanding and integration. One of the recipients was Kamil Kaplan, a Turk who in February 2008 had lost his wife, two daughters and his mother in a fire catastrophe in Ludwigshafen in which a total of nine people had died; right-wing arson had initially been suspected, but the case was later found to have been an accident. Kaplan, like Mevlüde Genç, had called for peaceful cooperation between Turks and Germans. In 2012, Mevlüde Genc was nominated by the CDU state party to be a member of the 15th Federal Convention to elect the next German President.

Two of the perpetrators were released early because of good behavior. In September 2005, another perpetrator, Christian Reher, was sent to four months in prison for having used the Hitler salute on two occasions.

As of 2008, the surviving victims still live in Solingen, in a house built with donations and insurance money, protected by cameras and special fire windows.