Germany commemorates victims of racist attack in Hanau six years ago

Relatives and officials gathered in the German city of Hanau on Thursday to pay their respects to 10 victims of a deadly racist attack six years ago.

Flowers were laid at two locations where a 43-year-old white German national shot dead eight men and one woman, all of whom had migrant roots, on February 19, 2020, before shooting dead his mother and himself.

A man shot several times during the attack died from the long-term effects of his injuries last month at the age of 70.

Hanau Mayor Claus Kaminsky described the attack as "the most terrible day this city has suffered in peacetime," calling for a vigorous fight against the enemies of democracy.

Boris Rhein, leader of the western state of Hesse where Hanau is located, said the government would keep the memory of the dead alive and continue its efforts to combat racism, extremism and misanthropy.

"Remembrance is more than just looking back; it is both a mission and an obligation," he said in a statement.

This year's official commemoration was deliberately designed as a silent memorial without speeches following coordination with the victims' relatives, Mayor Kaminsky said after the ceremony, adding that a bigger, more public event would be held in a few years to mark the 10th anniversary of the attack.

A vigil was planned for Thursday evening in Hanau, alongside memorial events in numerous cities including Berlin, Cologne, Munich and Frankfurt.

Wreath-laying ceremonies were to be held at the graves of the victims in the German towns of Offenbach and Dietzenbach and abroad, including in Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria.