1992 Mölln arson attack
{{Short description|Neo-nazi terror attack on a Turkish family in Germany}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = 1992 Mölln arson attack
| location = Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
| date = {{start date|1992|11|22|df=y}}
| image =
| caption = Demonstration of Germans and Turks in front of the arson house
| map = {{Location map|Germany Schleswig-Holstein#Germany
| width = 200
| float = center
| label = Mölln
| marksize = 8
| lat_deg = 53 | lat_min = 37
| lon_deg = 10 | lon_min = 41
}}
| coordinates = {{coord|53|37|37|N|10|41|05|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| timezone = UTC+1
| type = Arson
| fatalities = 3
| injuries = 9
| perps = Michael Peters and Lars Christiansen
| motive = Anti-immigration
Anti-Turkish sentiment
Islamophobia
}}
The Mölln arson attack ({{langx|de|Brandanschlag in Mölln}}) was the first fatal case of far-right extremists setting fire to migrants' homes in post-reunification Germany, and one of the earliest cases of right-wing terrorism in the country's post-unification history. On the night of 22 November 1992, two neo-Nazis set fire to the two houses of Turkish families in Mölln, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Three people were killed and nine injured.
Background
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2022}}
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the reunification of Germany, saw a sharp rise in violent attacks against Turkish-Germans. A series of arson attacks, bombings, and shootings have targeted the Turkish community in both public and private spaces, such as in their homes, cultural centres, and businesses. Consequently, many victims have been killed or severely injured by these attacks.
Attack
On the night of 22 November 1992, Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein two right-wing extremists, 25-year-old Michael Peters and 19-year-old Lars Christiansen{{Efn|Their names were initially protected under German law but are no longer hidden.|name=a}}{{Cite news|date=November 24, 2016|title=1992 arson attack on Turkish families remembered for 24th time|work=Daily Sabah|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/europe/2016/11/24/1992-arson-attack-on-turkish-families-remembered-for-24th-time|access-date=January 17, 2022}} firebombed two houses inhabited by the Turkish Arslan and Yılmaz families.{{Cite web|last=Gazetesi|first=Evrensel|title=25. yılında Mölln Katliamı: İlkti, sonuncu olmadı|url=https://www.evrensel.net/haber/338962/25-yilinda-molln-katliami-ilkti-sonuncu-olmadi|access-date=2020-11-30|website=Evrensel.net|language=tr-TR}}{{citation|last1=Chin|first1=Rita|title=After the Nazi Racial State: Difference and Democracy in Germany and Europe|page=117|year=2010|editor-last1=Chin|editor-first1=Rita|chapter=German Democracy and the Question of Difference, 1945-1995|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=978-0472025787|last2=Fehrenbach|first2=Heide|editor-first2=Heide|editor-last3=Eley|editor-first3=Geoff|editor-last4=Grossmann|editor-first4=Atina|editor-last2=Fehrenbach}}{{citation|last=Faas|first=Daniel|title=Muslims in 21st Century Europe: Structural and Cultural Perspectives|page=63|year=2016|editor-last=Triandafyllidou|editor-first=Anna|chapter=Muslims in Germany: from guest workers to citizens?|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1134004454}}
Local neighbours witnessed people jumping out of windows as their homes were set ablaze. The Yılmaz family was the first to be evacuated, but the Arslans' staircase and halls were blocked by the fire. 7-year old Ibrahim Arslan was wrapped in damp towels by his grandfather as he was rushed to the outside.{{Cite web|last=Keisel|first=Heiner|date=November 11, 2017|title=Mölln arson attack: 'My daughter said 'Papa' one last time…'|url=https://www.dw.com/en/m%C3%B6lln-arson-attack-my-daughter-said-papa-one-last-time/a-41503380|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-17|website=Deutsche Welle|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123162745/http://www.dw.com/en/m%C3%B6lln-arson-attack-my-daughter-said-papa-one-last-time/a-41503380 |archive-date=2017-11-23 }}
The town's fire department received an anonymous call shortly after midnight reporting that an apartment building in the city’s center, where several foreign families lived, was on fire. The caller ended his call with the words “Heil Hitler.”{{Cite web|date=1992-11-24|title=Anti-Foreigner Attack Kills 3 in Germany|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-24-mn-1124-story.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-11-30|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}} While the response by police and firemen were as fast as possible, the damage had been done by the time they arrived.{{Cite web|title="GERMANY FOR GERMANS"|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/Germany.htm|access-date=2022-01-17|website=www.hrw.org}}
Two girls, 14-year-old Ayşe Yılmaz and 10-year-old Yeliz Arslan and their 51-year-old grandmother Bahide Arslan died in the flames. Nine others, including a 9-month-old baby were seriously injured.{{Cite web|last=Agency|first=Anadolu|date=2017-11-23|title=Turkish victims killed by Neo-Nazis in 1992 Mölln attack remembered in Germany|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/europe/2017/11/23/turkish-victims-killed-by-neo-nazis-in-1992-molln-attack-remembered-in-germany|access-date=2020-11-30|website=Daily Sabah|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=GHDI - Image|url=http://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=3250|access-date=2020-11-30|website=ghdi.ghi-dc.org}}{{Cite web|title=3 Turks Killed in Suspects Arson Attack by German Extremists - The Tech|url=http://tech.mit.edu/V112/N60/arson.60w.html|access-date=2020-11-30|website=tech.mit.edu}}
Aftermath
To protest the attack, several thousand people marched quietly in Berlin and Hamburg. Mölln's mayor, Joachim Doerfler, headed a silent procession of several hundred residents.
Peters and Christiansen were found guilty by German courts and sentenced to life imprisonment and nine years imprisonment under juvenile law respectively. Peters was released on parole after 15 years in 2007, around the anniversary of the murders. Since his release, Christiansen has denied the extent of his involvement.{{Cite web |last=Kahl |first=Günter |date=2007-11-23 |title=Ein Kranker als Staatsfeind? |url=https://www.shz.de/deutschland-welt/panorama/artikel/ein-kranker-als-staatsfeind-41941218 |access-date= |website=SHZ |language=de}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=Neo-Nazi fire attack still smolders 20 years on|url=https://www.dw.com/en/neo-nazi-fire-attack-still-smolders-20-years-on/a-16399158|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-17|website=Deutsche Welle|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123175424/http://www.dw.com/en/neo-nazi-fire-attack-still-smolders-20-years-on/a-16399158 |archive-date=2017-11-23 }}
The murders scared the German public, especially the Turkish minority, of the possibility of future attacks.{{Cite web|title=Germany remembers 1992 Molln arson attack victims|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/germany-remembers-1992-molln-arson-attack-victims/977030|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-17|website=Anadolu Agency|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123225308/http://aa.com.tr/en/europe/germany-remembers-1992-molln-arson-attack-victims/977030 |archive-date=2017-11-23 }}
In popular culture
In 2025, a documentary based on letters of survivors of the attack titled The Moelln Letters directed by Martina Priessner was selected in the Panorama at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival and premiered in February.{{Cite web|url=https://www.inselfilm.de/de/portfolio-item/die-moellner-briefe/ |title=Die Möllner Briefe |trans-title= The Moelln Letters |date=28 January 2025|access-date=30 January 2025 |website=Inselfilm |language=de}}{{Cite web|url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/472376 |title= Diverse perspectives and limitless creativity abound in the Berlinale Panorama|author= Vassilis Economou |date=16 January 2025|access-date=30 January 2025 |website= Cineuropa |language=en}}
See also
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
External links
- [https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2018/05/30/discrimination-against-turks-in-germany-lingers-25-years-after-solingen-tragedy Discrimination against Turks in Germany lingers 25 years after Solingen tragedy | Daily Sabah]
{{Terrorism in Germany}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Molln arson attack}}
Category:20th century in Schleswig-Holstein
Category:Terrorist incidents in Germany in 1992
Category:1990s fires in Europe
Category:Anti-Muslim violence in Europe
Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in Germany
Category:Crime in Schleswig-Holstein
Category:1992 murders in Germany
Category:Neo-Nazi attacks in Germany
Category:November 1992 in Germany
Category:Persecution of Turks in Germany
Category:20th-century mass murder in Germany
Category:Building and structure fires in Europe