Remembering Right-Wing Terror with Lydia Maria Roth

Lydia Maria Roth discussed how remembrance practices surrounding the 2020 right-wing terrorist attack in Hanau have changed in the years since the event. Referring to a statement by survivor Said Etris Hashemi from 2025 “In Hanau, we created a new memory culture. Previously, the perpetrator was the focus. Now it is those who died.” Roth explored how those affected by the attack have actively worked to shift public attention toward the victims.

Placing Hanau in the broader context of right-wing terror in Germany since the early 1990s, Roth highlighted that public discourse has often centered on perpetrators rather than victims. In Hanau, however, families, friends, and survivors have played a central role in reshaping this pattern. Through initiatives such as Initiative 19. Februar Hanau, they have created spaces of solidarity, supported those dealing with bureaucratic consequences of the attack, and raised awareness about racism and recurring patterns of right-wing violence in Germany.

Roth also emphasized the role of supportive institutions. For example, the football club Eintracht Frankfurt joined the campaign #SayTheirNames on the first anniversary of the attack and helped preserve the memorial mural located in Frankfurt by financing a protective sealing.

During the discussion, cultural initiatives that continue to raise awareness were mentioned, such as the reading tour of “Born, Raised and Murdered in Germany”, which visited several universities in the United Kingdom in October 2025, including the University of St Andrews.