Nine years after the OEZ attack: Gisela Kollmann fights for memory

Nine years after the OEZ attack: Gisela Kollmann fights for memory

Olympia-Einkaufszentrum, München, Deutschland - The memory of a tragic day hovers over the Olympic shopping center (OEZ) in Munich. It was almost nine years ago when a killing spree on July 22, 2016 was to wipe out the life of nine people, including 19-year-old Guiliano Kollmann. The deep wounds, which this right -wing terrorist attack left, can still be felt today with the bereaved. "Our hearts are broken," says Gisela Kollmann, describing the immeasurable loss of her grandson, who was just starting his vocational training as an offset printer. "He would have started his apprenticeship in September 2016," adds the grandmother, whom Guiliano has raised since he was third. The pain is deep, and the grief for the loss is accompanied by the stressful memories of the night of the fateful hour in which the police did not inform you at 2:30 a.m. about Guiliano's death, although they already knew hours earlier.

"His murderer acted out of contempt for people and racism," emphasizes Gisela Kollmann and criticizes the lack of support from the city of Munich and the politician for the relatives of the victims in the following years. In the place where her grandson was shot, she wants flowers and a picture of him instead of people trample on it. A plaque is reminiscent of the victims of the assassination, but the pain is still present not only in the form of memories, but also through the health problems that the family has plagued since then.

a place of commemoration

In order to give the victims of the OEZ attack a worthy memory, a "room for remembering" was set up at Bunzlauer Straße 9. The memory area is made available free of charge by the city of Munich for ten years and is primarily intended to serve the educational work on right-wing extremist violence. At the opening of the room, Rudolf Kollmann, Guiliano's father, is emotionally affected. "This room means a lot to us," he explains. Sibel Leyla, the mother of another victim, underpins the importance of this place for society.

The room was designed by relatives and supporters and is used as a place of learning for school classes to clarify about racism. Despite these positive developments, there is still a big deficit: many members of the OEZ victims have not yet been psychologically accompanied. Mona Fuchs, Greens City Councilor, apologizes for the failure of the city in terms of support from the bereaved. At the celebrations for the ninth anniversary of the attack, a song by Guiliano Kollmann is played to commemorate his and the other victims.

a problem for society as a whole

The problems resulting from this and similar attacks are often quite complex. Right -wing extremism up to brutal attacks is considered one of the greatest threats to security in Germany. According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, there are around 32,000 people in Germany with a right -wing extremist attitude, 13,000 of whom are classified as violent. The increase in right -wing extremists is alarming: in 2020 over 23,600 right -wing extremists were registered, including over 1,000 acts of violence.

Gisela Kollmann emphasizes that responsibility is also in society to prevent further right -wing terror. "Solidarity and support for the relatives of the victims are of great importance," she addresses a central point. The Guiliano Kollmann case and the following developments show that dealing with the causes and effects of right -wing extremist violence is urgently necessary to prevent such tragedies in the future

The way to healing and commemoration will not be easy, but the voice of the relatives is unmistakable and must be heard so that similar crimes do not repeat themselves.

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