German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier commemorated the nine victims of the 2016 racist shooting at Munich’s Olympia shopping centre and condemned racism and anti-Semitism. He argued that migration shapes Germany’s identity and warned that extremist ideologies must not regain ground. Steinmeier invoked Germany’s historical responsibility and called on all citizens to ensure intolerance has no place in society.
Steinmeier Honors Munich Shooting Victims, Warns Against Resurgent Racism
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks during the memorial ceremony organized by the City of Munich to mark the 10th anniversary of the attack on the Olympia Shopping Centre. (is associated with: «Steinmeier pays tribute to victims of 2016 racist attack in Germany») Sven Hoppe/dpa
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid tribute in Munich to the nine people killed in a racially motivated shooting at the Olympia shopping centre on the 10th anniversary of the attack. In an emotional address, he condemned racism and anti-Semitism and urged the nation to reject any attempt to define people solely by their origin.
"Let us finally realize this: It is not just individual people who have a history of migration - our entire country does. Germany is a country with a migrant background. That is what defines us," Steinmeier said.
The attack occurred on 22 July 2016, when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at the shopping centre, killing eight teenagers and one adult woman whom he regarded as fitting his racist stereotype; several others were wounded. About two and a half hours later, when police cornered him, the attacker shot himself.
Nationwide Impact and Historical Warning
Steinmeier stressed that the violence reached far beyond the immediate victims and their families: "This racist act affects not only the victims and their families and friends, not only the city of Munich, not only the Free State of Bavaria; it affects our entire country, and it concerns all of us in this country."
He described the perpetrator's motive as hatred aimed at people deemed "inferior" and recalled Germany's painful history tied to similar ideologies. "We are familiar with this ideology. Throughout history, Germans have murdered millions of people in the name of this ideology," the president warned, calling for vigilance to ensure such thinking never takes root again.
Concluding his remarks, Steinmeier declared: "Anti-Semitism and racism must have no place in our society. It is the duty of us all to ensure this." He urged collective responsibility from those born and raised in Germany as well as from more recent arrivals, emphasizing that defending democratic values is everyone's task.
Commemorations on the anniversary served both to remember the victims and to renew a public commitment to oppose racism and extremism in all forms.
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