Racially-motivated mass shooting in Germany
Author: Lalla Amina Drhimeur, ERC PRIME Youth Project Researcher, European Institute, İstanbul Bilgi University; and PhD candidate in Political Science, Hassan II School of Law, Mohammedia, Casablanca, Morocco
Editor’s Note: In the recent decade, we have witnessed the rise of extremist ideologies and the proliferation of violent extemists among various groups including both far-right nativists and Islamists. In this editorial blog post, Lalla Amina Drhimeur provides a thorough overview of the motivations behind the most recent far-right extremist shooting in Hanau, Germany as well as the responses of political figures from across Europe. As this latest shooting has reminded us, despite European-wide efforts to accommodate differences and diversity, racism and xenophobia are still persistent among right-wing extremists in Europe. Ayhan Kaya
The shootings took place around 22:00 (21:00 GMT) on Wednesday and targeted two shisha bars in the town of Hanau[i], killing 9 people and leaving others with life-threatening injuries[ii]. They were aged between 21 and 44 and were both German and foreign citizens[iii]. Some of the casualties were of Turkish origins. In fact, the Turkish embassy in Berlin confirmed that five of its citizens are among the dead[iv]. Another victim was a permanent resident of Germany with origins from Bosnia and Herzegovina[v]. The suspected shooter then killed his mother and himself[vi].
The killer was identified as a 43-year-old Tobias Rathjen[vii]. He didn’t have a criminal record[viii]. The investigation describes the shooting as a terrorist act with a racist motive. Rathjen is suspected of having a far-right motive and left a confession note in which he expressed his extreme right-wing views[ix]. In this confession note, he talked about his “aversion” to some ethnic groups, including the Turks, the Kurds, and the Moroccans[x]. A few days before the attack, he also posted a video online expressing right-wing conspiracy theories[xi]. In addition, his extremist views were detailed in a 24-page manifesto posted online to his website, which is deleted now[xii]. The prosecution described the shooter as having "confused thoughts," "conspiracy theories," and a "deeply racist attitude"[xiii]. He believed in aliens, mind control, government surveillance, and satanic sacrifices and promised to destroy the Middle East, North Africa, and even some Germans whom he thought were not “pure”[xiv]. YouTube later confirmed that it shut down the shooter’s account on Thursday morning following the attack[xv]. CNN, which viewed the content before it was removed, described the last video the shooter uploaded on February 14th as containing xenophobic views[xvi].
Following the attacks, Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters in Berlin that Everything is being done to clarify the background of these horrible murders to the last detail […] But at present, there is much evidence that the perpetrator acted out of right-wing extremist, racist motives. Out of hatred against people of other origins, other beliefs or other outward appearances […] Racism is a poison, hatred is a poison”[xvii]. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the leader of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has also expressed concerns about how xenophobia was a growing problem in Germany[xviii].
For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron declared, "Immense sadness and my full support for Germany in the face of this tragic attack... I stand with Chancellor Merkel in this fight for our values and the protection of our democracies"[xix]. Boris Johnson, UK prime minister, wrote in a tweet, "My thoughts are with the people of Germany as they grieve those lost in the terrible attack in Hanau last night. The UK stands with our German friends against this racist assault on our values"[xx]. The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, criticized Germany for not doing enough to fight against growing islamophobia and Germany's Muslim association KRM is calling for more governmental efforts to fight against right-wing extremism, criticizing a lack of "a clear stand against Islamophobia" in the country[xxi]. It is important to mention that last Friday (14 February 2020), German police arrested 12 members of a German extreme-right group who were believed to be planning large-scale attacks on mosques similar to the ones carried out in New Zealand last year[xxii]. The network included one police employee[xxiii] and was plotting to attack politicians and asylum seekers, among others[xxiv]. Soon after the news of the cell, the German-Turkish Islamic organization DITIB, which helps to finance mosques in Germany, stated that Muslims in Germany don’t feel safe and asked the German government to provide for more protections for Muslims in the country[xxv]. Also, in Berlin, a shooting happened at a venue where a Turkish comedy show was taking place on Friday, February 14th, 2020. The shooting killed one person and injured some others[xxvi].
[i] Hanau, in Hesse state, is a city of 100,000 residents about 25km east of Frankfurt.
[ii] « Germany shooting: far-right gunman kills 10 in Hanau », The Guardian, Thu 20 Feb 2020 13.47 GMT, last accessed Thu 20 Feb 2020 15.47 GMT, available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/19/shooting-germany-hanau-dead-several-people-shisha-near-frankfurt
[iii] « Germany shisha bar shootings: What we know about victims », Al Jazeera, Thu 20 Feb 2020 13.47 GMT, last accessed Thu 20 Feb 2020 17.47 GMT, available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/germany-shisha-bar-shootings-victims-200220111229346.html
[iv] « REVEALED: German neo-Nazi 'terrorist' who shot nine dead before killing his mother and himself was a far-right conspiracy theorist who believed in aliens, mind control and secret US bases where children are sacrificed to Satan», Daily Mail, published 23:02 GMT, 19 February 2020 | updated: 14:49 GMT, 20 February 2020, last accessed Thu 20 Feb 2020 17.08 GMT, available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8022475/Police-report-people-shot-death-German-city.html
[v] « Germany shisha bar shootings: What we know about victims », Al Jazeera,
[vi]« Germany shooting: far-right gunman kills 10 in Hanau », The Guardian
[vii] « Germany shooting: far-right gunman kills 10 in Hanau », The Guardian
[viii] «Germany shooting: Gunman kills 9 at Hanau shisha bars», CNN, Live Updates, Updated 12:04 p.m. ET, February 20, 2020, last accessed Thu 20 Feb 2020 18.20 GMT, available at: https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/germany-shooting-dle-intl/index.html
[ix] « Germany shooting: far-right gunman kills 10 in Hanau », The Guardian
[x] «Germany shooting: Gunman kills 9 at Hanau shisha bars», CNN
[xi] « Germany shooting: 'Far-right extremist' carried out shisha bars attacks», BBC, Thu 20 Feb 2020 13:00 GMT, last accessed Thu 20 Feb 2020 16.47 GMT, available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51567971
[xii]« REVEALED: German neo-Nazi 'terrorist' who shot nine dead before killing his mother and himself was a far-right conspiracy theorist who believed in aliens, mind control and secret US bases where children are sacrificed to Satan», Daily Mail,
[xiii] «The suspected gunman posted a "deeply racist" manifesto of sorts online », CNN, Live Update, Updated 12:35 p.m. ET, February 20, 2020, last accessed Thu 20 Feb 2020 17. 42 GMT, available at: https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/germany-shooting-dle-intl/index.html
[xiv] « REVEALED: German neo-Nazi 'terrorist' who shot nine dead before killing his mother and himself was a far-right conspiracy theorist who believed in aliens, mind control and secret US bases where children are sacrificed to Satan», Daily Mail
[xv] «Germany shooting: Gunman kills 9 at Hanau shisha bars», CNN [xvi] Ibid.
[xvii] Cited in «Germany Shooting Is Deadliest Yet in Upsurge of Far-Right Attacks », The New York Times, Feb. 20, 2020, Updated 12:13 p.m. ET, last accessed last accessed Thu 20 Feb 2020 18.45 GMT, available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/world/europe/germany-hanau-shisha-bar-shooting.html
[xviii] « Germany shisha lounge shootings: All the latest updates », Al Jazeera, Thu 20 Feb 2020 17.59 GMT, last accessed Thu 20 Feb 2020 18.58 GMT, available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/deadly-attacks-german-shisha-lounges-latest-updates-
[xix] Cited in « Germany shooting: 'Far-right extremist' carried out shisha bars attacks», BBC
[xx]Cited in « Germany shisha lounge shootings: All the latest updates », Al Jazeera, 200220073658913.html?utm_source=website&utm_medium=article_page&utm_campaign=read_more_links
[xxi] « Germany shooting: 'Far-right extremist' carried out shisha bars attacks», BBC
[xxii] «Germany probes deadly Hanau shooting as far-right attack », Al Jazeera, Thu 20 Feb 2020 11.34 GMT, last accessed Thu 20 Feb 2020 17.38 GMT, available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/germany-probes-deadly-hanau-shooting-attack-200220084539829.html?utm_source=website&utm_medium=article_page&utm_campaign=read_more_links
[xxiii] « Germany Says It’s Broken Up a Far-Right Terrorism Network », The New York Times, Published Feb. 14, 2020, Updated Feb. 20, 2020, 8:04 a.m. ET, last accessed Thu 20 Feb 2020 18.13 GMT, available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/world/europe/germany-far-right-terrorism.html
[xxiv] Ibid.
[xxv] «Germany probes deadly Hanau shooting as far-right attack », Al Jazeera
[xxvi] « 1 dead, 4 injured in shooting outside Berlin music venue », The Washington Post, Feb. 15, 2020 at 7:39 a.m. GMT, last accessed Thu 20 Feb 2020 18. 05 GMT, available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/1-dead-3-injured-in-shooting-outside-berlin-music-venue/2020/02/15/44be1f54-4fc6-11ea-967b-e074d302c7d4_story.html