Sunflowers are a symbol of light, summer and color. But in Rostock-Lichtenhagen in 1992 they became the backdrop for serious racist riots. The Federal President warns of the danger of new violence.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paused for a moment, then put a sunflower in the vase. A quick glance went up to the huge flower mosaic on the facade of the high-rise building, which was at the center of the racist riots in Rostock-Lichtenhagen in 1992.
30 years ago, the sunflower house became a place of the worst xenophobic attacks, said Steinmeier during his visit to mark the anniversary. “It’s a memorial, and it reminds us of days of shame in our country.” In Rostock, the Federal President warned of the danger of a new radicalization in Germany.
“The risk that the trail of violence will not end is high,” he said in the evening at a commemoration event in the city hall. “Especially now, at a time that is challenging us like none of the last decades, a time that is demanding a lot from us, when the familiar is in question and restrictions are imminent.”
A particularly important lesson from Lichtenhagen for the present is: “If a society is under pressure to change, then the path to radicalization is even shorter because it offers supposedly simple solutions, I would say, pretends.” The simplest of all solutions is the search for a supposed culprit. “The confrontation with an uncertain future seems to strengthen this reflex.”
Steinmeier obviously had the consequences of the Ukraine war in mind, such as sharply rising energy and food prices, which worry and unsettle many people in Germany. AfD and Linke have already called for protests. The security authorities warn of a possible infiltration by right-wing extremists.
“A disaster with an announcement”
Many people fled in fear of death over the roof. Miraculously there were no deaths. The riots are considered to be the worst racist attacks in post-war German history up to that point. The pictures went around the world. Parts of the sunflower house have been placed under monument protection, including the 400 square meter flower mosaic on the facade.
From Steinmeier’s point of view, the riots were also “a catastrophe with an announcement”. “The riots of those days thrived on the basis of a sometimes hateful debate. The state should have been warned.” As early as November 1990, neo-Nazis in Eberswalde chased the young Angolan contract worker Amadeu Antonio to death. A year later, a mob attacked Vietnamese contract workers in Hoyerswerda.
During his visit to the district of Lichtenhagen, Steinmeier also spoke to students and local residents and visited a Buddhist-Vietnamese temple. At the time, it wasn’t just the attackers who were disgraceful, who attacked the people living in the house with Molotov cocktails and crowbars, he says. “It’s also disgraceful that many didn’t just watch this action, but applauded and encouraged it.”
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) described the 1992 riots as a dark chapter in the history of the city and the state. “These pictures have shaped the perception of Rostock and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for years. The shock that something like this could happen in our country has been with us ever since. It’s good and important that we keep reminding ourselves of it.”
On the occasion of the anniversary, a demonstration is planned in Lichtenhagen on Saturday. The motto is “Then as now: remembering means changing.”
Source: Stern
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
