Madam Minister, you recently said that the right-wing terrorist attack in Hanau, which is now in its second year, was the worst thing you had ever experienced.

How do you remember that day?

Helen Bubrowski

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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I found out early in the morning what had happened that night and was deeply shocked.

Then I made my way to the Hessian state parliament, where we should have actually had a state parliament session.

But on the way there I called the other group leaders and said that we couldn't pretend that nothing had happened in Hanau.

And then, together with the President of the State Parliament, we decided to skip the meeting.

Later that day I was there with the Federal President.

We visited the crime scenes.

They were still locked.

It was horrible.

What conclusions did you draw?

Very soon I was also visiting the families of the victims.

That was very close to me.

That's why I was so shocked by how bureaucratic the authorities' handling of this terrible right-wing act of terrorism was.

I've come to the conclusion for myself that if I'm ever going to be in charge, I need to be more empathetic with people.

Also by remembering the victims of the Hanau attack, Gökhan Gültekin, Sedat Gürbüz, Said Nesar Hashemi, Mercedes Kierpacz, Hamza Kurtović, Vili Viorel Păun, Fatih Saraçoğlu, Ferhat Unvar and Kaloyan Velkov.

Fortunately, there were also great people who showed empathy back then, including an employee of the city administration, Mr. Jäger, who still looks after the families today.

The relatives of the victims of the Islamist terrorist attack on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin later complained about a lack of empathy.

Why do you speak of the Hanau attack as the "worst" for you?

I don't want to juxtapose them.

As well as?

The Islamist attack on Breitscheidplatz was just as bad, just as inhuman.

The particularly bad thing in Hanau was that the perpetrator specifically murdered people because of their origin.

And Hanau was so close to me because I got to know the relatives.

I would certainly have felt the same way with the relatives of the victims of the Berlin attack.

The federal government has now introduced March 11 as the national day of remembrance for victims of terrorist violence.

Isn't that purely symbolic politics?

The vast majority of Germans agree that they abhor terrorist violence.

I think it's very important for the families of the victims to see that the state doesn't forget them.

And after the Hanau attack, many people with a history of migration felt deeply hurt and marginalized.

The intention of the perpetrator was to spread division and fear.

The victims weren't strangers, they were Hanau residents.

The families of the victims in Hanau report that the police turned up at their house shortly after the crime and warned them not to take revenge – as if they were a threat and not a victim.

Is there a problem with the police?