Former Minister Paul Testified Before State Parliament Committee on Antisemitic Attack in Solingen

Anne Paul, who served as Minister of Justice in the government of North Rhine-Westphalia under Premier Hendrik Wüstef (CDU) until June 2025, appeared before the state parliamentary investigative committee in Düsseldorf. The committee was established to examine the actions of state authorities in the context of the antisemitic attack on a synagogue and Jewish school in Solingen, which occurred on the night of December 29-30, 2025. The aim of the investigation is to determine whether the institutions responsible for internal security and the protection of the constitutional order recognized the growing threat in a timely manner and whether they took appropriate preventive and reactive measures. The 2025 attack in Solingen is part of a long history of antisemitic violence in post-war Germany. A particularly traumatic event for the city was the arson attack on a Turkish family's home in 1993, in which five people died, and which became a symbol of the fight against right-wing extremism. Following this event, Solingen became a place for many initiatives aimed at combating hatred and cultivating remembrance. The former minister's testimony concerns the period of her tenure, which ended several months before the attack itself. Paul may have been asked about the state of preparations, threat assessments, and cooperation between various services during her term. Her appearance before the investigative committee is part of a broader political and social process of reckoning with the events in Solingen, which aims not only to clarify the facts but also to rebuild public trust, particularly within the Jewish community. This process is significant in the context of the constitutional duty to protect minorities guaranteed by the German constitution. „Es war mir wichtig, der Untersuchungskommission persönlich und ausführlich alle Fragen aus meiner Amtszeit zu erläutern.” (It was important for me to personally and thoroughly explain all questions from my term in office to the investigation commission.) — Anne Paul The attack in Solingen, which caused significant material damage but fortunately did not result in any fatalities, resonated widely across Germany and abroad. Federal and state authorities condemned the act, defining it as a hate crime with an antisemitic motive. This incident contributed to a renewed, intense public debate about the scale and forms of antisemitism in contemporary Germany and the effectiveness of state actions in combating it. The establishment of a parliamentary investigative committee is one of the institutional responses to these questions, intended to provide objective findings for future political and legislative decisions.