Steinmeier leads Munich memorial as Germany marks 10 years since right-wing extremist OEZ attack that killed nine
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will address a memorial ceremony at the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum today, as Munich observes a minute of silence at 17:51 to mark exactly ten years since a right-wing extremist shot dead nine people at the shopping centre.
The attack
On 22 July 2016, an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum (OEZ) in Munich, killing eight teenagers and one adult woman before turning the weapon on himself. Several others were injured. The date was the fifth anniversary of Anders Behring Breivik's far-right massacre in Norway, which claimed 77 lives, but German investigators initially described the Munich shooting as a lone-wolf rampage without political motive. Only in October 2019 did authorities reclassify the attack as right-wing extremist. The delay has been a source of enduring anger for the victims' families, who argue that the warning signs were overlooked.
Commemoration today
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will speak at a memorial ceremony at the OEZ site on the tenth anniversary. Other scheduled speakers include Bavarian Landtag President Ilse Aigner (CSU), Munich Mayor Dominik Krause (Greens), and relatives of the victims. At 17:51, the exact time of the attack, the city will observe a minute of silence; U-Bahn, tram, and bus services will halt for one minute. Minister-President Markus Söder has ordered mourning flags on all state buildings in Bavaria for the day. The ceremony is the centrepiece of a day of remembrance that also includes a wreath-laying at the memorial.
Long-denied motive
The initiative "München erinnern", founded by victims' families and survivors together with other supporters, has long argued that the right-wing extremist motive was ignored or trivialised by authorities.
This motive was long ignored or trivialised.
The group points to the date of the attack as an early indicator of the perpetrator's far-right ideology, given its connection to Breivik's 2011 massacre. The official reclassification came more than three years after the shooting, and the initiative maintains that the initial narrative of a lone-wolf rampage prevented a full examination of possible right-wing networks.
Calls for investigation
On the anniversary, the relatives are demanding a parliamentary inquiry committee. They want to establish whether the attack could have been prevented if warnings from the perpetrator's environment had been taken seriously, and whether further investigations are needed to uncover possible accomplices and right-wing networks.
The greatest wish of the relatives is that such an act never happens again. No one should experience what they have experienced.
- An 18-year-old shoots dead nine people at the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum in Munich before killing himself.
- Investigators reclassify the attack as right-wing extremist, more than three years after the shooting.
- Federal President Steinmeier leads a memorial ceremony; a minute of silence is observed at 17:51.
