Life of Jana L. and Kevin S.
No information has been released by the families of Jana L. and Kevin S., who were murdered in Halle. This field therefore remains empty.
09. October 2019
Halle
No information has been released by the families of Jana L. and Kevin S., who were murdered in Halle. This field therefore remains empty.
There are two anniversaries on which the racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim and anti-feminist attack is commemorated: one on Yom Kippur, the 10th of Tishrei in the Jewish calendar, and one on 9 October in the civil calendar. The commemoration of the attack is organised and supported by several civil society campaign groups and associations as well as institutions in Saxony-Anhalt.
On the evening of the attack, many people spontaneously gathered on the market square following a call from the local Halle gegen Rechts alliance – including survivors. The first demonstration in solidarity, organised by individuals, Halle gegen Rechts, and the survivors İsmet and Rıfat Tekin, took place on the Sunday after the attack.
For many survivors, the trial against the perpetrator in 2020 was an important opportunity to network with each other and go public with critical positions. Various campaign groups and alliances, including the mobile survivor counselling service, provided important support for survivors during the trial, organised vigils in front of the court or supported the co-plaintiffs with catering, travel assistance, etc. On the first anniversary of the attack, survivors took part in numerous commemorative events in Halle and tried to help shape the narrative about the attack. In Berlin, Jewish survivors, with the help of supporters, organised the “Festival of Resilience”, an art and cultural festival that has been held annually since then and has developed into a mixture of cultural, musical and political events in recent years, bringing together those affected by right-wing violence as well as other people, especially migrants and other marginalised people, to discuss resilience, remembrance and solidarity from different perspectives and through various media.
At the same time, İsmet and Rıfat Tekin have been fighting for the survival of KiezDöner in Halle since it reopened after a 40-day mourning period. They gathered supporters around them and, together with other survivors, founded the “Soligruppe 9. Oktober” (9th of October solidarity group), which campaigns for a self-determined commemoration of the Yom Kippur attack. Together, they decided to convert the former restaurant into a place of remembrance and redesigned it with the help of donations and many hours of volunteer work. In November 2021, the migrant catering business was finally reopened as TEKİEZ – a Turkish breakfast café that was also intended to be a place of remembrance and exchange.
However, the newly created place of remembrance had to close again in May 2022 owing to financial constraints. Commemoration and educational events continued even after the business was deregistered and the café closed – all on a voluntary basis. However, there is still a lack of concrete political support. Instead, TEKİEZ stays afloat mainly thanks to support from civil society, funds from the pilot project and solidarity from other campaign groups such as the Jewish Student Union from Halle, the Mobile Survivor Counselling Service and the Friedenskreis Halle association. Today, as a space of remembrance and solidarity, the TEKİEZ is a memorial for those affected by right-wing violence, an educational centre against racism and anti-Semitism, a neighbourhood meeting place, a café – a place where people can experience what it can mean to show solidarity with survivors of right-wing violence and the relatives of the those killed.
In addition to the joint fight to preserve the TEKİEZ as a place of remembrance and solidarity, the nationally networked solidarity group has also been organising the annual commemoration in Halle since 2022. The focus is clearly on the perspective of those affected and migrant voices.
This memorial chronicle addresses right-wing, racist and anti-Semitic violence, including specific incidents, backgrounds and consequences. The content may contain incriminating descriptions of violence, discrimination and suffering.
The following fold-out section “Description of the offence” describes specific acts of violence. We would therefore like to point out to those affected and readers that dealing with this content can have a re-traumatising effect. Before accessing the content, please check whether you feel mentally and emotionally able to deal with such topics and, if necessary, do not do so alone.
On 9 October 2019, a right-wing extremist attempted to carry out a massacre in a synagogue in Halle on Yom Kippur, the highest Jewish holiday. The front door withstood his shots and explosives, whereupon he shot Jana L. and Kevin S. and seriously injured two other people. He filmed the crime live and uttered anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. His aim was to kill as many Jews and “anti-whites” as possible. The perpetrator was sentenced to life imprisonment with preventive detention at the end of 2020.
The former KiezDöner – now TEKİEZ – refers to 5 crime scenes:
The crime did not begin on 9 October and did not end on 9 October. The perpetrator used the trial and his imprisonment for self-publicity, to mock the those killed and re-traumatise the survivors.