26. August 1984
Duisburg
Songül Satır, born on 4 August 1980, was a sensitive girl. She always looked forward to going to kindergarten and loved playing there. Ümit and Songül attended the same kindergarten near the Hitze School and our home. Songül was torn from life at the age of four.
The arson attack in Duisburg in 1984, in which seven people lost their lives, remained invisible to the public for a long time. It was not until 2019, 35 years later, that the Duisburg 1984 campaign group was founded and began to come to terms with the events together with those affected and survivors.
The campaign group advocated a critical examination of racism and the visibility of the perspectives of those affected. In 2019, the first public remembrance and commemoration took place, where survivors and relatives of racist and anti-Semitic violence from all over Germany came together to show solidarity with the survivors, to remember, to listen and to support their demands for recognition and justice. Since 2020, an annual commemorative event has been organised at the memorial site at Wanheimer Straße 301 in Duisburg to remember those affected.
In 2020, a commission of the City of Duisburg, consisting of representatives of the administration, the council, the campaign group and the family, began its work to anchor remembrance and commemoration in the city’s society. On 26 August 2023, the 39th anniversary, a memorial plaque was installed at the memorial site at Wanheimer Straße 301.
In the summer of 2024, the Duisburg 1984 Campaign group disbanded. However, the families, friends and survivors remain in solidarity and networked with other people who have experienced right-wing violence throughout Germany in order to keep the memory of their deceased relatives and their stories alive.
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.
The racist arson attack in Duisburg in 1984: a painful memory
In August 1984, a racist arson attack took place in Duisburg-Wanheimerort that is still painfully remembered today and is little known to the public. The house of the Satır and Turhan families at 301 Wanheimer Straße was the target of this deadly arson attack. Seven people lost their lives and 23 others were injured, some of them seriously.
We remember:
Ferdane Satır (born 15 August 1944)
Çiğdem Satır (born 25 July 1977)
Ümit Satır (born 4 April 1979)
Songül Satır (born 4 August 1980)
Zeliha Turhan (born 23 May 1966)
Rasim Turhan (born 21 January 1966)
Tarık Turhan (born 2 July 1984)
The house was inhabited exclusively by migrants and racialised people. Although the building had previously been smeared with swastikas, the authorities quickly ruled out a racist or extreme right-wing motive. Instead, they suspected a “gang war” as the background to the attack. Survivors were stigmatised as perpetrators. This depoliticisation of the crime remains a painful point in the process of coming to terms with it to this day.
Aynur Satır (2024). 26. August 1984, Duisburg-Wanheimerort. “I will continue to fight – for truth and justice” In: Ali Şirin (ed.), Erinnern heißt kämpfen – Kein Schlussstrich unter unsere Stimme (pp. 42-46).
Magazine “Hinsehen” (December 2024 issue) of the Rhineland Survivors Counselling Service.
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