»In Der zweite Anschlag I felt it important to give the protagonists the opportunity to present their own perspectives. Much too often, the stories of people affected by events have been pushed to the sidelines; their story has been told for them instead of somebody talking to them.«
– Mala Reinhardt

For decades and with frightening continuity, there have been repeated numbers of racially motivated attacks, violent assaults, through to attempted murders and threats against people from a migrant background who live and work in Germany. In Der zweite Anschlag, those affected by this violence describe the traumatic experiences that they and their families have been forced to endure – also due to the inadequate re-examination of the events in the years that followed. Talking and remembering after a long period of silence becomes an act of self-empowerment and political action. One of the protagonists here is Ibrahim Arslan: when aged seven, he narrowly survived the racist arson attack in Mölln in 1992. His sister, cousin and grandmother all died before emergency services arrived. Today, Ibrahim Arslan – like many others, who are now all networked together – is actively fighting for the authority to interpret his own history. Following the attack, his family were subjected to further hostility from the public, the authorities and the media. According to Arslan, this second attack was worse than the arson attack because it could have been avoided. Since he is not given any part to play in the planning of the annual memorial service of the city of Mölln, he organizes his own service. Through his public address he inspires others, like Osman Taşköprü, whose brother Süleyman was killed by the German neo-Nazi terrorist group NSU in Hamburg in 2001. Police have been investigating Osman and his family for years. At the NSU-Tribunal forum in Cologne he meets other victims and people who support him. (BS)

Film Series New Archives