Walter Lübcke

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Walter Lübcke (2009)

Walter Lübcke (born August 22, 1953 in Bad Wildungen ; † June 2, 2019 in Wolfhagen - Istha ) was a German politician ( CDU ). From 1999 to 2009 he was a member of the Hessian state parliament and from 2009 until his death he was regional president in the Kassel administrative region . In 2015 he became known throughout Germany for his commitment to refugees and his opposition to Pegida supporters.

On June 1, 2019, right-wing extremist Stephan Ernst Lübcke murdered him on the veranda in front of his house with a head shot from a short distance. After his arrest, he confessed to the planned act and named Lübcke's commitment to refugees as a motive. The convicted perpetrator was sentenced to life imprisonment on January 28, 2021 . The murder case of Walter Lübcke , its background and consequences were discussed nationwide.

Education, jobs, family

Walter Lübcke completed vocational training as a banker . This was followed by eight years as a temporary soldier and advanced training to become a personnel specialist .

He worked as an assistant for press and public relations at documenta 7 and studied economics at the University of Kassel with a focus on human resource management and labor economics.

Parallel to his work as a freelance speaker on economic policy issues, he received his doctorate in 1991 with the title The early attempts at economic planning in the Soviet Union: 1924–1928; Socialism between utopia and pragmatism . From 1986 to 1999 he was head of the Institute for Vocational and Political Education in Rosbach.

From 1989 to 1999 Lübcke was director of the youth education center Haus Mühlberg in Ohrdruf in Thuringia. There was already a solidified neo-Nazi scene there.

With his wife he ran a sideline business as a farmer in Wolfhagen-Istha . In 2009 he handed over the business to his two adult sons and a nephew, who expanded it into a solar energy company.

Politics and other offices

Lübcke had been a member of the CDU since 1986 and from 1987 to 2009 deputy chairman of the city association in Wolfhagen, from 1994 to 2009 district chairman of the CDU Kassel-Land and from 1997 to 2009 deputy district chairman of the CDU Kurhessen-Waldeck. He was a member of the Wolfhagen city council from 1989 to 2009 and was active there from 1997 to 2006 as the deputy head of the city council.

From April 5, 1999 to 2009, he was a member of the Hessian state parliament. While he was in the state election in Hesse in 1999 and in 2008 was selected over the national list, he could at the state election in Hesse in 2003 the constituency Land of Kassel I win. In the state parliament he was transport policy spokesman for the parliamentary group. From April 2003 he was deputy chairman of the subcommittee for expellees, resettlers, refugees and reparations and a member of the committee for economy and transport, cultural policy committee, board of trustees of the Hessian state center for political education, state board of trustees for further education in Hesse as well as the administrative committee at the State Theater Kassel.

In the state elections in Hesse in 2009, Lübcke was defeated by his SPD competitor and left the state parliament because the CDU had won many direct mandates. In May 2009, Interior Minister Volker Bouffier appointed him as the successor to Lutz Klein as district president in Kassel.

In addition to his political activities, Lübcke was a member of the board of trustees of the state center for political education in Wiesbaden , the administrative committee of the Kassel State Theater and the advisory board of Flughafen Kassel GmbH .

He promoted renewable energies and wind farms in rural areas early on . Since his appointment as district president, political opponents have criticized the lack of neutrality in examining applications for such projects. Environmental and bird conservationists accused him of enforcing wind power plants in the Reinhardswald forest , which is worthy of protection, with courtesy reports paid for by the industry . In contrast, Lübcke emphasized that the North Hesse regional assembly had determined the priority areas for wind energy in a non-partisan manner.

As the district president, Lübcke campaigned for the expansion of the airport, motorways and railways. At the request of Prime Minister Volker Bouffier, he wanted to stay in office for six months past his age limit. A few days before his death, he celebrated his ten-year service anniversary. He was seen as open, communicative and close to the people.

Hostility and death threats

Years before Lübcke became known nationwide, the National Socialist Underground (NSU) terrorist group included him on an enemy list with around 10,000 names. According to investigators, he was in the back of the “8000 range”. The list was drawn up between April 2006 (the NSU murder of Halit Yozgat in Kassel) and November 2011 (when the NSU trio was exposed).

As District President, Lübcke held information events on planned refugee accommodation in several towns in the Kassel administrative district in 2015 without any major incidents. On October 14, 2015, he informed a citizens' meeting in Lohfelden about an initial reception center for the state of Hesse in the village. According to Lübcke's press spokesman at the time, the majority of the citizens were positive about the project. According to eyewitnesses and research, however, supporters of Kagida , the Kassel Pegida offshoot, distributed themselves in the hall for targeted interference calls and insulted Lübcke several times and booed. Then he said:

“I am proud that we, as the regional council, with the team, with the volunteers here, have contributed to this, but I also thank the students, what I saw in the newspaper, and the teachers. I once stood up for the school here, so that we also pass this on in school, it also bears fruit that we have a great school, that we work with churches that convey values, where we say it is worthwhile in to live our country. It is worth living in our country. You have to stand up for values, and those who do not uphold these values ​​can leave this country at any time if they do not agree. That is the freedom of every German. "

Immediately after the event, Kagida supporters distributed a short video with Lübcke's final statements on YouTube and Facebook , but omitted the previous insults. By the following day he had received around 350 e-mails, some with death threats, so that the entire process seemed agreed. He forwarded all emails to the public prosecutor for criminal investigation and received temporary police protection. According to Lübcke's spokesman, many of the hate mail and threats came from so-called Reich citizens .

The following day, Lübcke said it was a mistake on his part to respond to the provocations "without informing those present over the loudspeaker about what kind of insults had fallen in front". He referred to the great willingness to help refugees on site and emphasized that his statement was only addressed to the public who despised the state. In response to their frequent heckling such as “shit state” and “malicious remarks”, he reminded them of the Christian values ​​of responsibility and help for people in need:

“I wanted to point out to those hecklers that anyone and everyone in this country who so much reject and despise these values ​​and the consequences of our values ​​is free to leave; in contrast to countries from which people flee to Germany because they do not have this freedom there. "

On the same day, the right-wing extremist blog Politically Incorrect (PI-News) published a short text that misquoted Lübcke: "If that doesn't suit you, you have the right and the opportunity to leave the country". The blog announced the address and telephone number of Lübcke's office. Lübcke's private address appeared several times below. Comments encouraged you to stop by. Some announced Lübcke's death ("The Kasper from Kassel will not last long"). Then PI distributed the video clip with Lübcke's answer and the note "Filed under traitors ". In the following weeks, hundreds of German and non-German commentators posted violent fantasies and calls for murder. They stylized Lübcke as a prime example of German politicians who wanted to implement the alleged secret plans of the “globalists” and the “ New World Order ” to replace white residents with fanatical Muslims. As evidence of this, a photograph appeared that shows Lübcke under their Star of David while visiting the Jewish community in Kassel . The right-wing extremist side "Nuremberg 2.0 Germany - Network of Democratic Resistance" led Lübcke on a list of enemies: He had participated in the " Islamization , the de-democratization, the repopulation of Germany".

In view of the aggressive reactions, the Kassel SPD managing director Patrick Hartmann already warned on October 16, 2015 of the potential danger of the video and said that Lübcke's reaction was deliberately provoked by a few people present: "It is irresponsible to post this video in such a shortened way and the Misrepresent the context. Those responsible for it play with people's fears and have no solutions. "

At a Pegida rally on October 19, 2015 in Dresden, the speaker Akif Pirinçci commented on Lübcke's statement: The “power” in Germany seems to have “put aside the fear and respect for its own people so completely that they recommend leaving the country with a shrug can if he kindly doesn't parry ”. There are other alternatives, but “ unfortunately the concentration camps are currently out of order”. Pirinçci was later convicted of sedition for his speech .

In the following years (January 2016 and February 2018) various people spread the approximately one-minute video clip of Lübcke's answer again and again online. Calls for violence, death threats (for example: "Hang these pigs") and often pictures of the gallows and guns accompanied the video links. The hateful comments against Lübcke stayed online for years (for example: “You should put the guy against the wall right away”; “Shoot this bastard right away!”).

In February 2019, two right-wing extremist blogs revisited the video clip without any current reason or reference to his age and distorted Lübcke's statement. A well-known Reichsbürger blog immediately distributed the clip. Since then, Lübcke has been threatened again and more intensely. The AfD- affiliated politician Erika Steinbach , who left the CDU at the beginning of 2017, linked the clip on Twitter and Facebook in May 2017 and shared it again with around 80,000 Twitter and 40,000 Facebook followers on February 18, 2019. On Twitter she commented: "First, the asylum critics should leave the CDU before they give up their home!" On Facebook she added: "Nothing has really improved ...". So she knew she was pulling out old information. Calls for threats and murder on her Facebook post were not removed.

However, the hate mail addressed directly to Lübcke expired a long time ago. According to information from the Kassel regional council, there were no more politically motivated threats against him shortly before Lübcke's murder.

assassination

On June 1, 2019 between 11:20 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., right-wing extremist Stephan Ernst Lübcke shot dead after a brief exchange of words on the terrace of his home. On June 2, 2019 at 0:30 a.m., Lübcke's younger son found him lifeless and with a head wound. After unsuccessful attempts at resuscitation, the Wolfhagen district clinic found Lübcke's death at 2:35 a.m.

On June 15, 2019, the police arrested Ernst as an urgent suspect. On June 25, he confessed to the fact and stated that he had attended the citizens' meeting in Lohfelden on October 14, 2015 and that he was very indignant about Lübcke's statements there. Since then, he has considered killing Lübcke and has therefore driven to his house several times since 2017. In July 2019 Ernst withdrew the confession and in January 2020 accused his helper Markus H. as the perpetrator. However, on August 5, 2020 in his criminal trial, he admitted that he himself fired the fatal headshot. On 28 January 2021 the court for it sentenced him to life imprisonment, the special weight of the debt stated and left later for safekeeping to.

Mourning and remembrance

On June 13, 2019, a funeral service attended by thousands of citizens was held in the Martinskirche in Kassel . The police and the armed forces held the guard of honor at the coffin, which was covered by a Hessian state service flag . The funeral orators included the Prime Minister of Hesse, Volker Bouffier, and the Lord Mayor of Kassel, Christian Geselle . Lists of condolence were displayed in all the offices of the regional council. All Hessian regional councils and upper state authorities had ordered mourning flags.

On June 15, 2019, a funeral service for his relatives, friends and companions took place in Wolfhagen-Istha. He was then buried in the cemetery where he lived. On the morning of June 22nd, the Protestant church district and the city council of Wolfhagen organized a vigil for Lübcke on the market square there, in which hundreds of citizens from the region took part. Speakers emphasized the Christian impulses of Lübcke's actions and called for resistance against right-wing extremism. In the afternoon around 2000 people demonstrated in Kassel against “right-wing terror”, for the ban and dissolution of the right-wing extremist group Combat 18 , remembered Lübcke and the NSU murder of Halit Yozgat (2006) and threw white roses in the Fulda . 60 local organizations called for this.

In several state parliaments and in the Federal Council , minutes of silence were held in memory of Lübcke at the end of June 2019. When the plenum rose during a minute of silence by the Bavarian State Parliament in honor of Lübcke, the AfD MP Ralph Müller remained provocatively seated - what the rest of the audience considered a “shame for this parliament” and a “humanly disgusting” act of “ Impiety beyond compare ”was recorded.

On June 27, 2019, a demonstration for “democracy, tolerance, diversity and cosmopolitanism” with around 10,000 participants took place in front of the building of the regional council in Kassel, initiated by the Lübcke assassination.

On December 1, 2019, the Hessian constitutional day , Lübcke was posthumously awarded the Wilhelm Leuschner Medal , the highest honor in the State of Hesse, by Prime Minister Volker Bouffier . In January 2020, he was also posthumously awarded the Hercules Prize. In addition, a new Walter Lübcke Democracy Prize was awarded by the State of Hesse , with which personalities, associations or institutions are to be honored who are particularly committed to democratic values.

On June 22, 2020, the district council in Vellmar (Kassel district) decided to rename the Wilhelm Filchner School in Wolfhagen to the Walter Lübcke School .

On the occasion of Walter Lübcke's birthday on August 22, 2020, the large meeting room of the Kassel Regional Council was renamed the Walter-Lübcke-Saal in 2020. In addition, the regional council, in cooperation with Deutsche Post AG, issued an individual stamp. The proceeds from the sale are earmarked for a work of art that should represent three aspects: the person of Dr. Walter Lübcke do justice to express the dismay about the act and the right-wing extremist background of the act and the consequences of it. With the support and advice of the long-time lecturer at the Kassel art college and chairman of the Kassel art association Bernhard Balkenhol, an invitation to tender was drawn up. The work of art that is intended to formulate the encouragement and demand to stand up for values ​​such as freedom, democracy, the rule of law and an open society. The project is also supported by the community foundation for the city and district of Kassel and the Kasseler Kunstverein.

In Fulda , the access road of the planned residential area on Waidesgrund will be called Dr.-Walter-Lübcke-Straße , as the Fulda city council decided unanimously.

The city of Neu-Anspach will rename the square in front of the community center as Dr.-Walter-Lübcke-Platz .

Web links

Commons : Walter Lübcke  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Andrea Dernbach, Matthias Meisner: Bodo Ramelow on the lessons from Halle: "Up to a quarter of the voters receptive to right-wing ideas". Tagesspiegel, October 20, 2019
  2. ^ A b Christoph Schmidt-Lunau, Konrad Litschko: Murder case Walter Lübcke in Hessen: The silence after the shot. taz, June 8, 2019
  3. ^ RP: " Change of Government" in Kassel. Waldeckische Landeszeitung , May 20, 2009
  4. ↑ Katharina Iskandar, Helmut Schwan: Lübcke was shot “at close range”. FAZ, June 3, 2019
  5. ↑ Frank Jansen: Walter Lübcke, President of the Kassel District, was also in the sights of the NSU. Tagesspiegel, June 21, 2019
  6. ^ A b Max Holscher, Anna-Sophie Schneider: Reconstruction of the Citizens' Assembly in Kassel. One sentence - and the hatred afterwards. Spiegel Online, June 26, 2019
  7. ↑ Hans-Gerd Öfinger: Screamers at the hall microphone: Pegida offshoot creates a mood against asylum seekers in Northern Hesse. New Germany , October 20, 2015; Information evening on refugees: 800 visitors in Lohfelden. Hessische / Niedersächsische Allgemeine (HNA), October 15, 2015
  8. ↑ Boris Naumann, Peter Katteritzsch: Refugee debate in Lohfelden: Lübcke allowed himself to be provoked. HNA, October 17, 2015
  9. ↑ a b c Christoph Sydow: Death threats against District President Lübcke. Lokalo24, October 16, 2015
  10. ↑ Zita Zengerling: The trace of hatred. Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), June 17, 2019
  11. ↑ Peter Ketteritzsch: Walter Lübcke in an interview: “I stick to my statement”. HNA, October 16, 2015
  12. ↑ a b Matern Boeselager: The right-wing extremist campaign against the shot CDU politician was so hateful. Vice News, June 4, 2019
  13. ^ Kassel district president: right-wing extremists mock those killed. Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), June 11, 2019
  14. ↑ Katja Thorwarth: Lübcke murder case: "We're shooting the way free" - does AfD language help prepare the ground for right-wing terror? FRI, June 18, 2019
  15. ^ Scandal at the Pegida demo: "Unfortunately, the concentration camps are currently out of order". Spiegel Online , October 20, 2015
  16. ↑ Jost Müller-Neuhof: Akif Pirincci convicted of sedition. Der Tagesspiegel , September 25, 2017
  17. ^ Kai Biermann, Frida Thurm: Case Walter Lübcke: Incited to violence. Time online, June 18, 2019
  18. ↑ Kai Biermann et al .: Walter Lübcke: Who shot him? Time online, June 18, 2019
  19. ↑ Lars Wienand: Erika Steinbach re-heated hatred of Walter Lübcke. t-online.de, June 17, 2019
  20. ^ LKA investigates after the death of Kassel's regional president. SZ, June 3, 2019
  21. ↑ Martín Steinhagen: Lübcke murder case: Walter Lübckes last night. Zeit Online, May 27, 2020
  22. ↑ District President Walter Lübcke died from a close range shot in the head. HNA, June 3, 2019
  23. ↑ New details known from the murder confession. FAZ online, July 7, 2019
  24. ↑ Stephan Ernst admits fatal shot at Walter Lübcke during the trial. Spiegel Online, August 5, 2020
  25. ^ Stephan Ernst sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. SZ, January 28, 2021
  26. ↑ Ulrike Pflüger-Scherb, Frank Thonicke: Funeral service for Walter Lübcke: Thousands at the service in Kassel. HNA, June 13, 2019
  27. ^ Mourning for the District President Lübcke - condolence lists also in the region. Fuldaer Zeitung , June 3, 2019
  28. ↑ Funeral service for Walter Lübcke: "A sad, painful and barely comprehensible occasion". Spiegel Online, June 13, 2019
  29. ↑ Memorial service and funeral: Hundreds of people said goodbye to Walter Lübcke in Istha. HNA, June 16, 2019
  30. ↑ Thousands in a demonstration against the law and a vigil for Lübcke. Hessenschau, June 22, 2019
  31. ↑ Nicholas Buschschlueter: After the commemoration come the critical questions. hessenschau.de, June 18, 2019
  32. ↑ Katja Thorwarth, Ulrich Weih, Daniel Dillmann, Melanie Bäder: Federal Council President Günther calls for the consequences of the Lübcke murder. Frankfurter Rundschau (FR), June 28, 2019
  33. ↑ Lübcke commemoration: AfD deputy causes a scandal. BR.de (Bayerischer Rundfunk), June 27, 2019
  34. ↑ Wolfgang Wittl: AfD deputy triggers scandal when commemorating Lübcke. Süddeutsche Zeitung Online, June 26, 2019
  35. ↑ 10,000 people demonstrate in Kassel against right-wing violence. tagesspiegel.de, June 27; accessed on June 29, 2019
  36. ↑ Demonstration in front of the regional council: Over 10,000 people set a strong signal for tolerance. osthessen-news.de, June 28, 2019; accessed on June 29, 2019
  37. ↑ Large demonstration in Kassel: "We are not the brown swamp of the nation". FAZ.net, June 27, 2019; accessed on June 29, 2019
  38. ↑ Walter Lübcke receives the highest honor after death. t-online.de, July 18, 2019.
  39. ^ Walter Lübcke posthumously awarded the Hercules Prize. January 18, 2020, accessed January 18, 2020 .
  40. ↑ WELT: The new award is intended to remind of Lübcke and promote democracy . December 1, 2019 ( welt.de [accessed January 18, 2020]).
  41. ↑ Wolfhagen now has a Walter Lübcke School. Hessenschau.de, February 28, 2020, accessed on July 3, 2020 .
  42. ↑ In memory of Dr. Keeping Walter Lübcke alive. August 21, 2020, accessed January 20, 2021 .
  43. ^ City of Fulda dedicates a street to Walter Lübcke. May 29, 2020, accessed May 29, 2020 .
  44. ↑ A sign for democracy applied for; in: Taunuszeitung from August 26, 2020, p. 16.
personal data
SURNAME Luebcke, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician (CDU), MdL
DATE OF BIRTH 22nd August 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH Bad Wildungen
DATE OF DEATH 2nd June 2019
Place of death Wolfhagen - Istha