Silvio Meier

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Silvio Meier
Mezzanine floor at the Samariterstraße west exit, the place where Meier died
The current memorial plaque from 2007

Silvio Meier (born August 12, 1965 in Quedlinburg ; † November 21, 1992 in Berlin ) was an activist of the left-alternative scene in Berlin and a squatter . In 1992 he was killed by neo-Nazis at the Samariterstraße subway station in Berlin-Friedrichshain .

Life

Silvio Meier came from the GDR . In 1986 he moved from Quedlinburg to Berlin-Friedrichshain on Simon-Dach-Straße . As an activist of the so-called “open work” of the Evangelical Church in the GDR , he was involved a. a. in the environmental library and the church from below .

He took part in the organization of an unofficial concert with Element of Crime from West Berlin and the (East) Berlin underground band Die Firma on October 17, 1987 in Berlin's Zionskirche . At the end of the concert, around 30 neo-Nazis stormed the church under the eyes of the People's Police and Stasi . They hit the audience with planks and bottles. The attack caused an international stir in the media. (See attack on the Zion Church )

After the peaceful revolution in the GDR in 1989 , Meier was active as a squatter in the alternative scene.

On the day of his murder, Meier and some of his friends had a fight with eight right-wing extremist youths and one of them tore a patch with the inscription “I am proud to be a German” off the jacket. When they met the neo-Nazis again, they drew knives and stabbed the group. Meier was killed with several stings and two of his companions were seriously injured. According to the witness report, the saying "Now we've shown you, you left swine!"

The juvenile criminal division of the Berlin-Moabit Criminal Court sentenced 17-year-old Sandro S., who carried out the fatal stabbing, to four and a half years imprisonment for manslaughter in juvenile criminal proceedings. The co-defendants, 18-year-old Sven M. and 17-year-old Alexander B., received prison sentences of three and a half years and eight months, respectively, the latter was suspended. The rest of those arrested were not charged .

Commemoration

Vigils and demonstrations

Immediately after Meier's death, young people set up a vigil at the Samariterstraße subway station. Since then, a vigil organized by Antifa groups has taken place here every year and a memorial demonstration on the weekend following the day of death .

From parts of Meier's personal environment, the political appropriation of his person and his assassination are viewed critically, including the hero reception associated with it.

Plaque

A memorial plaque was put up in the subway station, which was repeatedly violated. The BVG also had this plaque removed several times and only decided to leave it in its place after public protest. During the renovation of the subway station in 2005, the memorial plaque disappeared again, but was replaced and reassembled by the construction company responsible. It was also stolen several times, most recently in August 2007. In 2010 the plate was smeared with tar paint a few days before the Silvio Meier demonstration.

Street naming

Image of the renaming to Silvio-Meier-Straße

Antifa groups and the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district association of the Left Party demanded that a street be named after Silvio Meier by 2012. A request by the Left to name the district library that was opened in November 2010 after Silvio Meier received a majority on August 31, 2011 in the culture committee of the district assembly rejected with reference to a pending public participation. Finally, on June 26, 2012, the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district assembly with the parliamentary groups of the SPD, Greens, Left and Pirates approved a street name. This is an exception to a rule that applies in the district, according to which new streets should be named after women until a quota of women of 50 percent is reached. It was planned to rename Gabelsbergerstraße in a festive act to Silvio-Meier-Straße on November 21, 2012, the 20th anniversary of Silvio Meier's death . Due to a lawsuit by a businessman based in Gabelsbergerstrasse, the renaming could not be carried out as planned. In March 2013, however, the lawsuit was withdrawn and the name was changed on April 26, 2013.

Silvio Meier Prize

The district office and district assembly of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg have been awarding the Silvio Meier Prize since 2016 . This is intended to "honor and support people, associations, initiatives and projects who work in an outstanding way against right-wing extremism, racism, exclusion and discrimination."

Web links

Commons : Silvio Meier  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martin Klesmann: 25th anniversary of Silvio Meier's death: A freedom-loving father, killed by a neo-Nazi . In: Berliner Zeitung . ( berliner-zeitung.de [accessed on November 28, 2017]).
  2. ↑ Philip Banse : Right-wing extremists in the anti-fascist state. Deutschlandradio Kultur broadcast “Fazit”, September 26, 2006, accessed on November 21, 2017.
  3. ↑ a b Right Violence 1992–1993 . Der Tagesspiegel , September 13, 2000, accessed on November 21, 2017.
  4. ↑ Gereon Asmuth: "Intercession services do nothing" . taz , November 21, 2002, accessed on November 21, 2017 (report by the friend of Silvio Meir, Ekkehard S.).
  5. ↑ Dirk Moldt : Street for Silvio Meier: The life of dead heroes . taz , April 26, 2013, accessed November 21, 2017.
  6. ↑ Hannes Heine: Left Alliance: Street should remember Silvio Meier. Der Tagesspiegel , November 14, 2010, accessed on November 21, 2017.
  7. ↑ Peter Nowak : District lets Meier rest: Friedrichshain Library is not initially named after the murdered Silvio Meier . taz , September 6, 2011, p. 23, accessed on November 21, 2017.
  8. ↑ Harald Martenstein : Street renaming in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg: Women, on the streets! tagesspiegel.de , April 28, 2013, accessed July 29, 2016.
  9. ↑ Karin Schmidl: Squatters and anti-fascists: A street for Silvio Meier . Berliner Zeitung , 4./5. August 2012, p. 23, accessed on November 21, 2017.
  10. ↑ Tiemo Rink: Silvio Meier: Why a businessman complains against the renaming in Silvio-Meier-Straße . Der Tagesspiegel , November 24, 2012, accessed on November 21, 2017.
  11. ↑ Peter Kirschey: The lawsuit is unsuccessful - Silvio-Meier-Strasse is coming . Neues Deutschland , March 9, 2013, accessed on November 21, 2017.
  12. ^ Award of the Silvio Meier Prize in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg . Press release of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg District Office, July 21, 2016, accessed on November 21, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME Meier, Silvio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German left-alternative activist
DATE OF BIRTH August 12, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Quedlinburg
DATE OF DEATH November 21, 1992
Place of death Berlin