Protagonists
& descendants
... desperately wanted to sleep over at her grandparents' that night, but wasn't allowed to. Even as a small child she learned what loss means. She is grateful to her parents for not raising her with racist thoughts.
... spent a lot of time with her grandparents as a small child and remembers them as very warm-hearted. Her memories of them are very positive – despite everything. She now has children of her own and tries not to pass on any of the trauma of the attack to them.
... lived at Markgrafenstr. 41 for several years – together with her parents-in-law. There was never any friction back then, she says, and she was very happy. Since 1996 she has taken great care to hold the family together. She makes sure the attack does not dominate everything.
... as a daughter-in-law, she only truly got to know and love her husband's parents in Germany. Her father-in-law had been with them on the very night of the fire. She rarely speaks of her own pain, but rather of sleepless nights and of fear for the children.
... as the daughter of Fethiye and Alahittin Yilmaz, she is convinced that it was definitely a racially motivated attack – at a time when there were many attacks on Turkish people in Germany.
... as the youngest son of Fethiye and Alahittin Yilmaz, he was full of grief and melancholy for 16 years after the attack — until his daughter was born. But even after that, things only went downhill for him – at least that is how it felt. He simply cannot get over it.
... as the eldest son, he especially remembers his conversations with his father. It was very important to his father that the children lived decent lives and did nothing wrong in German society. After the attack he had to take medication for six months. He says he can never forget his father.
