A Turkish victim of neo-Nazi hatred, a messenger of peace dies in Germany

Mevlude Genc has died in Germany's Solingen. She worked for reconciliation between Turks and Germans, even appearing alongside former chancellor Angela Merkel, after five members of her family died in a racist attack in 1993 when neo-Nazis set fire to her family house.

The German authorities said on Sunday that Genc died at 79, providing no further details.

Genc and her husband Durmus, who had immigrated from Türkiye to Germany decades ago, lost two daughters, two granddaughters and a niece when Nazi extremists set fire to their home in the western city of Solingen in 1993.

Four Germans were later convicted of murder and attempted murder. They were sentenced to between 10 and 15 years in prison for the arson in which 17 people were also seriously injured.

The attack and others that occurred around the same period stoked international concerns about resurgent neo-Nazi sentiment following German unification in 1990. Many of the victims were Turkish immigrants who came to Germany as “guest workers” after World War II as the country was suffering from an extreme labour shortage.

Despite her devastating loss, Genc appealed to Turks and Germans alike to overcome hatred and reach out to each other.

“The death of my family should open us up to be friends,” she said during a memorial ceremony shortly after the attack. “Let’s live together hand in hand.”

State governor Hendrick Wuest said Genc “embodied like few others the belief in the goodness of human beings.”

“Her legacy will live on,” he wrote on Twitter. “Our thoughts are with her family.”

Wise woman

Mevlude Genc lost five members of her family in the neo-Nazi attack in 1993: Saime Genc, 5; Hatice Genc, 18; Hulya Genc, 9; Gulistan Ozturk, 12; and Gursun Ince, 28.

While Mevlude Genc said that she could "never get over her sorrow until the day I die" she also was praised for spreading messages of love and understanding and was hailed as a 'Wise Woman'.

Her funeral will be held on Tuesday in Solingen after which her body will be transferred to Türkiye for burial, in her hometown of Amasya.

Genc had been living in Germany since 1975.

Immortalised on film and in print

A film centred on the Mevlude Genc's message of peace premiered in June 2022 in Cologne, Germany.

"The Wise Mother" was shot with the support of Türkiye's Ministry of Culture and Tourism as well as the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB). There was also a book published on Mevlude Genc alongside the film.

Speaking at the premiere, Mevlude Genc said "We live together in love, respect, understanding, unity, community, in good days and bad days. We live in this country [Germany], our grandchildren are here, let our people multiply here, we should always show tolerance to each other. Hate kills, hate escalates. We should value each other, all humans should value each other. There is no door that kindness won't open, let us be good, let us live together as brothers and sisters."

YTB President Abdullah Eren said the goal of the documentary and the book was to introduce Mevlude Genc to both Turkish and German society in greater detail.

Eren said "Mevlude and [her husband] Durmus lived through perhaps the greatest pain that a person can experience in life. They lost two children, two grandchildren and a niece in a racist attack. They had to put into the ground young souls.

But our aunt Mevlude taught us the virtue of forgiveness after this horrific event with her calm demeanour and her wisdom. She exemplified the motto of 'We love the creation because of the Creator' in her life and set an example for us."

Outpouring of sympathy

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke over the phone with Genc’s son to offer his condolences.

President of the Turkish Parliament Mustafa Sentop visited the Genc family in Germany along with AK Party Istanbul MP Zafer Sirakaya and Türkiye's Berlin Ambassador Ahmet Basar Sen. The group went to the family's home in Solingen and offered their condolences to Mevlude Genc's husband Durmus Genc and her son Kamil Genc.

The German chancellor on Sunday issued a message of condolence over the death of Mevlude Genc.

“As a voice of reconciliation, she will never be forgotten: Mevlude Genc lost two daughters, two granddaughters and a niece in the right-wing extremist arson attack in #Solingen in 1993. Today she died,” Olaf Scholz said on Twitter.

“My condolences to her family, başınız sağolsun (my condolences),” Scholz added in Turkish.