Despite all the outpouring of sympathy and help at the height of the refugee crisis in 2015, Germany also got to witness the ugly side of the migrant influx in recent years: hundreds of instances of xenophobic attacks in the wake of the refugee crisis across the country painted a different picture than the open-armed welcome culture observed at train stations and at border posts at the start of the current migration wave.

Xenophobia and racism, however, also existed in Germany prior to the refugee crisis. While the majority of Germans believe in living in a pluralistic society, instances of right-wing extremism and Neo-Nazism have actually gone as far as costing lives in the past. During the 1990s, there were numerous violent attacks on foreigners in Germany following the country's reunification. Expert draw parallels between those incidents and the present challenges Germany faces when it comes to hate toward people with a foreign background.

This week, the country remembers one of the worst xenophobic attacks in its post-war history on its 25th anniversary. On May 29, 1993, five immigrants of Turkish background were killed in an arson attack on their house in the western German city of Solingen. The attack shocked the country and made headline news around the world. Four young men, aged between 16 and 23 at the time, were later found to be guilty of murder in five cases as well as aggravated arson, among other charges. All of them have since left prison.

A message of peace

On the 25th anniversary of the attack, high-ranking politicians from Germany and Turkey met to honor the victims. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu joined German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas during a ceremony to mark the anniversary. German Chancellor Angela Merkel meanwhile attended a commemoration at the state chancellery of the state of North-Rhine Westphalia. During the commemoration, Merkel expressed her wish for "those who come to Germany to feel safe and at home."

They were all joined by Mevlüde Genc – the grandmother of the family who survived the death of five of her family members that day. Now 75 years old, Genc lost two daughters, two granddaughters and a niece on that fateful day. Genc has since risen to become an icon of tolerance in the 25 years since the attack that changed the lives of her entire family.

"Let us all please be friends. Let's live together in peace and create a future, in which such a thing would never happen again. We have to treat each other as brothers, as friends and live together in harmony. If we approach each other with evil intentions, we won't get anywhere," Genc said ahead of the commemorations.

Not a place for politics

The septuagenarian matriarch of the Genc family still calls the city of Solingen home despite everything that happened to her and her family:

"I was 27 years old when I came to Solingen. Nearly 46 years have passed since then. That means that I've spent more time in my life living here than I have in Turkey. I have spent days of my youth as well as days of my old age here. And despite the attack, I still love Solingen as it's my home."

Genc makes a point that her fate, her experience should not be hijacked for political reasons and refuses to speak about politics in interviews:

"This has nothing to do with politics at all. To me, there's no difference between Germans and Turks. Where there's love there will always be peace."

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, however, seized the opportunity of the anniversary to criticize the current state of European politics in a statement on May 28 – despite Genc's wishes to keep politics out of it:

25 years have passed since 5 #Turkish citizens were murdered by a racist arson attack in #Solingen #Germany. Our pain is still fresh after a quarter of a century. We are concerned by the rise of crimes against humanity in Europe such as #racism and #islamophobia. pic.twitter.com/fbwKzGNMyY

— Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (@MevlutCavusoglu) May 29, 2018

Parallels between present and past

But regardless of Mevlude Genc's plea to make this day apolitical, the current political climate does nonetheless cast a long shadow over the commemorations: For the first time in decades, a right-wing populist party has managed to enter the German Bundestag in general elections last year, with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party garnering nearly 13 percent of all votes. Next door in Austria, the ruling government coalition is led by another right-wing populist party, the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), which managed to get 25 percent of the vote in elections last year.

These kinds of parties could make things difficult for migrants trying to come to Europe as they push for tighter immigration rules – as could the voters of right-wing parties. 

Anetta Kahane, head of the Berlin-based anti-racist Amadeu Antonio Foundation, says it is easy to draw parallels between the mood 25 years ago and the situation today. She says the question of how many refugees should be allowed into the country is routinely linked to the question of "whether there are not already too many foreigners."

This, combined with a tendency to view foreigners and refugees as intruders and outsiders "has very much poisoned the mood," Kahane said.

Meanwhile Gökay Sofuoglu, the chairman of the Turkish Community in Germany (TGD), echoed similar sentiments in a statement released on the anniversary of the Solingen attack:

"The remembrance of the victims also serves as a warning: right-wing populist views have come to direct much of the public discourse again when it comes to refugees and migration. We have to form alliances in civil society to counter these extremist currents."