Memorial Event for Hamburg NSU Victim S"uleyman Taşkoğlu - Hamburg honors Süleyman Taşköprü 25 years after far-right murder
A memorial event will mark the 25th anniversary of Süleyman Taşköprü's murder by far-right terrorists. Four parliamentary groups in Hamburg—SPD, Greens, CDU, and the Left Party—are organising the commemoration at the end of June. The event follows years of calls for recognition and justice in a case that remains unresolved in the city's political record.
Süleyman Taşköprü was shot dead in his fruit and vegetable shop in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld on June 27, 2001. The killers, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Böhnhardt of the National Socialist Underground (NSU), targeted him as part of a series of murders between 2000 and 2007. Their victims were mostly small business owners of migrant descent, along with a police officer.
For years, investigators focused on the victims' personal lives rather than the far-right motive. This failure delayed justice and left families, including Taşköprü's wife and young daughter, without answers. Unlike other German states, Hamburg never launched a parliamentary inquiry into the NSU crimes committed there. The memorial event, coordinated by the association *Licht ins Dunkel* and supported by the Senate, aims to honour Taşköprü's memory. It also seeks to strengthen Hamburg's culture of remembrance and stand against far-right violence. Parliamentary groups have stressed the need to centre the family's wishes in the planning. In 2025, Ruhr University Bochum began a study on Hamburg's NSU complex, commissioned by the Bürgerschaft. This research comes years after other states, such as Hessen and Nordrhein-Westfalen, completed their own inquiries. The delay highlights Hamburg's slower response compared to regions that established committees between 2011 and 2017.
The event will take place in late June, aligning with the Taşköprü family's requests. It arrives as part of broader efforts to address Hamburg's unexamined NSU history. While the scholarly study progresses, the memorial serves as a public step toward acknowledging the failures of the past.
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