30 years after the Roma attack: Memories and reminders in Oberwart

30 years after the Roma attack: Memories and reminders in Oberwart

In the dark night of February 5, 1995, Oberwart became the scene of a hideous crime when four Roma were brutally murdered. The victims, Josef Simon, Peter Sarközi, Erwin and Karl Horvath, died from an insidious explosive trap that was deposited at a garbage collection point. This cruel deed happened during the attempted removal of a hateful shield with the inscription "Roma back to India". Another explosion in Stinatz followed two days later, in which an employee of the garbage disposal was seriously injured. The investigation met with great resistance, and the perpetrators were initially suspected in their own community until the true background of the attack was known, as .

The investigation finally led to Franz Fuchs, who was found in 1997 as the person responsible for the murderous acts. This self -proclaimed terrorist had previously made a name for himself through a series of letter bombings. A tragic result of his arrest procedure was that Fuchs lost both forearms in a failed attempted suicide. He had never passed his stately murder tattoo until his suicide in 1998 in the Graz-Karlau prison, where he was condemned for life. As a result, however, many questions arose whether Fuchs had acted alone, such as Kurier reported .

The consequences of the attack were far -reaching. Since then, public perception of Roma culture has experienced a fundamental change. The derogatory term "gypsy" has lost in touch and measures were taken to sustainably improve the life situation of the Roma. Significant commemorative celebrations, such as the announced memorial in Oberwart on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the attack, illustrate the continuing memory of the cruel deeds and their effects on society.