How has the activism, research and art following Hanau and other right-wing terror attacks impacted the narratives and political responses to these instances of violent hate? Commissioned by survivors and families of the victims of the Hanau racist murders, the human rights investigations agency Forensic Architecture conducted research on the attack that showed the negligences of the Hesse State Police. Counter investigations as this disrupt the usual cycle of fast-forgotten political remembrance following such attacks. What can civil society achieve by weaving together multiple public forums and connecting different streams of political work? How was Hanau different in connecting anti-racist initiatives? Is thorough fact-finding a way of honouring those lost?

Robert Trafford is research coordinator at the cutting-edge human rights investigations agency Forensic Architecture.

Massimo Perinelli is a historian and consultant for migration at the Rosa-Luxemburg Foundation who has done extensive research on the self-empowerment of antiracist movements in Germany.