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Walter Lübcke
Image: Uwe Zucchi/Ihe/dpa/picture allianceImage: Uwe Zucchi/Ihe/dpa/picture alliance

Walter Lübcke

Walter Lübcke was a center-right politician from the Christian Democrat Party (CDU). He was killed on June 2, 2019 by a far-right extremist.

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All Content on this topic

Walter Lübcke is seen close up, smiling

Remembering a political murder that shook Germany

Conservative lawmaker Walter Lübcke was killed by a far-right extremist in 2019, sending shockwaves through Germany.
PoliticsJune 2, 2024
Frank-Walter Steinmeier addresses a group of people in Berlin

More and more German mayors want to quit

Across Germany, nearly 11,000 mayors shape local politics. But facing increased threats, many are thinking of resigning.
PoliticsApril 14, 2024
Sign saying 'Bundesgerichtshof"

Top German court rejects appeals in Lübcke murder case

The life sentence handed to the neo-Nazi convicted of murdering politician Walter Lübcke is legally binding.
Law and JusticeAugust 25, 2022
Walter Lübcke

Germany: Trial opens connected to politician's killing

Elmar J. is accused of selling a revolver to convicted killer Stephan Ernst before the assassination of Lübcke.
CrimeJanuary 5, 2022
Marcel Fürstenau

10 years of broken promises after NSU exposure

Marcel Fürstenau
After the NSU was uncovered, the German chancellor promised an unsparing investigation. But the will is still lacking.
PoliticsNovember 4, 2021
Men with bouquets in their hands

Violence against politicans soars

The murder of British MP David Amess exemplifies how politicians worldwide are in increasing danger of their lives.
PoliticsOctober 18, 2021
Pfeifer Hans Kommentarbild App

Verdict in Lübcke case encourages far right

Hans Pfeifer
The accomplice of the man who killed lawmaker Walter Lübcke got off almost scot-free. This sends the wrong signal.
PoliticsJanuary 28, 2021
Stephan Ernst (left) appears in court wearing a face mask

Neo-Nazi found guilty in murder of German politician

The trial over politician Walter Lübcke's murder has raised questions about how German authorities track extremists.
Law and JusticeJanuary 28, 2021
Walter Lübcke, former governor of Kassel |

Neo-Nazi murder trial reveals threat to German democracy

The murder of Walter Lübcke was the country's first political assassination in decades.
Law and JusticeJanuary 28, 2021
demonstrators in Hamburg facing police, holding up a banner which reads "You have learned nothing!"

Neo-Nazi terror: Lübcke's murder and the NSU

The suspects in a high-profile political assassination may have links to the National Socialist Underground.
SocietyJanuary 21, 2021
Black and white photo of Walter Lübcke

Neo-Nazi murder trial takes surprising turns

Last year's murder of politician Walter Lübcke shocked Germany, as it provided evidence of Nazi terrorist networks.
CrimeDecember 7, 2020
The hands of Stephan E., who is accused of murdering politician Walter Lübcke

German far-right suspect admits to killing politician

The main suspect in the killing of regional German politician Walter Lübcke has confessed and apologized in court. 
CrimeAugust 5, 2020
Marcel Fürstenau

Germany must take a firm stand against far-right extremists

Marcel Fürstenau
The move to ban the Nordadler neo-Nazi group sends a strong signal. But there's still much to be done.
SocietyJune 23, 2020
Stephan E. in the courtroom

2 alleged neo-Nazis on trial for killing of German mayor

The trial of two German far-right extremists accused of murdering a pro-refugee politician has begun in Frankfurt.
SocietyJune 16, 2020
Deutschland Trauerfeier für Walter Lübcke, Kasseler Regierungspräsident

A year later, German politician's killing leaves questions

Walter Lübcke's June 2019 death came amid an increase of far-right violence, which Germany is struggling to curb.
PoliticsJune 16, 2020
A portrait of Walter Lübcke, the administrative chief of the western city of Kassel, is on display next to his coffin during a memorial service

Police raid hate-speech suspects in politician's murder case

Internet posts were made before and after pro-refugee politician Walter Lübcke was shot dead in June last year.
CrimeJune 4, 2020
Stephan E. in a mask with armed guards

Neo-Nazi charged with German lawmaker's murder

Prosecutors said "racism and xenophobia" were decisive in the suspect's motive to kill CDU politician Walter Lübcke.
Law and JusticeApril 29, 2020
Walter Lübcke

Lübcke murder suspect linked to failed assassination

The man suspected of killing CDU politician Walter Lübcke may have been involved in a separate assassination attempt.
PoliticsFebruary 28, 2020
Symbolbild - Extremismus in Deutschland

Germany's struggle to stop right-wing extremism

A deadly shooting motivated by deep-seated racism is the third attack by suspected far-right gunmen since June.
PoliticsFebruary 20, 2020
Pistols and Combat 18 material confiscated in an earlier raid

Germany outlaws 'Combat 18' neo-Nazi group

Germany banned a group that saw itself as "Adolf Hitler's task force" and had links to a politician's murder.
CrimeJanuary 23, 2020
The main suspect's lawyer, Frank Hannig, speaks to the press

New twist in case of shot German politician

The main suspect has made a new confession — accusing someone else of firing the gun.
CrimeJanuary 9, 2020
A police reaches towards a pair of handcuffed hands

Germany amps up fight against right-wing extremists

German intelligence officials said an uptick in right-wing extremist attacks have created a "climate of fear."
PoliticsDecember 17, 2019
Pair of jack-booted feet

German state politicians receive death threats

Death threats have been sent to an ally of Angela Merkel and a Green lawmaker in the state of Thuringia ahead of polls.
CrimeOctober 21, 2019
Suspect Stephan E. accompanied by police

Germany: Far-right murder suspect linked to stabbing Iraqi

Prosecutors said the far-right militant had tried to kill the refugee in a "sneak attack."
Law and JusticeSeptember 19, 2019
Right-wing demonstration in Chemnitz

Germany: Federal police's plan to fight far-right extremism

Germany's federal criminal police agency wants to overhaul the structures it uses to fight far-right and hate crimes.
PoliticsAugust 19, 2019
Walter Lübcke

Lübcke killing suspect probed over other attack

Stephan E. is accused of murdering a member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU.
CrimeJuly 26, 2019
Anti-neo-Nazi rally in Kassel

Protests against neo-Nazis in Kassel

Thousands of people have staged a counterprotest against a planned demonstration by a neo-Nazi party in Kassel.
PoliticsJuly 20, 2019
Joe Kaeser

Siemens CEO receives 'far-right' death threat

The CEO of the German industrial giant shared the threat on Twitter, thought to have been sent by neo-Nazi extemists.
CrimeJuly 12, 2019
Walter Lübcke's house in Wolfhagen-Istha

Politician's killing prompts call for tracking neo-Nazis

Lower Saxony Interior Minister Boris Pistorius says agents could adapt tools that monitor suspected religious threats.
PoliticsJuly 8, 2019
Weapons and a flag belonging to the neo-Nazi group "Combat 18"

Combat 18: The neo-Nazi network facing German ban

Observers say it is "absurd" that the group, the militant wing of another neo-Nazi group, has not yet been outlawed.
Law and JusticeJuly 5, 2019
Far-right Pegida supporters demonstrate in Dresden, Saxony

German far-right supporters condone politician's murder

Prosecutors in Dresden have begun an investigation into Pegida supporters who scoffed at the murder of Walter Lübcke.
Law and JusticeJuly 5, 2019
DW Conflict Zone | Beatrix von Storch

Is Germany's far-right AfD party a one-trick pony?

Is the anti-immigrant AfD party a one-trick pony?
PoliticsJuly 3, 2019
Home of slain German politician Walter Luebcke in Wolfhagen-Istha, near Kassel, German

Suspected politician killer recants confession

An attorney for Stephan E. has said his client withdrew his guilty plea in a murder case that has shocked the country.
CrimeJuly 2, 2019
Nazi demo in Chemnitz

German neo-Nazi doomsday prepper network uncovered

Neo-Nazi preppers in Germany ordered body bags in preparation for social collapse, according to the BfV.
CrimeJune 29, 2019
Thousands of people rally against violence in Kassen after Walter Lübcke's death

Thousands rally to protest politician's death

Thousands of people turned out in Kassel to protest local politician Walter Lübcke's death, and right-wing extremism.
CrimeJune 27, 2019
von der Mark Fabian Kommentarbild App

German politician's death must be a wake-up call

Fabian von der Mark
It's clear the threat of right-wing extremism has grown. Germany must make fighting it one of its highest priorities.
PoliticsJune 27, 2019
Horst Seehofer (right) and Thomas Haldenwang

Germany records uptick in far-right extremist violence

The domestic intelligence agency has been accused of blindness to neo-Nazi terrorist cells in the country.
Law and JusticeJune 27, 2019
Police in Erfurt, Germany, evacuate city hall after bomb threat

German city halls evacuated over bomb threats

Police are determining if there is a link to bomb threats that forced the evacuation of four city halls across Germany.
CrimeJune 26, 2019
A photo of Walter Lübcke at a memorial in Hesse

Suspect in politician's murder confesses

The suspect in the killing of a local German politician has reportedly confessed, according to parliamentarians.
CrimeJune 26, 2019
The AfD logo

Merkel's CDU: Hard 'no' to AfD cooperation

The center-right CDU have called the AfD a party that "tolerates anti-Semitism, racism" and far-right extremism.
PoliticsJune 24, 2019
Memorial to Walter Lübcke

Hundreds attend vigil for slain politician

As the German town of Wolfhagen remembered Walter Lübcke, Angela Merkel said Germany had a duty to confront extremism.
PoliticsJune 22, 2019
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas

'Germany has a terrorism problem,' says foreign minister

In the wake of an apparent murder on a pro-migrant politician, Maas said Germany must act against right-wing extremism.
CrimeJune 22, 2019
Funeral for Walter Lübcke

German politician's death 'was execution'

The head of Germany's Cities Association has termed the gunshot death of a senior local politician an "execution."
PoliticsJune 21, 2019
German constitution

Forfeiting basic rights under the constitution?

The former secretary-general of the CDU wants enemies of the constitution to forfeit important basic rights.
PoliticsJune 20, 2019
Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker

Death threats sent to pro-refugee politicians

Cologne's mayor and other politicians have received death threats in letters likely sent by right-wing extremists.
CrimeJune 20, 2019
A picture of Walter Lübcke sits on a chair at a memorial in the Hesse state parliament

AfD 'complicit' in German politician's killing

Conservatives criticized the rhetoric of the AfD, saying it is partly to blame for the killing of a German politician.
PoliticsJune 19, 2019
Marcel Fürstenau

Opinion: Politician's murder an attack on democracy

Marcel Fürstenau
German politician Walter Lübcke's killer may have been targeting the heart of Germany's democratic system.
PoliticsJune 18, 2019
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer

Germany probes 'right-wing extremist' murder

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has described the perpetrator as a "right-wing extremist."
TerrorismJune 18, 2019
The funeral of Walter Lübcke

Neo-Nazi terrorism suspected in politician's murder

A member of Chancellor Merkel's CDU party, the murdered politician supported her pro-migration stance.
CrimeJune 17, 2019
Wolfhagen-Istha Regierungspräsident Walter Lübcke erschossen Polizei

'Far-right motive' behind murder of German politician

However, investigators have no evidence the suspect was part of a terror network.
CrimeJune 17, 2019