15 years later, pain and unanswered questions remain

When the NSU's crimes came to light in November 2011, years of uncertainty ended for the families of the murder victims. Nevertheless, her pain continues to this day - because the investigation files continue to be stored for many years

NSU exposure 15 years later, pain and unanswered questions remain As of: November 4th, 2026 • 12:36 p.m

When the NSU's crimes came to light in November 2011, years of uncertainty ended for the families of the murder victims. Nevertheless, their pain continues to this day - because the investigation files still have many blank spaces.

Gamze Kubaşık stands in front of a stone quarry in the middle of Dortmund. "Memorial to the victims of right-wing extremist violence". Ten names are engraved on the back with the date and place of death. The eighth name is Mehmet Kubaşık. Gamze Kubaşık's father was murdered on April 4, 2006. He was shot dead in his kiosk in Dortmund by the right-wing extremist terrorist group NSU.

But Gamze Kubaşık didn't know that at the time. She only found out five years later who the perpetrators were and what the background to the murder was. A friend calls her on November 4, 2011 and tells her to turn on the TV. "I saw pictures of the two perpetrators, pictures of a trailer and also of my father and the other victims, but I couldn't put them in context," she remembers. Only gradually does the puzzle come together for them.

The NSU series of murders began 25 years ago - how are the survivors doing today - what consequences were drawn? more

After a bank robbery in Eisenach, the neo-Nazis Uwe Böhnhardt and Uwe Mundlos initially escape. When police officers discovered them in a trailer, they shot themselves. Shortly afterwards, her accomplice Beate Zschäpe sets a fire in their shared hiding place in Zwickau. There, among other things, investigators found a copy of a confessional video in which the NSU confessed to several robberies, attacks and ten murders.

Enver Şimşek, Abdurrahim Özüdoğru, Süleyman Taşköprü, Habil Kılıç, Mehmet Turgut, İsmail Yaşar, Theodoros Boulgarides, Mehmet Kubaşık and Halit Yozgat were killed for racist reasons between 2000 and 2006. The motive for the murder of police officer Michèle Kiesewetter in 2007 is still unclear today. Many other people are seriously injured in explosive attacks, including on Keupstrasse in Cologne in 2004.

"It was a real turning point for this country that it was possible for neo-Nazis to roam the country and murder for so long," says publicist Tanjev Schultz, who has followed the investigation into the NSU complex in investigative committees and in court.

And for Gamze Kubaşık, the exposure of the NSU also marks a turning point in her life. “I just felt that I had been carrying a burden for years and that I was finally able to lift myself up that day,” she says. After the murders, she, her siblings, her mother and the other victim families themselves become the focus of the investigation. The police and public prosecutors suspect them and accuse the families of being involved in drug deals or mafia structures. Media reports speculatively about “doner kebab murders”.

Despite evidence - including from families - the investigators did not see a right-wing extremist racist motive or even a connection between the crimes until they were unmasked. "For many years, the victims' families were actually left alone; they were not believed. The investigators actually criminalized them," says Tanjev Schultz. That's why Gamze Kubaşık still doesn't let go of the question: "Could the crime against my father have been prevented?"

Even after the NSU was exposed, the investigation into the crimes is progressing slowly. Investigation files can suddenly no longer be found or have even been destroyed. Officials involved stonewall and do not make any statements. There is also criticism of the constitutional protection authorities. Important information from undercover agents who worked around the trio was not passed on. "I'm totally honest and can say that I have lost trust in our state," says Gamze Kubaşık.

The traffic light parties want to create a place of remembrance and a documentation center for the victims of the NSU. more

After more than four years and 430 days of negotiations, the trial against Beate Zschäpe before the Munich Higher Regional Court comes to an end in July 2018. She is sentenced to life imprisonment. Four co-accused helpers also received prison sentences. For Gamze Kubaşık, however, many questions still remain unanswered. “I just want to know what did the Office for the Protection of the Constitution know and what was the state hiding from us,” she says.

She and the other victims' families are convinced that the trio had a large circle of supporters in the right-wing extremist scene who spied on crime scenes and victims. Tanjev Schultz also thinks this is possible. "It was also the case that the NSU itself spoke about it being a network of comrades in its confessional video." He also sees many unexplained aspects of the NSU complex.

Gamze Kubaşık continues to fight for information together with the other victim families. She repeatedly speaks publicly about what happened, does educational work in schools, and organizes memorial events. "It's a job that takes a lot of energy out of me," she says. But she feels a responsibility - especially towards her dead father.