Berlin – German authorities believe antisemitism was one of the factors that led a man near Berlin to kill four members of his family and then himself last year.
The bodies of the man and his wife, both 40, and their children aged 10, 8 and 4 were discovered with gunshot wounds at their home in Brandenburg state on December 7 2021. Prosecutors said at the time that a note also found at Koenigs Wusterhausen’s townhouse said the man feared a fake coronavirus vaccination certificate could lead to the kidnapping of their children.
Germany’s Interior Ministry said in a written response to left-wing party MP Petra Pau that investigators had found chat messages showing the father believed the state’s vaccination campaign was part of a plan “to halve the world’s population and establish a new world order under Jewish rule”.
Judith Porath, who heads a group that helps victims of far-right violence in the state of Brandenburg which published excerpts from the letter on Friday, said the incident showed how antisemitic conspiracy theories spread are being spread among those who oppose government measures against the coronavirus pandemic.
She called on authorities to continue their investigation into the case to determine how the man became radicalized and whether others knew of his plans.
