Breitscheidplatz in Berlin.

The Arena Bar in Hanau.

The synagogue in Halle.

These are places that have been etched into our collective memory. Places in which terror and violence targeted society as a whole.

And although these incidents differed greatly, they have one thing in common. In Germany, as in other parts of the world, we have a tendency to focus on the perpetrators. Their motives, their ideologies, their biographies. After all, these are important issues, especially for our security.

But the focus on the violent ideologies behind these attacks must never blind us to those for whom we as a society bear eternal responsibility – the victims of these attacks, the survivors and the bereaved. And the families, too. We are responsible for their pain. But also for their strength and their courage to get on with their lives.

For it takes infinite strength to keep on living. And above all, it takes strength to continue speaking up for their loved ones, the victims. Giving them a voice is vital for the families. But it is also absolutely essential for the survival of our society.

Not only on days of remembrance like today, 11 March, but also on all the other days of the year.

It is the aim of the terrorists to destroy precisely this life, this array of voices, the diversity of a country, a society. Terrorism is not just about the singular, murderous deed. It is also about sowing uncertainty and destroying the fabric of society in the long run. It is about causing people to shun crowds and stop celebrating life, be it at Christmas markets or town fairs. It is an attack on individual citizens, but it also targets our society as a whole.

That is why it is so important to focus on keeping on going, on strengthening community life, after the days and weeks of mourning. And that is also why this day of remembrance is so important. It is a day of remembrance of international significance.

In 2011, a terrorist from the extreme right attacked a summer camp in Utøya, Norway, where 500 young people were assembled. It was no coincidence that this camp was targeted. It was a place where young people had gathered to talk about the future of their country. 77 of them were murdered.

Lisbeth Røyneland, a spokesperson for the bereaved, said these words two years ago, at a ceremony of remembrance in Oslo attended by NATO Foreign Ministers: “We have become involuntary experts with knowledge and competence we never really wanted.”

She gave me a badge bearing the symbol used by the survivors and families worldwide since the attack. A golden heart, encompassing the island of Utøya. And it is precisely this golden heart, this shared mourning worldwide, that has tragically brought us together again recently here in Berlin. We gathered just after Christmas in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church to remember the victims of Magdeburg. In the very place where those bereaved in the terrible attack on Breitscheidplatz paid tribute to their loved ones. We felt the same way as the mourners did in Oslo two years ago. We never wanted to be here. We never wanted this knowledge, this competence. But we are there for the friends and families, now, at this time especially.

The focus in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, as in many other places, was on a sense of community, on being there for one another. On the strength of the bereaved who showed us, who showed society as a whole, that what is important is to make sure that life goes on, that communities remain intact.

“We have become involuntary experts.”

Many of you are involuntary experts. And so we thank you all the more, not just for being here today, but for passing on the knowledge you never wanted to have, and for strengthening our society. For being there so that we as a society, and above all us politicians, can learn from you.

To learn not only what strength it takes to survive, to continue living. But also about the strength found in being part of a network, in standing together in our grief, and above all, what it means not to be divided in all this grief, not to lose our own humanity, and how we can achieve that.

To ensure as a society that terrorist methods will never work. “Never be silent, never forget.” That is Lisbeth Røyneland’s formula for thwarting terrorist methods. For this we thank you. We thank those of you who are here, but also the many, many others across our country whose loved ones were not reported on widely in the newspapers.

This day is dedicated to you.

And of course, given the latest terrible attacks, our thoughts are in particular with all those caught up in them, and with all those whose wounds are too fresh to heal anytime soon. In Solingen, in Magdeburg, in Aschaffenburg, in Munich and most recently again in Mannheim. And with all those whose families have been given less attention.

Indeed, I would therefore like to say, with regard to the latest attack, which again struck at Mannheim – the suffering of the victims, of the bereaved, of the survivors must never be defined by where the perpetrator was born, or how much news coverage this awful terrorist attack was given.

Absolute protection can never be provided in a liberal society.

However, it is our supreme duty, as representatives of the state, which has a monopoly on the use of force, to do everything we can to protect the people – all people, regardless of where they come from. And wherever we have not managed to do this, wherever we have made mistakes, wherever we have more to learn, it is also our responsibility to admit that unequivocally. It is our responsibility to consider time and again where our authorities could have cooperated better. Where our procedures must be improved. And where – as hatred and hate speech take hold in an increasingly digital world – we can make better use of digital solutions for our security. Before and after the fact.

We, the German Government, are facing up to this duty. This day of remembrance, which is marked in a different federal ministry each year, is an expression of this responsibility, which we shoulder together as a society. Precisely because it would be easier to put the blame on others.

In a free country, in a free democratic republic, the only way to ensure the greatest possible security is by working together. By bringing together the federal level, the Länder and local authorities, as well as the population of over 84 million individuals. Individuals who do not look the other way, who confront hatred and hate speech, and thus ultimately oppose terrorist aims.

Individuals in our country have given their lives doing this. They were ready to sacrifice their lives for our free society, to protect other people. Examples include a policeman in Mannheim, a father in Aschaffenburg and last week a taxi driver, once again in Mannheim.

This willingness to stand up for what you think is right – that’s something that is required of us all. Especially in much simpler situations. When people are the target of hate speech and harassment, on the bus, for example. Or online, at school, in the office, out on the street.

This day of remembrance is meant to remind us of that, too. It is obligatory for all of us to stand up for one another. If the goal of terrorism is to divide society, our best response is to stand united, as a community, to retain our humanity.

Islamists and right-wing terrorists share the same mindset. For that reason, the line that separates the two camps on the question of terrorism is likewise not defined by place of birth, but by the question of whether you are on the side of humanity, of free societies and their protection – or if those are the very things you wish to attack.

That is why the fight against terrorism isn’t a solitary campaign. It cannot be fought by one agency alone, by just one German Land, or by one country on its own. The best way to tackle terrorism, as Norway has shown, is through international cooperation.

In the digital world of the 21^st century, terrorism weaves its webs around the globe. It does not stop at borders. And so our response is to weave a worldwide web of international security. For us at the Federal Foreign Office, this year’s host ministry, this also means expanding international cooperation, and supporting other societies in the fight against terrorism.

We have already seen that if Islamist terrorist cells such as Boko Haram or especially IS spread into our neighbourhood, their terror will soon strike Europe, too. For this reason, supporting other countries in the fight against terrorism is also our best means of protecting ourselves. I have seen this in Côte d’Ivoire, where Germany funds an anti‑terrorism centre in Abidjan. And yet the question of why are we spending our money on such things abroad keeps coming back. But it’s not only there, in Côte d’Ivoire, but also in Nigeria, in Mali and Niger, and indeed also in the Middle East, in Iraq and Syria, that terrorists are recruiting their new followers above all in places where there is no hope, where people can no longer feed their own children. Where militias roam through villages to get young people to join their terrorist militias.

Therefore, it is not only the joint support provided by our foreign and interior ministries for the fight against terrorism that is our best form of protection, but also our efforts to improve people’s economic prospects. Humanitarian assistance and development cooperation are crucial in the fight against global terrorism.

Such support is definitely not just charity. It is part of our security in the broader sense. For in this interconnected world, we can only consider security in the broader sense, as integrated in all we do. That also implies that we must link civilian instruments with police and military tasks. I am therefore so grateful to my colleagues in other ministries, but above all to you, Nancy Faeser at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, that we have, in these crisis-ridden times, made progress on this together, also with regard to crisis prevention.

Ladies, gentlemen, all of you, all of us are united by the pain and grief caused by terrorist attacks. But we as a society, as the government, at Land and federal level, bear a responsibility that is derived from this pain. A responsibility to keep the conversation going.

And so I would like to say a big thank you to everybody who has had to live with this pain for decades, and who has shared their experiences.

A responsibility to investigate shortcomings, and to keep on learning, as a free and inquiring society, from this “involuntary competence”. In order then to act, to invest in preventive measures.

Because our unsparing scrutiny of the perpetrators must never interfere with the attention we give the victims and their side of the story. The attention we give the people for whom we mark this day – the children, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers and friends.

Not the statistics about terrorist violence, but people like you and us. Your loved ones, our loved ones.

Today, we give the victims a voice. And not just today, not just on 11 March, but on each and every day of the year.