Nine people, most of them teenagers, lost their lives in a “racist attack” – according to the new memorial inscription – on July 22, 2016 at the Olympia Shopping Center (OEZ) in Munich. An 18-year-old German-Iranian, who was born in the Bavarian capital, judged himself after his incredible act. The shocking backgrounds, motives and new insights from the drama, which had long been portrayed as “a bullying victim’s rampage,” turned into a “right-wing terrorist attack “, now traces the documentary “July 22nd – The shots from Munich”.
The four-part Sky Original true-crime documentary examines the panic in the city (eps. 1), the perpetrator (eps. 2), the crime (eps. 3) and the terror network (eps. 4) from different perspectives. Experts from the police, forensics and medicine, first responders, psychologists, politicians, extremism researchers, investigative journalists and undercover investigators from the customs investigation office, among others, have their say. But also lawyers and the father of Guiliano, who was only 19 years old in the assassination attempt, and an eyewitness.
They all contribute exciting facts and analyzes to the reconstruction of the horrible act. Director and author Johannes Preuss puts together these countless pieces of the puzzle, including emails and chat histories of the perpetrator, which were researched in the years after the assassination, to create a comprehensive picture of the crime. “It’s not about guilt or not-guilt, it’s about working through things – and learning for the future,” Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter explains why meticulous analysis is so important.
“If a documentary is frighteningly up-to-date, then this shows once again how important it is to keep looking behind the scenes of a crime so that mere shock gives way to knowledge,” says Jochen M. Köstler, producer and managing director of Constantin Documentation, about the quarter. And he continues: “Ignorance is a danger that can be fought. This documentary provokes a look in the best sense of the word. A look that makes looking the other way a little less possible.”
In fact, “July 22 – The shots from Munich” is full of details and insights worth knowing. Because of course many people remember how great the panic and diffuse fear of terrorism was in the metropolis when it was not yet clear that a single young man was shooting. Shortly after 6 p.m., the first short messages spread via social media. A few months and weeks earlier, the acts of terrorism in Paris and Nice had shaken the world and burned themselves into the collective memory, and so many rumors quickly circulated, which were supported by videos showing, for example, refugees from the Hofbräuhaus.
According to the police, emergency calls and references to 73 crime scenes were received. For a long time there was talk of several perpetrators. Special task forces searched shops. People were not supposed to leave their houses and apartments, the trains were stopped and around 2,300 officers were on duty. “Fake, errors, wrong perceptions”, as it later turned out. The police did not give the all-clear until well after midnight.
Again and again the documentary deals with the question of accomplices, accomplices and instigators. For example, what did the man who sold the murder weapon to the perpetrator know? The documentary also shows the assassin’s links with an international terror network. It’s about “idols” like the Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik, who also killed 77 mostly young people on July 22 (2011).
And it’s about “copycats”. Traces lead to the shooting spree at Columbine High School (1999) or at Aztec High School (2017) in the USA. Parallels are drawn to the attack in Halle and the murder of Kassel District President Walter Lübcke (both 2019) and connections to the 2015 refugee crisis.
But the very personal possible motives and triggers of the Munich perpetrator are also discussed. There is talk of bullying and severe humiliation, mental illness, a rejected love, his fascination with gaming and the film “Matrix”.
After the attack on the Olympia shopping center was re-evaluated as a right-wing act of violence, the inscription on the memorial was changed in autumn 2020. “Victims of the killing spree” became “In memory of all victims of the racist attack on July 22, 2016”.
The production of Constantin Documentation in cooperation with the Süddeutsche Zeitung on behalf of Sky can be seen exclusively on Sky Crime and on demand via Sky Q and Sky Go from July 21st.
