Berlin truck terror attack to leave a lasting mark on German citizens

BERLINERS have lined the footpaths with red and white flowers as they stand in solidarity for the 12 people killed in the Christmas market attack.

BERLINERS have turned out to show support for those killed in the Christmas market attack, lining the footpaths with red and white flowers, candles and defiant posters.

The truck which mowed down dozens of people, killing 12 and injuring 48 others, was still on the street as the sun came up, its windscreen smashed and a Christmas tree protruding through the right-hand side of the shattered glass.

Police erected white hoarding to conceal the area of the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz which bore the brunt of the deadly attack 12 hours earlier.

But torn cloth, crumpled wooden huts and the damaged trailer from the black truck was still visible.

By 10am, the cab of the truck had been taken away, and police called in a second cab to remove the trailer used with such deadly force the night before.

Workers prepare to tow the truck away. Picture: AFP

Around the soaring tower of the magnificent Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, the remainder of the market was re-opened for pedestrian traffic, but its mulled wine and bratwurst sausage stalls were all closed, their windows shuttered.

Berlin Christmas market attack in pictures

VIEW GALLERY

The Christmas light still blinked on and off but there were signs of last night’s tragedy - an abandoned meal left uneaten on a bench, and strands of lights torn down.

Only hours earlier, it had been a scene of fun and high spirits, as friends and families met to wander the stalls, eat and drink, rugged up warm against the freezing Berlin winter night.

But by morning, it was a sad, grey, abandoned pocket of the city, thronged with journalists and police.

The devastated Christmas market scene the next morning. Picture: AP

Berlin resident Oliver Horn rode his bicycle to the scene to light candles and put up a sign - “meme pas peuro’’ - the words that went up around France after its terror attacks last year which translates to “not afraid’’.

“This is a moving thing and I was talking to friend of mine in Hamburg and we were talking about this and how terrible this is,’’ he told News Corp.

“We don’t understand why people do such things.

“This is what people in France always said after all their attacks they had. I just thought of them too.

“It’s a good sign, I think. They (the terrorists) are not going to win, that’s what I want to say with this.’’

Mr Horn said he hoped Germans would react by going out to other Christmas markets, and “maybe light a candle and show some solidarity’’.

“I hope not too many people will react with fear and with hate,’’ he said.

“This would be the wrong answer.’’

Police armed with machine guns were guarding the scene yesterday, on a prime piece of real estate between the Berlin Zoo and the main shopping area.

The shops immediately around the market were closed and the roads sealed by police but otherwise the city was getting back to normal, with no extra security visible at the airports or major tourist attractions.

A taxi driver from Lebanon said he had taken his family to the market three times, and was grateful he had not been there on Monday night.

“How could someone do this,’’ he asked.

Another resident, Patrick, came to light a candle, saying he wished to show respect and love for the families of those who were killed.

police and firefighters work around the truck that crashed into a Christmas market at Gedächniskirche Church in Berlin. Picture: AFP

The daylight also showed how vulnerable this market was to an attack using a truck - its stalls scattered about an open-air square, on the footpaths and just a metre from the road, with no barriers between the revellers and the traffic.

American woman Shandana Durrani was at the market meeting friends, and said: “I think everybody thought there was a terrorist attack happening. People dropped what they were carrying and ran for cover,’’ she told CNN.

“It seemed like the truck just jumped the kerb and took a wrong turn and burrowed through the crowd.’’

On Monday night, Berlin police had tweeted in German and English asking people to stay away from the scene to allow emergency service workers easy access to the square, as the injured were rushed to clinics and hospitals across the German capital.

They also asked people not to spread videos of the carnage, and to help the police by avoiding spreading “rumours’’.

Strings of Christmas lights still adorned the streets outside the market yesterday.

Heavily armed police with machine guns and dressed in black were guarding the scene, standing in front of a row of Christmas trees, their lights still shining.

Originally published as Berlin truck terror attack to leave a lasting mark on German citizens