Conny Wessmann

Who was Conny Wessmann?

Cornelia "Conny" Wessmann was a 24-year-old student, when she died on November 17, 1989, during a police raid in Göttingen, Germany. On that day neo-Nazis rioted in the city center of Göttingen. At that time it was often the case that neo-Nazis attacked left-wing institutions or refugee centers. Antifa groups and other people tried to stop the attacks of the Nazis by mobilizing people with telephone chains. Conny Wessmann was part of such a group. When her group arrived at the scene the neo-Nazis were already stopped by the police and brought out of town. The police then followed her group which planned to dissolve near the university campus. Close to the busy Weender Landstrasse the group was attacked by police forces. Trying to escape over the street Conny Wessmann collided with a car and died.

Left-wing groups then blamed the police because of the sudden attack at this dangerous location. The incident got some attention in the media and the Green party put forward an inquiry in the parliament of Lower Saxony. To the criticism of the police contributed the fact that the police discussed over radio before the raid whether they "flatten them" [original German: plattmachen].