Germany’s Role and Response to the September 11 Attacks

‘This day changed the world,’ said German President Johannes Rau, who watched in horror as the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed in New York.

Approximately 3,000 people lost their lives on September 11, 2001, after Islamist militants hijacked four commercial aircraft and used them as weapons.

Eleven German Nationals Among the 9/11 Victims

Germany’s head of state struggled to find the right words: ‘We cannot yet gauge the political or social repercussions of today’s events—what we have witnessed on television leaves us shocked, struggling to comprehend or even process it.’

It later became clear that victims hailed from 92 nations, including 11 Germans.

The next day, rumors were confirmed: three of the four suspected hijackers had recently resided in Hamburg. Investigators believed the cell was led by Egyptian-born Mohammed Atta, who had moved to the northern German city in the early 1990s to pursue his studies.

Mohammed Atta and the Hamburg Network

At some point, he became radicalized, especially after attending Hamburg’s Al‑Quds Mosque—a venue later shut down by German security forces. During the final three years of his life, he lived in an apartment in the Harburg district with two other suspected accomplices.

Authorities alleged that the Hamburg cell comprised six individuals, including Moroccan national Mounir al‑Motassadeq. He faced charges in the first trial worldwide linked to the September 11 attacks. In 2003, the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court handed him the maximum 15‑year sentence for aiding and abetting thousands of murders and for belonging to a terrorist organization.

German‑Born Murat Kurnaz Detained at Guantanamo

After completing his sentence, al‑Motassadeq was deported to Morocco. Another associate of the Mohammed Atta circle, Ramzi Binalshibh—a Yemeni national—remained imprisoned without trial at the US Guantanamo Bay detention camp from 2006 onward.

The United States held hundreds of detainees at the facility, a practice condemned by human rights organizations and international bodies as violating international law. Among those detained was Murat Kurnaz, born in Bremen, who was released in August 2006 after almost five years of captivity despite a lack of evidence linking him to the terrorist attacks.

Kurnaz later documented his ordeal in a book that was adapted into a film in 2013.

Guantanamo still open 20 years on

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Frank‑Walter Steinmeier Before the Investigative Committee

Meanwhile, German Bundestag investigative committees examined why Kurnaz and other individuals had erroneously drawn the attention of US and German intelligence services. Among those summoned to testify was then‑Foreign Minister and current German President Frank‑Walter Steinmeier.

The core of the inquiry centered on why German security officials denied the potential repatriation in 2002 of the German‑born detainee who possessed a Turkish passport.

‘No one doubts, and I do not either, that Mr. Kurnaz endured severe hardship in Guantanamo,’ Steinmeier remarked. ‘That is why we also sought to guarantee his treatment in line with the rule of law. At the same time, please recognize that we were equally bound to safeguard security within our own nation.’

Gerhard Schröder Declares Unconditional Solidarity

The Kurnaz episode highlighted the strain on German policymakers following the US terrorist attacks. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder addressed parliament the next day.

‘Yesterday, September 11, 2001, will be remembered as a dark day for all of us,’ the Social Democrat said.

He conveyed to the American president the profound condolences of the German populace.

‘I also assured him of Germany’s unconditional—I repeat, unconditional—solidarity,’ Schröder stated.

He added that Germany would provide any assistance the United States requested, ‘including, of course, identifying and pursuing those responsible for these heinous attacks.’

German Bundestag Enacts Anti‑Terror Legislation

Schröder’s comments set the stage for a series of stringent measures. Just weeks after the attacks, the Social Democrat–Green coalition unveiled its initial security package, which included increased funding, additional personnel, and expanded authority for police and intelligence agencies.

Religious groups that had previously enjoyed special protection could now be prohibited like any other organization if their actions conflicted with the Basic Law—the constitutional foundation of freedom and democracy—or if they pursued criminal objectives. Fewer than four months after the US attacks, Germany’s Anti‑Terrorism Act entered into force.

Intelligence services gained access to personal data held by banks, airlines, and telecom providers, while immigration legislation was tightened.

Through indiscriminate data‑mining operations—cross‑checking vast datasets without specific suspicion—authorities attempted to uncover potential sleeper agents, such as Mohammed Atta of the Hamburg cell, who had evaded detection by security agencies.

The Federal Constitutional Court put an end to this controversial practice, ruling in 2006 that such searches are allowed only when a concrete threat exists. Seven years later, the same court declared that portions of Germany’s anti‑terrorism database were unconstitutional.

Germany’s Participation in the Afghanistan War

The September 11, 2001, Islamist terrorist attacks triggered extensive and enduring military repercussions. The United States commenced strikes against the Taliban in Afghanistan as early as October 2001, after the Taliban refused to surrender Osama bin Laden, leader of al‑Qaeda and the suspected mastermind behind the attacks.

Germany entered the US‑led conflict in December 2001. The war endured for two decades, concluding in August 2021 when the Taliban regained control. Approximately 3,600 international troops lost their lives, among them 59 members of the German Bundeswehr and three German police officers.

The remarks made by German President Johannes Rau on September 11, 2001, in the wake of the Islamist terrorist attacks in the United States, continue to echo today: ‘This day has changed the world.’

This article was originally published in German.

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