There is sadness here – but there is also anger.
Many people here see this attack as a terrible security breach. It’s a claim authorities reject, although they have admitted the attacker entered the market using a route planned for emergency services.
Michael, who also came to pay tribute to the victims, said “there should be better security”.
“We should have been prepared better, but it wasn’t done properly.”
Standing at the cordon, I heard a group of local residents loudly complaining about German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and regional politicians.
“They’re wasting our tax money, they’re just looking out for themselves. They are not interested in us. We only hear empty promises,” one man said.
“They are twisting what happened here, they want to blame the opposition and use it for their election campaign,” he said.
On Saturday evening, around the same time as the square in front of Magdeburg’s Gothic cathedral was filled with mourners watching the memorial service, a demonstration took place nearby.
Protesters held a banner reading “Remigration now!” – a concept popular among the far-right – and shouted “those who don’t like Germany should leave Germany”.
