Heiko Maas, the federal minister of justice, apologized to the victims and their relatives for the shortcomings in the fight against terrorism and the failure to prevent a terrorist attack on German soil in his publication for the Tagesspiegel newspaper.
"We were not sufficiently prepared to deal with the consequences of such a terror attack. For that, we can only apologize to the victims and their surviving relatives," Maas wrote. "It remains a never-ending task of politics in a democratic constitutional state to learn from mistakes and to assume our responsibility towards the victims of terror," he added.
He also suggested introducing changes to the country's legislation so that all victims of terrorist attacks could receive equal treatment and corresponding compensation regardless of their nationality or the weapons used during the attack.
"A terrorist attack causes considerable financial damage to those affected. We should urgently review what changes are needed to be made to better financially support those injured and bereaved as a result of a terrorist attack. The current amounts are rather low by international standards," Maas wrote.
READ MORE: German Police Detain New Suspects in 2016 Christmas Market Attack Investigation
Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also stated on Tuesday that the authorities failed to adequately support the victims' relatives.
"It is true that some support came late and remained unsatisfactory," the politician said, adding that many families affected by the tragedy "felt abandoned by the state."
"I can't get those words out of my head," Steinmeier admitted, saying that those words as well as other relatives' appeals had "triggered something and set it in motion."
In her turn, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with the victims' relatives on Monday afternoon to express her sympathy and readiness for support, according to Tagesspiegel.
Kurt Beck, who was responsible for monitoring the handling of the aftermath of the terrorist attack said that the whole process was poorly organized, with the victims' relatives unable to obtain information about their beloved ones for days. He also noted that the meeting between Merkel and the victims' relatives came too late.
🆘‼️😬🔥 #Germany: German Chancellor #Merkel commemorated the victims of the terrorist attack on #Berlin's #Breitscheidplatz. After that, she visited booth operators at the #ChristmasMarket. Strange way to offer condolences. pic.twitter.com/40WfeZizcP
— Onlinemagazin (@OnlineMagazin) 19 декабря 2017 г.
Merkel acknowledged the criticism, but said that the meeting was "very important" to her.
"It is important for me to make it clear once again how much we sympathize with the relatives and the victims," Merkel said. "It is clear to me that their suffering, this complete transformation of their lives cannot be put right. But nevertheless we can show compassion and will improve the things that must be improved," she added.
Was zu spät ist, ist halt zu spät#Merkel muß sich nicht mehr entschuldigen:
— JoAHue (@POLITJAH) 19 декабря 2017 г.
wer sich ein ganzes, geschlagenes Jahr nicht bei den #Opfern entschuldigt,
muß es jetzt auch nicht mehr,#Anschlag=RegierungsSchuld: #Versagen Fall #AnisAmri
+#Vorsatz,sich nicht entschuldigen zu wollen pic.twitter.com/g29FZ3DY2F
What's too late is just too late. Merkel does not have to apologize anymore: who didn't not apologize to the victims for a whole year, shouldn't it now. The government is to blame for the attack. The case of #AnisAmri is a failure.
Not a good look Frau #Merkel. Not a good look. #Respect looks differently. #Breitscheidplatz
— asandos (@Withasandos) 19 декабря 2017 г.
The meeting came a few weeks after the family members of the 12 people killed in a terror attack at a Berlin Christmas market last year said they have been "left high and dry" by the German authorities.
#Kanzlerin in Trauer am #Breitscheidplatz
— PREUSSEN (@preussen01) 19 декабря 2017 г.
Hat sie sich auch gleich noch eine Bratwurst geholt?
…und deren Anhänger auch nicht! Ich hoffe nur, dass diese "Bilder der Trauer" noch vielen Internetnutzern zugänglich gemacht werden.
Diese #Bilder sind eine #Schande#CDU#Merkel pic.twitter.com/BhHqr2q7Y0
"Did she also get a bratwurst there?… I just hope that these "pictures of mourning" will be available to many internet users. These images are a disgrace.
READ MORE: Germans Slam Merkel for 'Political Inaction' in Fight Against Terrorism
In a letter, published in Spiegel magazine, they complained about not having received German Chancellor Angela Merkel's personal or written condolences.
They also claimed to have been given almost no help from the country's authorities right after the attack and criticized the government's approach to fighting terrorism in general.
On December 19, 2016, Anis Amri, a young Tunisian national, drove a vehicle into a crowd, killing 12 people and injuring dozens more at a Christmas market in Berlin.
One of the lessons from the Berlin Christmas market attack is the need for more cooperation, not only among state and federal authorities in Germany, but also in Europe.
— Thomas Sparrow (@Thomas_Sparrow) 19 декабря 2017 г.
These were only some of the places Anis Amri, the attacker, spent time in:#Breitscheidplatz #Berlin pic.twitter.com/H6D6gMGpGo
Amri entered the EU in 2011, traveling from Tunisia to Italy and posing as a minor; he entered Germany in mid-2015. While in Germany, Amri attempted multiple times to apply for political asylum. He was detained by police in mid-2016 on suspicion of having used fake identity documents and was about to be deported, but was then released. After the Christmas market attack, Amri was killed in Milan during a shoot-out with police. The mass murderer was affiliated with the terrorist group Daesh.
