Bologna, August 2, 2026 – “Coming back here, to Bologna, means reuniting with my family”. That family that was taken from him in the neo-fascist attack that struck the central station on August 2, 1980. Today marks the 46th anniversary of the massacre that caused 85 deaths and over 200 injuries. Among those who lost their lives, there are two (of the seven) eternal children from Germany who were at the station to return to Germany: Kai, 8 years old, and Eckhdart, 14 years old. Both died in the explosion, along with their mother Margret.
“Coming here means meeting my family again”
Those who survived were father Horst Mäder, now 82 years old, and the eldest son Holder. The man dug with his bare hands under the rubble to pull out his eldest son alive. The boy was seriously injured but survived. And although 46 years have passed since the bomb explosion, for Horst Mader the pain never goes away. His eyes fill with tears and his voice still breaks: “Coming here – he says at the official ceremony at Villa Torchi in memory of the seven children who lost their lives in the attack, under a plaque bearing their names and ages – means meeting my family again.” Horst places his hand on his heart: “I am here with a heavy heart – he confesses -. I think of all the deceased, especially the children, who are the greatest treasure people can have. We always carry them in our hearts.” The emotion is not only due to the loss of his children, “but also that of the others.”
The last August 2 for father Horst
The story breaks off, because Mr. Mäder cannot bear the weight of those losses, which happened at the end of a vacation, the first family holiday of their lives, in Lido di Pomposa. Waiting for the return of three brothers and the parents was a fourth child who stayed in Germany. In 2021, a primary school in the Corticella area, where the plaque with the names of the youngest victims stands, was named after the two little ones. Most likely, close friends of Horst say, this will be the last August 2 ceremony that the eighty-two-year-old will attend under the Two Towers.
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The anniversary of pain begins early this morning, with the intervention of institutions (for the government, the undersecretary of the Ministry of the Interior, Nicola Molteni, participates) in the honor courtyard of the City Hall. The procession starts from Piazza del Nettuno and reaches the site of the massacre, the station. There will be the triple whistle of the train at 10:25, followed by a minute of silence.
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