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National Socialist Underground Murders, 2000-2007

SOLVED2000Nuremberg, Germany3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

The National Socialist Underground (Nationalsozialistischer Untergrund, or NSU) was a German neo-Nazi cell responsible for a series of racially motivated killings across Germany between 2000 and 2007. Ten people were murdered and one more was critically wounded. Eight of the dead were of Turkish origin, one was Greek, and one was a German police officer. Most of the murdered men were small-business owners — kebab-shop workers, greengrocers, a tailor's-shop employee, a locksmith, an internet-cafe owner — shot in daylight at close range, primarily with a silenced Ceska (CZ) 83 pistol.

The NSU's three identified members — Beate Zschäpe, Uwe Böhnhardt, and Uwe Mundlos — grew up together in Jena, in the former East German state of Thuringia, and became involved in the far-right scene there during the 1990s. In 1998, police raided a garage the three had rented in Jena and found explosives and antisemitic material. They evaded arrest and went underground with help from far-right contacts, and the killings began two years later.

Enver Şimşek, a florist, was shot in his stall in Nuremberg on 9 September 2000 and died of his wounds two days later — the first victim. Further killings followed: Abdurrahim Özüdoğru in Nuremberg (2001), Süleyman Taşköprü in Hamburg (2001), Habil Kılıç in Munich (2001), Mehmet Turgut in Rostock (2004), İsmail Yaşar in Nuremberg (2005), Theodoros Boulgarides in Munich (2005), Mehmet Kubaşık in Dortmund (2006), and Halit Yozgat in Kassel (2006). On 25 April 2007, police officer Michèle Kiesewetter was shot and killed and her patrol partner critically wounded during their lunch break; unlike the other attacks, the motive for this one remains unclear.

For years, German investigators pursued theories that organized crime within Turkish immigrant communities was responsible, and did not investigate a far-right connection, despite witness descriptions of the gunmen that matched the eventual suspects. Relatives of the victims have accused Bavarian police of racism during the investigation and submitted a report to the United Nations; press coverage that branded the case the "döner murders" was later named Germany's Un-Word of the Year for 2011.

The case broke open on 4 November 2011, when Böhnhardt and Mundlos were found dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds after a bank robbery. Police recovered service pistols taken from Kiesewetter and her partner in 2007 at the site. Zschäpe set fire to the apartment the group had shared in Zwickau and surrendered to police a week later. Investigators also found an alleged target list of 88 names. The case additionally raised questions of state complicity after it emerged that domestic-intelligence informants embedded in far-right circles had links to the group, and that the intelligence agency had destroyed related files after the killings came to light; the agency's president, Heinz Fromm, resigned in 2012 amid the ensuing criticism.

Zschäpe's trial opened on 6 May 2013 and concluded on 11 July 2018, when she was found guilty of ten counts of murder, arson, and membership in a terrorist organization, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Four co-defendants — Ralf Wohlleben, Carsten Schultze, André Eminger, and Holger Gerlach — were also convicted of supplying weapons or otherwise supporting the group, with sentences ranging from juvenile detention to ten years in prison.

Key facts

Victims
Abdurrahim Özüdoğru, Mehmet Turgut, Habil Kılıç, Halit Yozgat, Michèle Kiesewetter, İsmail Yaşar, Enver Şimşek, Theodoros Boulgarides, Süleyman Taşköprü, Mehmet Kubaşık
Date
2000
Location
Nuremberg, Germany
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1998

    Police raided a lock-up garage in Jena rented by Beate Zschäpe, Uwe Böhnhardt, and Uwe Mundlos, finding explosives and antisemitic material; the three evaded arrest and went into hiding.

  2. 2000-09-09

    Enver Şimşek was shot in his flower stall in Nuremberg; he died of his wounds two days later, the first victim in the murder series.

  3. 2001-06-13

    Abdurrahim Özüdoğru was shot twice in the head in a tailor's shop in Nuremberg.

  4. 2001-06-27

    Süleyman Taşköprü was shot in his greengrocer's shop in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld.

  5. 2001-08-29

    Habil Kılıç was shot at point-blank range in his greengrocer's shop in Munich-Ramersdorf.

  6. 2004-02-25

    Mehmet Turgut was shot in Rostock-Toitenwinkel while opening a doner kebab shop for an acquaintance.

  7. 2005-06-09

    İsmail Yaşar, owner of a kebab shop in Nuremberg, was found dead with five gunshot wounds.

  8. 2005-06-15

    Theodoros Boulgarides, a locksmith, was killed in his shop in Munich; he was the first non-Turkish victim in the series.

  9. 2006-04-04

    Mehmet Kubaşık, a kiosk vendor, was found shot in his shop in Dortmund.

  10. 2006-04-06

    Halit Yozgat, who ran an internet cafe in Kassel, was shot in the head.

  11. 2007-04-25

    Police officer Michèle Kiesewetter was shot and killed and her patrol partner critically wounded during their lunch break.

  12. 2011-11-04

    Böhnhardt and Mundlos were found dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds after a bank robbery; police recovered the service pistols taken from Kiesewetter and her partner at the site.

  13. 2011-11-11

    Beate Zschäpe surrendered to police after setting fire to the apartment she had shared with Böhnhardt and Mundlos in Zwickau.

  14. 2012

    Heinz Fromm, president of Germany's domestic intelligence agency (BfV), resigned amid criticism of the agency's handling of far-right informants linked to the case.

  15. 2013-05-06

    The NSU murder trial began.

  16. 2018-07-11

    Beate Zschäpe was found guilty of ten counts of murder, arson, and membership in a terrorist organization and sentenced to life imprisonment; four co-defendants were convicted of supporting the group.

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People

  • Abdurrahim Özüdoğru

    VICTIM

    Machinist who was helping out in a tailor's shop in Nuremberg; shot twice in the head on 13 June 2001.

  • Heinz Fromm

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    President of Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV); resigned in 2012 amid criticism of the agency's handling of far-right informants linked to the case.

  • Mehmet Turgut

    VICTIM

    Shot in Rostock-Toitenwinkel on 25 February 2004 while opening a doner kebab shop for an acquaintance.

  • Carsten Schultze

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of aiding and abetting in nine counts of murder for supplying weapons to NSU members; sentenced to three years of juvenile detention, having been twenty years old at the time of the murders.

  • André Eminger

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of supporting a terrorist organization and of aiding two bank robberies and a 2001 bombing in Cologne; sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

  • Habil Kılıç

    VICTIM

    Greengrocer, aged 38; shot at point-blank range in his shop in Munich-Ramersdorf on 29 August 2001.

  • Halit Yozgat

    VICTIM

    Owner of an internet cafe in Kassel; shot in the head on 6 April 2006.

  • Michèle Kiesewetter

    VICTIM

    German police officer, aged 22; shot and killed during a lunch-break attack on 25 April 2007. Her patrol partner was critically wounded but survived.

  • İsmail Yaşar

    VICTIM

    Kebab-shop owner, aged 50, in Nuremberg; found dead with five gunshot wounds on 9 June 2005.

  • Enver Şimşek

    VICTIM

    Turkish-German florist; the first victim in the murder series, shot in his flower stall in Nuremberg on 9 September 2000 and died of his wounds two days later.

  • Theodoros Boulgarides

    VICTIM

    Locksmith; killed in his shop in Munich on 15 June 2005, the first non-Turkish victim in the series.

  • Süleyman Taşköprü

    VICTIM

    Greengrocer, aged 31; shot in his shop in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld on 27 June 2001.

  • Mehmet Kubaşık

    VICTIM

    Kiosk vendor and German citizen of Turkish origin; found shot in his shop in Dortmund on 4 April 2006.

  • Ralf Wohlleben

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of aiding and abetting nine murders by procuring the pistol used in the killings; sentenced to ten years in prison.

  • Beate Zschäpe

    CONVICTED

    Founding NSU member; surrendered to police on 11 November 2011. Found guilty on 11 July 2018 of ten counts of murder, arson, and membership in a terrorist organization, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

  • Holger Gerlach

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of three counts of supporting a terrorist organization; sentenced to three years in prison.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Nuremberg, Germany

49.4521, 11.0767

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Between 2000 and 2007, the German neo-Nazi cell National Socialist Underground murdered nine small-business owners and a police officer in cities across Germany. After two of its three identified members were found dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds in 2011, the third, Beate Zschäpe, was convicted of the killings in 2018 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Where did the murders happen?
Nuremberg, Germany.
Who was convicted?
Carsten Schultze (Convicted of aiding and abetting in nine counts of murder for supplying weapons to NSU members; sentenced to three years of juvenile detention, having been twenty years old at the time of the murders.), André Eminger (Convicted of supporting a terrorist organization and of aiding two bank robberies and a 2001 bombing in Cologne; sentenced to two and a half years in prison.), Ralf Wohlleben (Convicted of aiding and abetting nine murders by procuring the pistol used in the killings; sentenced to ten years in prison.), Beate Zschäpe (Founding NSU member; surrendered to police on 11 November 2011. Found guilty on 11 July 2018 of ten counts of murder, arson, and membership in a terrorist organization, and sentenced to life imprisonment.), and Holger Gerlach (Convicted of three counts of supporting a terrorist organization; sentenced to three years in prison.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in Germany

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICNational Socialist Underground murdersWikipedia · 2026-07-12
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The GuardianThe Guardian · 2026-07-12
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The New York TimesThe New York Times · 2026-07-12

Record history

First published
JUL 13, 2026