German Court Fines 3 for Failing to Help Ailing Retiree in Bank
On Monday, a district court in Essen convicted three people of failing to help the man, an 83-year-old retiree whose family asked
that he not be publicly identified, and who died in a hospital a week after the events, in a case that has prompted soul-searching about compassion for others.
"When there are factors, such as the person in need of help is drunk or looks homeless, then the willingness to help is
close to zero," Rainer Banse, a professor of psychology at the University of Bonn, told the public broadcaster ARD.
"It was shortly after 5 p.m. on a holiday, there was nothing
that pointed to someone wanting to lie down to rest." In a country that prides itself on the rule of law and order, that four people failed to help a man lying on the floor of a bank raised the question of whether Germans had become unconcerned about their fellow citizens.
There are no government statistics on the number of homeless people in Germany,
but according to the Federal Association of Help for the Homeless, about 335,000 people live on the country’s streets.
"There are always homeless people who go to the branch to sleep, or for other reasons,"
Peter Schmidt, a lawyer for the female defendant, told the public broadcaster ZDF.
"I didn’t care if it was a homeless man or someone else," Patrick S. told the public broadcaster WDR.