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These are images known from other disasters around the world: On Thursday evening, a lone perpetrator broke into the building of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Hamburg-Alsterdorf and shots rang out in the darkness. Philipp F.* († 35) shoots seven cult members and finally himself.
For graduate psychologist Dieter Rohmann (63), deep despair lurks behind the bloody deed, for which the cult could be partly to blame. “According to the current state of knowledge, a so-called exclusion has taken place here. That’s what the Jehovah’s Witnesses call excluding a member of the religious community’, explains the sect expert from Munich. “Philipp F. has apparently fallen out of favour. He probably also had professional difficulties due to Corona. » The young man clearly lost his grip.
“The exclusion means banishment forever”
Dieter Rohmann has had an insight into the world of Jehovah’s Witnesses for 40 years. Since then he has taken care of more than 300 dropouts. “Whoever is a member is not allowed to make friends with other people, so with – as the sect calls them – worldly people. If a member is now expelled, all ties with cult members are broken”. The own parents, brothers and sisters, brothers and sisters in the spirit are also no longer allowed to have contact with the “renegade”. With the exclusion/disengagement, those affected become socially banned by the community.” Since they have no social connections with people outside the sect, this leads to a deep loneliness, often anxiety, panic and depression.”You are in free fall,” says Dieter Rohmann.
“The excluded become bandits,” continued Rohmann. The perpetrator from Hamburg was an intelligent, very pious person and, like most cult members, certainly a pacifist. He must have found his situation so hopeless that he eventually grabbed the gun. As a sniper, he had access to firearms. The catastrophe took its course.
Former cult members often have great self-doubt
Most cult dropouts are between the ages of 20 and 35, says Dieter Rohmann. Many of them grew up with their families in the sect. “At some point, after leaving, they all had the same experience: the feeling of worthlessness. You ask yourself: was I never loved for my own sake? Never unconditionally? Did I never matter? They realize that the community and its ideology always come first – and themselves defenseless second». That is very, very hard to bear, says Dieter Rohmann.
Dropouts and those excluded often need help: psychological support, but above all, according to the expert, the exchange with peers, “preferably in self-help groups”. If Philipp F.’s desperation had been recognized and his hand had been extended early enough, the Hamburg-Alsterdorf massacre might never have happened.
* Name known
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
