'There is no respectful way to justify the Troubles': Remembering German IRA murder victim Thomas Niedermayer 50 years on

Thomas Niedermayer was a German factory boss who, in the midst of the carnage of 1970s Belfast, was in charge of the Grundig tape recorder plant in Dunmurry.

Now Tanya Williams-Powell, grand-daughter of Mr Niedermayer, has spoken out about the effect his killing has had on her family, 50 years on, after flying to Northern Ireland to attend remembrance events for him on Friday.

See below some other recent coverage of other IRA atrocities:

• Bishopsgate bomb 30 years on: UK newspaper boss recalls killing of 'friendly and generous' photographer Ed Henty in massive IRA blast amid city skyscrapers

• ​Charles Armstrong murder: Eyewitness recounts IRA car bomb blast exactly 40 years on – and says Sinn Fein position on protecting Arab civilians ‘is rank hypocrisy’

• Coleraine bomb 50 years on: 'Mum had Alzheimer's and was losing grip on reality - but still could not forget IRA atrocity'

One engagement was a tree-planting in Colin Glen Forest Park, where his remains were recovered. A plaque honouring him has been placed there.

This was followed by a gathering at The Island Centre in Lisburn in the afternoon.

These were organised with the help of the South East Fermanagh Foundation.

One of the most haunting aspects of Mr Niedermayer’s murder is that the family believe it triggered a series of suicides among his relatives (Tanya's cousin Andrew being the latest person to take his own life, just last year).

Mr Niedermayer was seized from his west Belfast bungalow on December 27, 1973, killed, then secretly buried beneath a rubbish dump in west Belfast, where his body was eventually found in 1980.

In 1990, Mr Niedermayer’s widow Ingeborg flew from Germany to Bray near Dublin and drowned herself by walking into the sea.

Mr Niedermayer's daughter Renate died in 1991 in South Africa after becoming both bulimic and alcoholic – something Tanya likened to "a slow form of suicide" – and fellow daughter Gabrielle (Tanya's mother) killed herself in 1994.

Then her father Robin killed himself in 1999.

When her cousin killed himself last year too, Tanya said that "his sister told me that, if it hadn't have been for my dad, it never would have been something he'd have considered".

Tanya herself never met her murdered grandad, having been born three years after his abduction, but "all I've heard is that he was a dapper, well-mannered, kind, thoughtful man who treated his employees with respect".

So what does she make of the line often used by republicans (and loyalists), that Troubles violence was unfortunate but inevitable and justifiable?

"I strongly disagree," she said.

"They may have been justified in disagreeing with what was happening, but the way they chose to go about it was abhorrent.

"Not just the IRA – they were not the sole contributors to the Troubles. I don't hold any particular bias against them.

"Anybody who committed those atrocities, bombings, murders, kidnappings, should be brought to justice.

"There is no respectful way for them to say that was ok."

A recently-made documentary about the killing, called Face Down, will be broadcast on BBC1 on Wednesday at 10.30pm.

"I want as many people as possible to watch it,” said Tanya, who is now 47, living in Torquay, and with two children of her own.

"What we want is for people to see it and see that this cycle of grief and despair and guilt can end, and there can be light at the end of the tunnel.”

If you are feeling suicidal, you can call The Samaritans confidentially and for free, 24 hours a day, on 116 123.