Hate is commonplace. And it shows itself publicly: the Munich police registered 414 cases of hate crimes, including 56 acts of violence, last year. The crimes were committed in the residential environment, in local public transport, on the street and at work. As shocking as the numbers are, they only show the tip of the iceberg. Because only about every tenth attack is ever recorded in Munich, much less than elsewhere. The city and the police have now decided to change both. On Tuesday, the city’s specialist office for democracy presented the “Munich against hate” campaign.
A study published in 2021 shows that 40 percent of the victims of “hate crime” suffer permanently from the consequences of the verbal or physical attack, but only nine percent file a criminal complaint study of the city – and one of the answers as to why this is the case is also included: More than half of those affected stated that witnesses looked the other way or walked away and that they did not receive any support after the crime. However, it also became clear that there is often a lack of knowledge about where to get help, how to file a complaint – and what hate crime actually is.
The focus of the campaign presented in the town hall on Tuesday is therefore information – for those affected, but also for possible witnesses. The Munich police headquarters and the specialist department explain on the Website for example, what the “little witness protection” is all about, who you can contact if you are the victim of a hate crime – but also how those affected can complain about possible misconduct by the police or who they can call in if they don’t believed or not taken seriously. “Get help!” is the title of a chapter in the campaign presented by Miriam Heigl, head of the specialist department. “Show it!” is another appeal. But also: “Show civil courage!”
Racism (the police statistics for 2022 lists 370 cases of “xenophobia”), anti-Semitism (97) and various forms of sexist attacks (53 in total) play a role in most hate crimes in Munich, but also Islamophobic or antigypsy prejudices. Representatives of the affected groups had their say in the town hall on Tuesday. What unites them is the hope that, as potential victims of hate crime, “they will finally be seen and taken seriously,” as Pia Chojnacki put it for the black community.
The campaign can only be a starting signal
However, the Munich resident agrees on one thing with the representatives of other groups affected: The campaign that has now started, which is intended to find a second climax around the seventh anniversary of the racist-motivated OEZ attack on July 22, can only be “a first step be” – a “start signal”, as Michael Movchin, the chairman of the association of Jewish students in Bavaria, said.
Trust in the authorities, knowledge of the legal options, but also the civil courage of fellow citizens: All of this is necessary “to feel seen as part of the population,” emphasized Alexander Adler from the perspective of the Sinti and Roma. “Hate crime violates people’s human dignity,” said Alevi Nesrin Gül, a member of Munich’s Migration Advisory Board. This has consequences – for those affected themselves, for their environment, but also for living together in the city, as Mayor Katrin habenschaden made clear on Tuesday.
The Green politician asked whether Munich was always and everywhere the colorful and cosmopolitan city with a heart that she likes to see herself as: “Or do we sometimes not look so closely?” Habenschaden’s conclusion: “The city will only be really tolerant if minorities can move around without fear.” According to Pia Chojnacki, each and every individual can contribute to this, because: “We all have internalized prejudices.” Structural changes are needed to combat hate crime effectively.
The Munich police are also working on this – “in constant exchange with vulnerable groups”, as Police President Thomas Hampel put it. This exchange is important in order to strengthen trust in the security authorities, but also to sensitize police officers and make them “culturally strong”. The aim of the police is to get the perpetrators of hate crimes, who are very often repeat offenders both online and in real life, out of their anonymity.