In 2023, the number of politically motivated crimes reached the highest level since statistics were introduced. Anti-Semitic cases and attacks on elected officials have particularly increased.
Federal Minister of the Interior Faeser used thoughtful words to sum up the statistics right at the beginning of her presentation: “Those who sow anger and hatred in our society have become louder.” The figures are intended to be a measure of how much pressure democracy is under in Germany. And this year the upward spike is clear.
These are figures from the country’s police departments: If someone there reports a case that appears to be politically motivated by the officer on duty, this becomes part of the statistics. Everything is finely sorted according to the areas “left”, “right”, “foreign ideology”, “religious ideology” or “other”. Many crimes related to Corona have fallen under “other” in recent years. Unsurprisingly, these cases have now fallen by 30 percent.
Right-wing extremism “the biggest extremist threat”
Right-wing motivated crime, on the other hand, has risen sharply. There were 23 percent more cases last year than in the previous year, a total of 28,945. For Faeser, right-wing extremism is therefore the “greatest threat” and it is also where most violent crimes were recorded. 714 people were injured by right-wing motivated perpetrators last year: “If you convert that, that’s two people a day,” said the Interior Minister: “In no other area is the number of victims as high.”
However, the inhibition threshold has also fallen in the left-wing scene. According to Faeser, extreme brutality is used against police officers and opponents, and one in four left-wing extremists can be classified as violence-oriented.
Attacks on critical infrastructure
Faeser referred to the arson attack on the power supply of the Tesla factory in Brandenburg. The attack cut off electricity to entire towns. This not only damages the business location, but also endangers people’s lives: “If the power goes out in hospitals or care facilities, it can be life-threatening,” said Faeser.
Arson attacks and damage to property, both of which come primarily from the left-wing spectrum, added the President of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Münch: “They deliberately use these crimes because the probability of solving them can be lower.”
Münch demanded that operators of critical infrastructure need to work on their protective measures. “You won’t be able to protect every power pylon in Germany, but you have to look: Where are the risks of failure highest?”
Faeser announced that she would also create new measures against supposed climate protection actions such as the blockade of Munich Airport last Saturday: she would propose that unauthorized entry into airport premises could be punished with up to two years’ imprisonment. A new criminal offense should be included in the Aviation Security Act.
Sharp increase in anti-Semitism
Faeser said that the issue of hatred of Jews also needs to be addressed. Since the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, statistics show that there has been a massive increase in politically motivated crimes in connection with the Middle East conflict. The number of crimes in this context reported to the police last year was 4,369, more than seventy times the 61 crimes in the previous year.
“We have had a completely different situation since October 7,” said Münch. A total of 1,927 of these acts are considered anti-Semitic, the vast majority of which were committed after October 7.
The police attributed more than half of the almost 4,400 crimes to the area of “foreign ideology”. So she sees evidence that a non-religious ideology that came from abroad was decisive for the crime. Faeser spoke of “disgusting hatred of Jews.”
Attacks on elected officials
According to statistics, attacks on elected officials and representatives of political parties have also increased particularly. Those affected would be threatened, their offices attacked, their homes besieged and their private property damaged. “We are experiencing an escalation of political aggression,” said Faeser: “More and more border crossings, attempts at intimidation and attacks.”
This spiral of violence against officials and elected officials is astonishing; something has shifted in society: “We have to return to a more respectful approach. There must be no acceptance of hatred and violence.”