Attacks on refugees and accommodation in Germany increased sharply in 2023 compared to the previous year – this is evident from a response from the federal government. The Left Party is calling for better protection for refugees.
The number of attacks on refugees, asylum seekers and their accommodation has increased significantly. In the first nine months of this year there were more such attacks than in the entire previous year, according to a response from the federal government to a request from the Left Party. According to the information, 1,515 such attacks were counted in the first three quarters of this year, after 1,371 attacks in the whole of 2022.
As the dpa news agency quotes from the statistics, refugee accommodation became the crime scene or target of a politically motivated crime in 30 cases in the third quarter. Three of these cases involved violent crimes. The majority of the attacks on shelters – 23 crimes – were attributed by the police to the right-wing scene.
Current asylum debate as a reason for increased attacks?
The police also assume that 375 of 417 politically motivated crimes outside of accommodation facilities registered during this period, which were directed against asylum seekers or recognized refugees, were right-wing motivated crimes. 19 crimes were attributed to the phenomenon of “foreign ideology”, two were classified as left-wing motivated. For some, the background remained unclear. Violence was involved in a total of 55 cases.
“Refugees in Germany are attacked, humiliated and treated with hostility every day,” said left-wing MP Clara Bünger. The federal and state governments urgently need to develop and implement suitable protection concepts. Bünger sees one reason for the increase in attacks in the current debate about asylum issues. In their view, this “prepares the ground for racist mobilizations on the streets and acts of violence against refugees.”