Worldwide conflicts
Survey: Majority fears terrorist attacks in Germany
Emergency forces from the Special Operations Command (SEK) Southern Bavaria of the Bavarian Police. photo
© Lennart Preiss/dpa
Fear of terror: According to a survey, Germans are very afraid of attacks in their own country.
A majority of Germans fear that the war in Gaza will lead to major terrorist attacks Germany could come. In a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency, 59 percent said that they consider attacks with many deaths to be very or somewhat likely. However, only 27 percent are of the opinion that terrorist attacks in this country are very or somewhat unlikely.
Of the possible consequences of the Gaza war for Germany, the possible terrorist attacks are what 25 percent worry about most. 26 percent say their main fear is that more refugees from the Middle East will come to Germany.
In contrast, only 17 percent cited growing anti-Semitism in Germany as their main concern. This is followed by the deterioration of relations with countries with Muslim populations (10 percent), the fear of rising energy prices (8 percent) and growing hostility to Muslims (6 percent).
39 percent consider the federal government’s position on the Gaza war to be balanced. On the other hand, 32 percent believe that the federal government is taking sides too strongly with Israel. On the other hand, 7 percent are of the opinion that Germany is siding too closely with the Palestinians.
After the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on Israel on October 7th, which, according to the latest estimates, left around 1,200 dead, the federal government assured Israel of its full solidarity and emphasized the country’s right to self-defense. Unlike other European countries, Germany has not yet criticized the attacks by the Israeli armed forces against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in which many civilians were killed.