Number of politically motivated crimes in Germany reaches record high

The number of politically motivated crimes in Germany has increased rapidly against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the country's general elections in February, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Tuesday.

In 2024, German authorities recorded over 84,000 crimes – a 40% increase from the previous year and the highest number recorded since the Western European nation began tracking such incidents in 2001, the Telegraph reports.

Dobrindt said cases had increased in almost all areas, but highlighted anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism as the main threats to Germany's democracy.

According to the figures he presented, just over half of all politically motivated criminal offenses were linked to right-wing extremism, including neo-Nazism.

"Last year, we had to deal with a very massive increase in right-wing, politically motivated crimes. That is why we will continue our fight against right-wing extremism and right-wing motivated crimes," he said.

A suspected anti-Semitic motive was recorded in 6,236 registered cases. The 21% increase includes 2,832 cases motivated by anti-Semitism, registered under the topics of “Israel” and “Palestine”.

Dobrindt described that a large proportion of the 793 politically motivated violent crimes reported to police in the context of the war in the Middle East were related to protests and demonstrations.

The increase in numbers was attributed to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza fueling anti-Semitism, as well as the German federal elections in February.

According to the ministry, the number of incidents increased significantly during the elections, with the Green party and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as the main targets of politically motivated attacks.

Politicians criticized the increase in attacks, with Dobrindt calling for more powers for law enforcement in response to the "extreme increase" in cases.

Among other measures, he proposed increasing the minimum prison sentence for assaults on police officers from three to six months.

He also supported the further criminalisation of knife attacks – making them punishable by a minimum of one year in prison instead of six months.

Natalie Pawlik, the government's anti-racism commissioner, criticized the "dramatic" increase in racist, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic crimes in the country.

Politically motivated crimes were spreading "fear and terror," Dobrindt said, and were preventing volunteers and politicians from effectively carrying out their work. /Telegraph/