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Interior Minister Horst Seehofer: Right-wing extremism is drawing "a trail of blood through Germany"
Photo: Kay Nietfeld / dpa
Germany has an increasing problem with politically motivated crime.
Last year there were again more crimes in this category nationwide - although most people spent a lot of time at home in 2020.
As the statistics published on Tuesday by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) show, the number rose by almost nine percent to 44,692 crimes compared to the previous year.
23,604 of these are assigned to right-wing extremist perpetrators, 10,971 offenses have a left-wing extremist background.
Hate crime has also increased significantly.
Of the 10,000 registered cases, around 87 percent are right-wing extremists.
Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) spoke in Berlin in view of the numbers of "clear tendencies towards brutality in our country".
The annual statistics on politically motivated crimes are an "early warning system" that reveals social developments.
Especially in the year of the pandemic, this became a gauge of the mood in the country, said Seehofer.
The increase in violent acts is strongest - it was almost 19 percent above the value of the previous year, and thus around the level of 2018. The police recorded a total of 1,526 offenses for left-wing motivated acts of violence.
According to this, 1092 acts of violence were accounted for by rights.
"Extremism in all its forms remains a threat to our society," said Seehofer.
"Blood trail through Germany"
The interior minister himself sees right-wing extremism as the "greatest threat in our country". There is now a "continuous trail of blood through Germany," Seehofer recalled, among other things, of the Hanau attack, in which nine people were murdered by a right-wing extremist. Anti-Semitic statements would almost entirely be made by right-wing extremists. "That is always disputed, but it is true," said Seehofer. "That is not only worrying, but also shameful in light of our history."
Seehofer attributes the sharp increase in left-wing extremist acts of violence primarily to "acts of confrontation" - attacks by left-wing extremists counter-demonstrators at rallies by right-wing extremists or "lateral thinkers".
Left-wing extremism should therefore not be lost sight of, despite the particular threat from the right.
The police could not assign 591 politically motivated acts of violence to any of the common phenomena.
That was significantly more than in the previous year and is likely to have something to do with the corona pandemic, which was instrumentalized by conspiracy myths in different ways.
The federal states reported a total of 3,559 politically motivated crimes in connection with the pandemic - including bodily harm, violations of the Assembly Act and propaganda offenses.
According to the BKA, the majority - almost 60 percent - of these crimes could not be assigned to either right-wing or left-wing groups.
According to the information, they were directed primarily against the health system, the state, its institutions and symbols, against the police and against "other political opponents".
"Lateral thinker" with "great potential for escalation"
"It's no longer about the right to demonstrate," said Seehofer, "these are acts of violence of a criminal nature." He attributes many attacks to conspiracy myths, Reich citizens and other extremists who would mix with simple demonstrators.
In particular, the corona demos registered by “lateral thinkers” would always have “great potential for escalation”.
Compared to the previous year, the number of crimes directed against state institutions and symbols, officials and elected officials has more than doubled - to a good 2,200.
He does not want to allow people who are committed to the state "to be intimidated and attacked by constitutional enemies," said Seehofer.
The police will monitor corresponding protest groups more closely.
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