German Political Crimes Rise Sharply in 2024, Says Interior Ministry
The German Interior Ministry has reported a significant surge in political crimes in 2024, with a total of 84,172 cases registered, a 40.22% increase from the previous year.
The number of politically motivated violent crimes has also risen by 15.33%, with 4,107 cases reported. The ministry’s interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, has described the situation as “a worrying trend that we will combat with all the necessary measures and determination.”
A significant portion of the political crimes, 42,788, or almost half, were attributed to the “right-wing” phenomenon, a 48% increase from the previous year. The number of violent crimes also rose by 17%, with 1,488 cases reported.
Anti-Semitic crimes, in particular, have seen a significant surge, with 6,236 cases reported, a 21% increase from the previous year. This marks a new high since the start of the data collection.
The “right-wing” phenomenon accounted for 48% of the political crimes, while the “foreign ideology” phenomenon accounted for 31%. The “foreign ideology” phenomenon saw a significant increase of 42% in the number of cases, with 7,343 reported, a 42% increase from the previous year.
The number of violent crimes related to this phenomenon also more than doubled, with 975 cases reported, a 98.57% increase. The majority of these crimes, 681, were linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The “left-wing” phenomenon saw a significant increase of 28% in the number of cases, with 9,971 reported, while the number of violent crimes in this category decreased by 17%, with 762 cases reported.
The “other” category, which includes crimes that do not fit into the above categories, saw a significant increase of 33%, with 22,193 cases reported.
The number of crimes attributed to the “religious ideology” phenomenon increased by 29%, with 1,877 cases reported, while the number of violent crimes in this category remained stable, with 87 cases reported.
In the “elections” subcategory, the number of crimes reported increased significantly, with 11,788 cases reported, a significant increase from the previous year.
The number of crimes motivated by a desire for confrontation and political orientation increased by 54%, with 39,761 cases reported.
Hate crimes, motivated by group-based prejudices, saw a significant increase of 28%, with 21,773 cases reported and a third of these crimes were committed using the internet as a means.
Political motivated murder attempts decreased, with three completed and 11 attempted murders reported in 2024, compared to three completed and 17 attempted murders in the previous year.