Number of attacks on refugees and asylum seekers in Germany has fallen

According to preliminary figures, the police registered fewer attacks on refugees and asylum seekers in the first half of 2024 than in the same period last year. Across Germany, there were a total of 519 cases in the first and second quarters of this year. This is according to an answer from the federal government to a minor question from the Die Linke group in the Bundestag, which is available to the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung (NOZ) and Deutsche Presse-Agentur. According to this, investigators recorded 1,155 assaults on refugees in the first half of last year - in the whole of 2023, the figure was 2,450.

In its answer, however, the Federal Ministry of the Interior expressly points out that the figures for 2024 are provisional and may still change, in some cases considerably, due to subsequent and amended reports. It is also unclear whether the federal and state investigations have been completed or are still ongoing.

The cases concern attacks against asylum seekers and refugees outside of refugee accommodation and criminal offenses such as incitement to hatred, coercion and grievous bodily harm. In the first half of 2024, 46 people were injured, including six children, according to the response. The majority of the attacks - 456 in total - are attributed by the police to the right-wing scene. According to the statistics, there were also 69 attacks on refugee shelters.

According to information from the NOZ, a regional focus of the attacks is in Saxony and Thuringia, where state elections will be held on September 1. According to the report, most of the 286 attacks on refugees across Germany in the second quarter of 2024 were in Saxony (41) and Thuringia (35). This is followed by Bavaria (31), Lower Saxony (30) and Brandenburg (29). The figures are in single figures in Baden-Württemberg and Berlin (8 each), Bremen, Hamburg and Hesse (2 each) and Schleswig-Holstein (5).

Left-wing politician Bünger sees shared responsibility in politics

"It has long been known that there is a close connection between racist slogans issued by politicians and racist mobilizations and attacks on the streets," said Clara Bünger, member of the Bundestag for the Left Party, to the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung newspaper.

"When right-wingers call for "remigration" in parliament and even members of the government blame refugees for all kinds of social problems, announce deportations "on a grand scale" or even call asylum seekers invaders, as happened in the UK, racists feel empowered to go on a manhunt and terrorize refugees," said Bünger.

When right-wing extremists use the term "remigration", they usually mean that a large number of people of foreign origin should leave the country - even under duress.