Coercion, physical assault, incitement: Asylum seekers are repeatedly the target of attacks. According to preliminary statistics, the numbers have recently been declining. Regional focal points are noticeable.
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 a response from the federal government to a minor inquiry from the Left Party group in the Bundestag, which was made available to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (NOZ) and the German Press Agency. According to this, investigators recorded 1,155 attacks on refugees in the first half of last year – in the whole of 2023 there were 2,450.
In its response, however, the Federal Ministry of the Interior expressly points out that the figures for 2024 are provisional and may still change considerably as a result of subsequent reports and changes. It is also unclear whether these are completed or ongoing federal and state investigations.
It concerns attacks against asylum seekers and refugees outside refugee accommodation and crimes such as incitement, coercion and dangerous bodily harm. In the first half of 2024, 46 people were injured, including six children, the response continues. The majority of the attacks – 456 in total – are attributed by the police to the right-wing scene. In addition, according to statistics, there were 69 attacks on refugee accommodation.
According to information from NOZ, the regional focus of the attacks is in Saxony and Thuringia, where state elections are taking place on September 1. According to the report, of the 286 attacks on refugees nationwide in the second quarter of 2024, most occurred in Saxony (41) and Thuringia (35). This was followed by Bavaria (31), Lower Saxony (30) and Brandenburg (29). The figures are in the single digits in Baden-Württemberg and Berlin (8 each), Bremen, Hamburg and Hesse (2 each) and in Schleswig-Holstein (5).
Left-wing politician Bünger sees shared responsibility for 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 Left Party Bundestag member Clara Bünger to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”.
“When right-wingers in parliament demand ‘remigration’ and even members of the government blame refugees for all kinds of social problems, announce deportations ‘on a large scale’ or even describe asylum seekers as invaders, as happened in Great Britain, racists feel empowered to hunt people down and terrorize refugees,” says 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.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
