Far-right violence is on the rise in Germany

According to German intelligence reports, far-right violence increased by 71 percent from 2017 to 2018.

Picture taken June 18, 2019 shows people attending a protest ralley in Berlin, Germany, against far right violence.
AP

Picture taken June 18, 2019 shows people attending a protest ralley in Berlin, Germany, against far right violence.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) reports that there were 27 incidents of violence related to the far-right in 2017 and this number increased to 48 in 2018.

Six of the cases involved racially motivated attempted murder.

The annual report estimates that there were approximately 24,100 right-wing extremists in the country in 2018, almost the same as the previous year, and describes 12,700 of them as “violence-orientated” Germans.

The report warns that anti-Semitism is increasing in German society and has the potential for violence in future.

The far-right see foreigners, Muslims and asylum seekers as the enemy and many politicians, especially those from the Alternative for Germany party, share that same view. 

The reports say extremists believe foreigners are ruining the country. The far-right is also concerned about the further loss of what they term “national identity."

Many members of the far-right also reject the legitimacy of the federal democratic order, and consider themselves “anti-state.”

The report states that people who don’t recognise the writ of government can be categorised into two groups, ‘Reichsburger’ and ‘Selbstverwalter’, and their numbers rose from 16,500 to 19,000 in just one year.

The report said: “The persistently high levels of verbal aggression and the intrinsic risk potential require intensive observation in the future.”

Political structure against far-right groups 

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for resistance against hatred after the murder of Walter Luebcke, an official in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU), when it was found that the man suspected of the murder had far-right links.

At a reception of the 100th anniversary of the citizens' initiative German War Graves Commission on Monday, Steinmeier said: "When today the representatives of our democracy, above all the volunteers, when mayors and local politicians are insulted, threatened and assaulted, that is an alarm sign for our democracy."

He added: "It must embarrass us and must not let us rest because we could not protect Walter Luebcke." 

On the other hand, Merkel's CDU announced that it will not negotiate a coalition with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

“Anyone in the CDU who is pleading for rapprochement or cooperation with the AfD should know that they are talking about a party that tolerates right-wing extremist thought, anti-Semitism and racism within its own ranks," General Secretary Paul Ziemak said.

"The CDU refuses any coalition or similar form of cooperation with the AfD. Period.”

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