Last year, the police registered 218 politically motivated attacks on refugee shelters throughout Germany - significantly more than in the previous year. This is clear from a response by the Federal Ministry of the Interior to a query from the Left group in the Bundestag, also made available to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. In 2023, the number of such crimes was 167, ARD specifies.
Accordingly, 28 of the attacks last year were related to violence. According to the ministry, 14 people were injured, including one child.
Fewer attacks outside accommodation centers
In contrast, the number of politically motivated crimes against refugees outside accommodation centers decreased slightly, the data show. By the end of the year, authorities had recorded 1,905 crimes, of which 237 were violent. In 2023, the number was 2,450.
It is important to note that the data is incomplete - excluding those for the fourth quarter of 2024, which means that the number of these attacks may actually be higher. In this regard, the ARD recalls that the number of politically motivated crimes against refugee accommodation centers in Germany is also regularly adjusted upwards retroactively.
"Racist hostility and violence"
Left-wing Bundestag member Clara Bünger explained: “The number of insults, threats and attacks against refugees has been alarmingly high for years and it is outrageous that this situation is accepted with a shrug of the shoulders by a large part of politicians and the public.“ According to her, these people seek protection in Germany, but “they encounter racist hostility and violence. We should never get used to this“, Bünger emphasizes.