Shocking data from Germany: Thousands of politically motivated crimes

About half of those cases are linked to right-wing extremism, but the biggest increase in violence is on the other side of the political spectrum.

It is often said that pictures explain complex topics better than long speeches. This is precisely why the German Minister of the Interior, Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), often uses graphs in his public appearances.

At a press conference on Tuesday, June 9, together with the head of the Federal Criminal Police (BKA) Holger Münch, he presented the latest data on politically motivated crime (PMK) for the year 2025.

The sharp rise in left-wing extremism violence

At the beginning of the conference, Dobrindt presented a graph with two curved lines. It was already clear at first glance that the pink line grows much steeper than the brown one. Pink indicates cases of left-wing extremism violence, while brown represents right-wing extremism.

The minister assessed that trend as worrisome:

“With a 42 percent increase in violent incidents, the left-wing scene is clearly a growing threat, and that’s evident here,” Dobrindt said.

In absolute numbers, around 1,100 cases of left-wing extremist violence were recorded in 2025.

Right-wing extremism remains the biggest threat

However, the majority of cases still relate to right-wing extremism – around 1,600 violent incidents.

The minister emphasized that this shows where the greatest danger lies:

“This clearly shows that the biggest threat comes from right-wing extremism,” he said.

These figures also include a wider range of criminal offences, such as damage to property, use of prohibited propaganda, insults and incitement to hatred.

In total, around 86,000 politically motivated crimes were recorded in Germany – which is the highest level since these statistics have been kept since 2001. This means an average of 235 cases per day, or about ten per hour.

In half of all cases, the suspects come from a right-wing extremist milieu. A large number of cases relate to hate crimes, including anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim and anti-Roma attacks.

Global crises also affect Germany

According to him, international conflicts further aggravate the situation – Russia’s war against Ukraine, instability in Iran and the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Although millions of people from these areas live peacefully in Germany, a small part participates in incidents during protests or attacks on religious buildings.

“The foundations of our democracy are under attack,” Münch said, stressing that all such cases are an attack on a free and safe society.

He also warned about the increase in criminal acts directed against women and the LGBTQ+ community, stating that “the social climate is further tightening”.

(Vijesti.ba)