Authorities in the German capital reported twice as many attacks on refugees and refugee centres last year as far-right motivated crimes have grown in number across the country.
Berlin saw a dramatic increase in right-wing motivated attacks on asylum seekers and refugee shelters last year.
Data from German authorities, shared in response to an inquiry from two Green party politicians, showed that 77 assaults on asylum seekers and refugee centres were recorded in the capital city in 2024 – more than twice as many as the year before.
The increase in attacks on refugees in Berlin comes as one of several worrying examples showing how right-wing extremism appears to be increasing across the country. Meanwhile German political leaders (including those set to lead the country’s next government) have pushed for tightening the country’s borders and immigration policies.
Citing official figures, The Guardian reported that as a result of the attacks 34 people were treated in hospitals, including 16 women, 14 men, two girls and two males of unknown age. Thirty-seven suspects had been identified, of which 11 were known to police.
Jian Omar, one of the Green party deputies who had brought forth the inquiry, called the report an “alarm bell”.
One brutal attack was seen in the town of Stahnsdorf, near Potsdam, where seven perpetrators tried to forcefully enter a refugee shelter. Confronted by a security guard, they reportedly beat him and left him unconscious.
Clara Bünger, an MP for the Left party, told The Guardian that “the number of insults, threats and attacks against refugees has been worryingly high for years”, adding that anti-migrant rhetoric from both far-right and mainstream parties in Germany has been fuelling the violence.
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What do the statistics show?
Last year saw around a 17 percent jump in crimes with a far-right motive, with 33,963 offences including 1,136 violent attacks reported as of November. Total figures for the year, including stats from December, are to be released soon.
In contrast to the two-fold increase in attacks on refugees in Berlin, however, federal statistics suggest the number of crimes against refugees across the country were actually down in 2024 (at 1,905) compared to 2023 when the number of crimes spiked to 2,488. Meanwhile the number of crimes against refugee shelters rose slightly.
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A look at crime statistics broadly does show that attacks motivated by right-wing extremism appear to be on the rise. Last year, Germany’s criminal police (BKA) reported the highest number of politically motivated crimes since records began in 2001, and the majority of political crimes were classified as having a right-wing extremist motive.
In 2023, a total of 714 people were recorded as being injured by right-wing extremist violence.
READ ALSO: Which types of crime are rising and falling in Germany?
How has the number of incoming asylum seekers developed?
Berlin is home to around 45,000 registered refugees currently, including those in both official reception centres and additional emergency shelters which were set-up in recent years.
The state office for refugee affairs (LAF) has recently reported a sharp decline in new arrivals in Berlin. A total of 1,761 asylum-seekers came to the German capital in the first two months of this year, which was down around a third compared to one year prior.
In Germany overall, the numbers of new asylum seekers are down. The Federal Centre for Political Education (BPD) reported that 14,920 new asylum seekers arrived in the country in January this year – well below the nearly 26,376 reported in January of 2024 or the 29,072 in the same month one year before.
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A corresponding drop was recorded across the European Union.
Most arrivals in Berlin came from Vietnam, Moldova, Afghanistan, Turkey and Syria.
Ukrainians are exempt from the standard asylum-seeking process following the Russia’s full-scale invasion of their country. But the number of Ukrainians that arrived in Berlin in January and February was also down this year compared with 2024.
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