The number of politically motivated offences reported to the police in Germany reached a new record last year, prompting concern from many, including the government commissioner for LGBTIQ issues.
The 60,028 recorded offences represent the highest level since the statistics were introduced in 2001, according to the 2023 statistics presented in Berlin on Tuesday.
The increase in politically motivated crimes is less than 2% compared to 2022. There were 3,561 cases of violent offences, almost 12% fewer than in 2022.
Propaganda offences, such as the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations, accounted for the lion's share of crimes at one-third.
The statistics on politically motivated crime are considered initial numbers, and multiple counts are possible if offences fall into more than one category.
The rise is accompanied by a steep increase in anti-Semitic crimes since the war in Gaza began.
The police recognized 4,369 offences last year, more than 70 times the 61 offences of the previous year, the latest data show. Some 1,927 of these were considered anti-Semitic, with the vast majority committed after October 7, the day of the Hamas assault on Israel.
Some of the hate was fuelled online, with the number of politically motivated offences committed on or aided by the internet rising significantly to 15,488, up 60.08%.
The number of politically motivated offences reported to the police fell by almost 12%, with the majority committed by the far right. Violent offences included assaults, along with three murders and 17 attempted homicides.
The number of hate crimes increased by 47.63%, soaring to 17,007 cases in which people acted out of prejudice towards a particular group. Xenophobic offences accounted for 15,087 of these, most from the far right.
The president of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch, said, "Politically motivated crime has almost doubled in 10 years and continues to increase."
There are tendencies towards radicalization in parts of the population, including attempts to delegitimize the state and its monopoly on the use of force, he said.
"We must take this development very seriously, as it threatens our democracy and social peace," the BKA president said.
"On average, at least six attacks on lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people and other queer [LGBTIQ] people are registered every day," said Sven Lehmann, who serves as the German government's commissioner for LGBTQ issues.
There were 1,499 offences connected with sexual orientation last year, 288 of which were violent, an almost 50% increase compared to the previous year, the latest Interior Ministry and BKA data show, he said.
The number of offences reported associated with gender diversity also doubled with 854 offences - including 115 involving violence.
Lehmann underlined that his community is a "vulnerable group," saying some political groups in Germany are mobilizing people against the LGBTIQ community.
"Deliberately fuelled hatred of rainbow flags, campaigns against Pride month or daily attacks on the Self-Determination Act encourage people to act out their prejudices and hatred in violent ways," Lehmann said, referring to the recently passed law that enables people to change their registered gender more easily.
However, the statistics also show that more people are reporting offences. Lehmann called for the prevention, recording and combating of hate crime against queer people to be expanded across the board, saying anti-human acts are not trivial offences.
He reiterated his call for Germany's constitution to be amended to explicitly protect the LGBTIQ community from discrimination by adding the words "sexual identity" to Article 3.
Generally, there are high hurdles for such an amendment, which require a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament, the Bundestag and Bundesrat, currently seen as unlikely.
