"We continue to see increases in right-wing extremism, racism and antisemitism. Nothing has changed in the fact that these continue to represent the greatest threat to security in Germany," said Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer at a press conference in Berlin. Together with the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Thomas Haldenwang, Federal Minister Seehofer presented the Report on the Protection of the Constitution for 2019 today.

The federal minister emphasised that no federal government had ever adopted such a comprehensive set of measures aimed at combating right-wing extremism, racism and antisemitism, with measures implemented by the current government including the legislative package to fight hate crime, the updating of weapons legislation, and the increase in staff at the BfV and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). The federal minister said that a central office for investigating extremism in the public service had been set up at the BfV after the attack on the synagogue in Halle and would present its first report on the security authorities in late September.

Copies of the exectutive summary of the Report on the Protection of the Constitution for 2019 (Larger version opens in new window) Source: Henning Schacht

Right-wing extremism at an all-time high in Germany

In 2019, the BfV recorded a total of 32,080 right-wing extremist sympathisers in Germany. In 2018, the figure was 24,100. The 2019 figure is the highest number to date. The same is the case for the number of right-wing extremists classed as violence-oriented, with a figure of 13,000 cited in the Report on the Protection of the Constitution. This is particularly concerning given the affinity for weapons of many in the right-wing extremist spectrum, noted Federal Minister Seehofer, who said that there was still some way to go to achieve his maxim, "We must keep weapons out of the hands of extremists".

Sharp increase in politically motivated offences

Unlike in the last two years, the number of politically motivated offences as a whole increased in 2019: at 14.2 per cent, this increase is the second-highest since Germany began collecting this information in 2001. Right-wing extremist offences continue to account for more than half of all recorded offences of this type (54.3 per cent), with an increase of 9.4 per cent in 2019. Xenophobic and anti-Muslim offences motivated by right-wing extremism also increased, as did hate crime.

In 2019, 2,032 antisemitic offences were reported to the security authorities, an increase of 13 per cent. As in previous years, more than 90 per cent of offences with an antisemitic background were rooted in right-wing extremism. Federal Minister Seehofer noted that antisemitism was something that united the entire right-wing extremist spectrum. He said that the antisemitic propaganda and Holocaust denial frequently posted online were "a disgrace to our country".

Both the number of left-wing extremist sympathisers and their willingness to use violence increased. The Report on the Protection of the Constitution estimates that one in four of the 33,500 left-wing extremists in Germany would be prepared to use violence. The readiness to accept life-threatening injury to victims also increased.

The threat posed by Islamist terrorism in Germany and Europe remains high. The security authorities successfully prevented attacks by Islamist extremists again last year.