Antisemitic and xenophobic hate crime up by 20 percent in Germany

There were 1,799 antisemitic hate crimes reported in Germany in 2018 –  and nearly 90 percent of the perpetrators had a right-wing extremist background.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer introduced the new official figures on Tuesday.

There were 7,701 total reported crimes against those perceived as foreigners in 2018, a 20 percent increase from 2017. Antisemitic crime increased by the same rate and comprised nearly one quarter of total reported xenophobic incidents.

Some 39 percent of reported xenophobic hate crimes involved the use of  illegal use of symbols and logos, such as the swastika.

“Especially in our country, we have to stand against this with all our means,” Seehofer told reporters. “It’s very important to me that we bring the scale of this into people’s consciousness.”