Over a thousand antisemitic crimes, including two attempted murders, were recorded in Germany in the first quarter of 2025, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) revealed.
The BKA’s report, published on July 31, noted that the vast majority of antisemitic crimes are attributable to right-wing extremism. However, “antisemitism is widespread throughout society.”
“Antisemitism is part of Germany’s history, still exists today in traditional narratives, and also has roots in Christian culture,” the report said, adding that “antisemitic crimes threaten Jewish people in Germany and represent an attack on our democracy.”
A total of 1,047 criminal offenses were reported under the subcategory “antisemitic” via the Police Crime Reporting Service for Politically Motivated Crime (KPMD-PMK) for the first quarter of 2025. Among them were 27 violent crimes and 422 cases of incitement to hatred.
A total of 470 suspects were identified in connection with the 1,047 crimes, with seven individuals being arrested.
Berlin, Bavaria and Hesse saw the highest number of right-wing antisemitic crimes
The states of Berlin, Bavaria, and Hesse saw the highest number of right-wing antisemitic crimes, and Berlin also saw the highest number of left-wing, foreign ideology, and religious ideology antisemitic crimes. Almost all of the latter three motivations were concentrated in Berlin, whereas right-wing antisemitic crimes were seen in every German state.
Most of the offenses included property damage, threats, and insults, as well as several cases of bodily harm and aggravated assault.
There were also two attempted murders: one in Berlin and one in Coburg, both in February.
In Coburg, an Iranian asylum seeker tried to attack someone he mistakenly believed to be a Jew with a knife. The Coburg Public Prosecutor’s Office told German paper WELT that a lack of guilt is assumed due to a mental illness.
In Berlin, a 19-year-old Syrian asylum seeker is said to have critically injured a 30-year-old Spanish tourist with a knife in the neck at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe near the Brandenburg Gate. The Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office reported that the man wanted to kill a Jew.
The BKA noted that the numbers are just for the first three months of 2025, and much is yet to be recorded. Last year, the BKA recorded 6,560 antisemitic crimes, including 178 violent offenses.
Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said the numbers were “alarming,” though “hardly surprising for Jewish people.”
“They rather make tangible the extent of hostility and hatred that Jews face daily. Since October 7, 2023, we’ve been witnessing a dramatic intensification of antisemitism in Germany.
“What we need now is not more expressions of concern but a state that acts firmly and combats antisemitic crimes in all their forms,” said Schuster.
Left Party politician Clara Bünger told WELT that “every antisemitic crime is one too many, and far too little is happening to effectively combat antisemitism.”
“It is just as harmful when German politicians describe antisemitism as a supposedly imported problem that can be countered with an even tougher expulsion policy and deportations,” Bünger added. “This is an intolerable trivialization of European antisemitism, which has a long history, and especially of the Nazis’ annihilation antisemitism.”