Visitors walk beside the words "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work makes one free" in German) as they pass the main entrance gate of the former Nazi concentration camp Sachsenhausen in Oranienburg, Germany, Jan. 26, 2024, the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day. (OSV News photo/Fabrizio Bensch, Reuters) Alexander Riedel (KNA)
According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Jews in Germany are facing ever greater dangers. Even in the current global political situation, “the rise of anti-Semitism is a clear crisis seismograph”, said the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, on Monday on the occasion of the publication of a new situation report on hatred towards Jews. This is a sad finding.
The rapid increase in the number of criminal and violent acts against Jews in Germany, especially since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, should worry everyone, said Haldenwang. “The potential threat to people and institutions of the Jewish faith in Germany has risen dramatically.” The Federal Criminal Police Office recorded a record high of almost 5,200 anti-Jewish offences in 2023, almost twice as many as in the previous year. More than half of the offences were committed after 7 October.
The fight against anti-Semitism concerns everyone
From the point of view of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the fight against anti-Semitism is everyone’s business. “This is not just the task of the security authorities, it is a task that concerns society as a whole,” said Haldenwang. The recently often quoted phrase “Never again is now” should be internalised by all areas of society – whether in schools, universities, clubs or in the workplace. “We must all stand up against anti-Semitism and resolutely counter the corresponding narratives,” warned the head of the authorities.
In 2020, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution published a situation report on anti-Semitism for the first time. In the current version, the authority warns that the danger to people and institutions of the Jewish faith in Germany has increased dramatically, particularly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the escalation of the Middle East conflict in October 2023.
According to the report, anti-Semitic conspiracy narratives were spread during the pandemic. What was new was that these were spread on a relatively broad basis and not just among extremists. Since the outbreak of the Gaza war and the associated demonstrations in Germany, others than the usual extremists have also been making far more open anti-Semitic statements. “Extremists of all kinds are instrumentalising the war in the Middle East and using anti-Semitism for their agenda,” it says. It is often a unifying element across ideological boundaries.
Authorities see right-wing extremists as the greatest danger
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution warns that anti-Semitic images could also incite people to commit acts of violence. The digital space is playing an increasingly important role in the spread of anti-Semitic ideas – now also via images generated by artificial intelligence, for example. These are particularly widespread in the far-right scene. Subtle depictions using codes and allusions are also on the rise.
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) once again called for the spiral to be broken “that escalations in the Middle East lead to even more repugnant hatred of Jews in our country”. Anti-Jewish offences must be prosecuted with the full force of the law. A large number of anti-Semitic offences committed by right-wing extremists continue to be observed, as well as a drastic increase in Islamist-influenced anti-Semitism. According to the report by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the greatest threat to Jews continues to come from right-wing extremists.