Anti-Semitic crimes in Germany increased by 30 percent in 2021 compared to 2020, according to Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior. The report noted a total of 3,028 anti-Semitic offenses and 63 violent crimes in 2021. The ministry expects even more cases to be added to the report. Tagesspiegel reported the findings on February 17.

Some cases have been linked to conspiracy theories that Jews are responsible for the coronavirus response. In one such case, a suspect shot his wife and three daughters. “According to the current state of knowledge, the suspect was convinced that the state was pursuing an evil plan with the vaccination campaign wanting to reduce the world population by half and establish a new world order under Jewish leadership,” the ministry wrote about the case. In his suicide note, the suspect expressed fear of arrest and losing his children.

According to the Interior Ministry, 1,506 people were investigated for anti-Semitic crimes in 2020, but only eight were arrested and police only issued two arrest warrants. This reveals that Germany’s authorities may not take this horrible trend as seriously as they need to.

Conspiracy theories, right-wing extremism and hatred toward Israel are causing more and more Jews to feel threatened in Europe.

“It is noticeable … that a particularly high number of 1,306 crimes were reported in the second quarter” of 2021, Tagesspiegel wrote. “This is presumably also due to the riots at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in May in the Berlin district of Neukölln. Participants shouted hate slogans such as ‘Child murderer Israel’ and attacked the police with stones, bottles and fireworks. In Bonn, young Arabs threw stones at the synagogue and set fire to an Israeli flag. In Münster, too, a flag of Israel burned in front of the Jewish house of worship.”

Hatred toward Jews within Germany is an alarming trend. Before the 1930s, the Jewish community in Germany had around 560,000 members. Since then, the community has shrunk to around 95,000. In “Anti-Semitism: Why You Should Be Alarmed,” theTrumpet.com managing editor Brad Macdonald wrote:

Much like it is today, hatred toward Jews was politically fashionable and socially acceptable in Britain and the rest of Europe during the 1930s. Historian William Manchester noted this trend in his book The Last Lion. … In Germany, the persecution of Jews had been adopted as state policy nearly a decade before the war began. By the mid-’30s, bullying Jews was virtually a national sport. Across the country, wrote Manchester, “motion picture theaters, shops and restaurants were displaying prominent signs reading ‘Juden unerwünscht’ (‘Jews not welcome’). Day-to-day existence was becoming increasingly difficult for non-Aryans. ‘Fur Juden kein zutritt’ (‘Jews not admitted’) placards hung outside grocery and butchers’ shops; they could not enter dairies to buy milk for their infants, or pharmacies to fill prescriptions, or hotels to find lodging. At every turn they were taunted ….”

This global anti-Semitism came with significant consequences. Because hatred of Jews was in style and enormously pervasive, Western leaders during the 1930s were largely blind to the apocalyptic destination of the raging anti-Semitic river. In this sense, the subliminal support given by British, European and American governments and society to Hitler’s anti-Jewish ideology and policies actually made the gas-chamber-style anti-Semitism of the 1940s inevitable!

History’s warning is thunderous and undeniable: Pre-World War ii trends in Britain, America and Europe show that anti-Semitism is a barometer of crisis!

There is a spirit behind the crimes in our world. This explains why hatred against Jews is so universal and so prevalent throughout history. The Bible reveals that Satan is the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Revelation 12:9 says that Satan has deceived the whole world. Ephesians 2:2 says that he works in the minds of people. This evil being hates anything that points people to God. The Jews have a history with God, and though they are not honoring God the way they should today, they are one of the devil’s primary targets. Their persecution is a barometer for Satan’s wrath that is about to explode once more.

God allows this so His people and the world in general learn to look to Him for guidance. Adam and Eve rejected God’s laws; ancient Israel did the same. But notice what is recorded in Hosea 6: “Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up” (verse 1). Soon the whole world will learn how it has been deceived by the devil and will come to repentance.

Crimes are escalating, and worse is to come. But beyond this time of great suffering there is great hope. To learn more about these root causes and the hope mankind has, read “The One Minority Society Loves to Hate.” This article explains why Jews are persecuted more than any other group and refers to other literature that can help you further understand the cause of this phenomenon and God’s plan to intervene in His perfect time.