Violence Against Jews on the Rise in Germany
The number of attacks on Jews is drastically rising in Germany. Violent attacks against Jews rose from 63 to 88 offenses in 2022 compared to 2021, according to the federal government. The incidents comprise dangerous bodily harm, robbery and arson.
Anti-Semitism is becoming more violent. It doesn’t stop at words and damage to property, but the violence is increasingly directed directly against Jews themselves.
—Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany
- The Federal Criminal Police Office reported 2,639 criminal offenses with an anti-Semitic background in 2022, but follow-up reports from the fourth quarter are still pending.
- It is expected that the number of reported criminal offenses will increase significantly.
- In 2021, there were 3,028 incidents.
- In the last four years, the number of reported incidents has steadily increased.
According to the Central Council of Jews in Germany, as of 2021, there were approximately 100,000 Jews living in Germany. Before World War ii, Germany hosted around 500,000; this number declined drastically during the Nazi regime as Jews fled the country or were killed. It is estimated that only about 15,000 to 20,000 Jews were living in Germany by the end of World War ii. Proportionally, Jews are the most attacked minority. (For more information, read “The One Minority Society Loves to Hate.”)
The Trumpet says: Our 2009 article “Anti-Semitism: Why You Should Be Alarmed” states:
In Europe, the river of anti-Semitism that carved through the Continent, swelling Nazi Germany’s prewar anti-Jew ambitions, has reappeared today and flows as briskly as ever. Though their hatred is cloaked in anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian rhetoric and gestures, many European leaders are sanctioning, even promoting, the persecution of Jews.
There is a reason why anti-Semitism is one of the strongest and most enduring forms of hatred. But there is hope beyond today’s events. To learn more, read “The One Minority Society Loves to Hate.”