Germany records record 85,837 politically motivated crimes in 2025, far-right offenses account for half

Germany recorded 85,837 politically motivated crimes in 2025, the highest number ever, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday. Far-right extremists committed 42,544 offenses, roughly half the total, including 1,598 violent attacks, a 7.4% increase from 2024 and the highest level of far-right violent attacks since 2017.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt presented the figures alongside Holger Münch, president of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). “By far the highest number of offenses were committed by right-wing and far-right extremists, demonstrating once again that the greatest danger currently stems from right-wing extremism,” Dobrindt told a press conference in Berlin.

Left-wing extremist crimes surged 35.29% to 13,490 cases, with violent attacks rising 43% to 1,087. Münch cited increasing polarization and extremist propaganda as causes. “That can lead to radicalization, which manifests itself through acts of violence against those who think differently or against the political system,” he said, also pointing to “the continuing major influence of extremist propaganda, some of it from abroad.”

Hate crimes rose 1.8% to 22,159. Xenophobic hate crimes accounted for 19,484 cases. Antisemitic crimes rose 5% to 6,548; Münch said “almost half of them are connected to the Middle East conflict.” Misogynistic crimes rose 47% to 819, and antiziganist crimes rose 23% to 240. Religiously motivated crimes rose 5.7% to 1,983, while crimes motivated by foreign ideology fell 6.2% to 6,886.