Politically motivated crime in Germany hits new high: report

Politically motivated crime in Germany reached a new high last year, press reports said Friday.

Authorities recorded a total of 85,837 politically motivated crimes in 2025, up 2% from 2024 – making it the highest figure since the joint federal-state survey began in 2001.

Since 2015 alone, the number of recorded offenses has more than doubled, the daily Suddeutsche Zeitung reported, citing documents from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).

According to the figures, crimes committed by the far-right are by far the biggest problem in Germany with 42,544 offenses committed in 2025.

The second-highest number of cases, at 13,490 offenses, was recorded in the far-left political camp.

Investigators attributed the high number of politically motivated crimes, among other things, to the early federal election in February 2025 and the many related offenses against political opponents.

However, they also noted that numerous international crises, such as the Middle East conflict, have had an impact on Germany.

In approximately 6,886 cases, the police assumed a foreign ideological motive, and in 1,983 cases, a religious motive.

In about 20,934 instances, however, the cases could not be precisely linked to a specific motive.