The number of antisemitic crimes in North Rhine-Westphalia has risen sharply. While 276 criminal offenses were recorded in this area in 2020, there were a total of 437 in 2021.
The number of violent antisemitic acts increased significantly to 437 in 2021 compared to 276 in 2020. The majority of anti-Semitic crimes were therefore attributed to right-wing extremists (368 out of 437). At the request of the Greens parliamentary group, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia announced this.
According to this, most antisemitic offenses in 2021 were committed in Meckenheim near Bonn (59), Essen (34), Cologne (27), Gelsenkirchen (26), Düsseldorf (21) and Dortmund (20). In 2021, no suspects were arrested for an anti-Semitic crime in North Rhine-Westphalia, the state government replied.
Overall, right-wing politically motivated crime fell by 249 crimes to 3,134 offenses in 2021. There was a year-on-year increase in racist crimes from 438 to 462. Most crimes were committed in Cologne (189), Dortmund (183), Essen (171) and Düsseldorf (170). Green parliamentary group leader Verena Schäffer called for more protection for those affected and a dark field study on crime from the right on Friday. Right-wing extremists would have to be disarmed and arrest warrants executed. They pose the greatest threat to democracy.
