In 2022, Opferperspektive / Antidiskriminierungsberatung (Victim Perspective) counted 138 right-wing assaults. This means a slight decrease of 12 right-wing acts of violence in Brandenburg compared to the previous year (150). The number of attacks has therefore been at a relatively constant level since 2019 (2019: 140, 2020: 130). The relatively high number of antisemitic violent crimes in 2022 gives cause for concern: 8 antisemitic attacks were recorded, compared to only one such act in 2021.
Racism remains the main motive – State institutions more in the focus of right-wing mobilization
The number of offenses involving bodily harm has decreased only imperceptibly compared to the previous year. The counseling center recorded a total of 105 simple and dangerous bodily injuries (2021: 107). Above all, the number of attacks on political opponents has declined (2021: 23, 2022: 15) as well as attacks on right-wingers in the context of protests against infection control measures in connection with the COVID19 pandemic (2021: 12, 2022: 7). The number of racist attacks has also decreased (2021: 98, 2022: 91).
As every year since 2009, racism is the most common motive for right-wing violent criminals in Brandenburg. 91 racist attacks make up almost 66 percent of all registered right-wing attacks (2021: 98 attacks, 65 percent). At the same time, it can be observed that the transformation of right-wing mobilization in Brandenburg continued in 2022. The actors in the movement that emerged in the course of the protests against the infection control measures increasingly shifted the aim of their agitation to the state and its institutions.
Anne Brügmann, project manager of the counseling center, states: “Even if politicians are currently trying to declare refugees a threat and unreasonable, in 2022 we did not register any targeted right-wing attacks on refugee accommodation for the first time since 2015. This is an encouraging development.”
More attacks on groups and new distribution of regional focuses
In 2022, Victim Perspective became aware of 242 people who were the direct targets of right-wing violent criminals. In 2021, 215 affected people were still registered. As a result, in 2022 there were more frequent attacks than in the previous year in which whole groups of people were attacked by rights.
In 2022, the districts with the most right-wing attacks were Cottbus with 19 (2021:16), Märkisch-Oderland with 17 (2021: 8) and Ostprignitz-Ruppin with 12 (2021:5). In all three regions, the number of right-wing attacks increased compared to the previous year.
