Annual report: Antisemitic incidents in Cologne 2022
In 2022, the Cologne reporting office documented a total of 83 Antisemitic incidents in Cologne. Compared to the previous year (55 incidents), this corresponds to an increase of 50%. The increasing numbers are at least partly due to the growing awareness of the registration office within the city society. Daniel Vymyslicky, employee of the registration office, explains:
“Not only were significantly more incidents reported than in the previous year, the forms of Antisemitism recorded were also significantly more violent.”
In this context, the arson attack on a building of the synagogue community in Cologne on May 11, 2022 should be mentioned, which represents an incident of extreme violence. In addition, a total of three assaults, two threats, eight targeted property damage, four mass mailings and 65 abusive behavior incidents were documented in 2022 (see Annual Report for definitions and examples).
Whether in the form of verbal hostilities or physical assaults: In a total of 30 documented cases, individuals in Cologne were treated with Antisemitism last year. In 27 out of 30 cases, those affected were Jewish or addressed as such (90%). Antisemitic incidents towards institutions were documented in 20 cases.
Looking at the crime scenes, most incidents happened in the middle of the street (24), as in the previous year. Numerous Antisemitic incidents were also documented at places of remembrance in 2022: the registration office registered a significant increase here, from six in 2021 to 15 Antisemitic incidents in 2022. The incidents are also classified according to their content-related form of appearance. Most frequently, the documented incidents related to so-called othering (40 incidents), followed by post-Shoah Antisemitism (30 incidents), Israel-related Antisemitism (28 incidents) and modern antisemitism (19 incidents). On average, seven antisemitic incidents were reported per month in 2022 (2021: 4.5 incidents per month). Geographically, most documented incidents occurred in the Downtown District, with two out of three incidents.
In addition to the statistics and their evaluation, the annual report deals in detail with two selected incidents:
- Regarding the arson attack mentioned above, an insight into the course of the court process is given, in which the registration office took part and after six days of negotiations on January 20th ended in a verdict in 2023.
- After a young man was physically attacked in Schildergasse on October 28, 2022 – just because he was wearing a kippa – he describes his personal perspective on the violent act suffered in an interview with the registration office.
All in all, this annual report is intended to provide information at the local level about real incidents from the past year, to raise awareness of various forms of expression and manifestations of Antisemitism and to strengthen the perspectives of those affected in the public eye.
