Escalating aggression from both left and right factions - Escalating Violence Observed from Both Political Sides
In the first half of 2025, Germany has witnessed a significant increase in political violence, with a sharp rise in crimes against Bundestag members. According to recent statistics, there were 2,210 such crimes, marking a 165% increase compared to the preceding six months. Most suspects are believed to be from the left-wing spectrum, targeting primarily the far-right party AfD (808 cases) and also center-right CDU/CSU (545 cases), Greens (477), SPD (362), and Die Linke (114).
This surge reflects growing radicalization and antagonism in political discourse, fostered by social and online extremist subcultures. Left-wing extremism has risen alongside far-right and Islamist groups in recent years. While far-right extremism remains more prominent in some violent crime categories, such as most antisemitic crimes, left-wing extremists have been responsible for a significant number of violent acts, including attacks on political figures or institutions.
In contrast, the number of cases involving foreign ideologies decreased by around 51% compared to the first half of 2023, with 694 cases in 2025. The focus of Islamist-motivated crime is primarily on propaganda offenses (139), followed by property damage (36). However, the statistics obtained by the German Press Agency also show an increase in cases of Islamist-motivated crime, although no specific numbers are given for this category.
The Berlin Police registered 1,200 cases of far-right criminal offenses in the first half of 2025, a decrease of approximately 25% compared to the same period last year. There was a strong decrease of 80% in violent offenses in this area compared to the first half of 2024. Green Party representative Ario Mirzaie, the spokesperson for the Green Party's strategies against the right, commented that right-wing extremism is the greatest threat to democracy and an increasing security risk for the people in Berlin.
On the other hand, the number of registered cases from the Islamist and fundamentalist spectrum increased by 27% in the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year, from 163 to 207. Approximately 500 of the antisemitic crimes fell into the categories of religious ideologies and foreign ideologies, with a further 99 suspected of being linked to right-wing extremism. Following the attack by the terrorist organization Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, which led to the ongoing Gaza conflict, the number of antisemitic crimes in Berlin increased significantly.
In response, German authorities continue to focus on intelligence and law enforcement responses to this multifaceted threat. Political parties have faced increased security concerns, and governmental reports acknowledge the challenge of rising political violence from multiple sides. The fight against right-wing extremism is a key priority, with Mirzaie advocating for more resources to be invested in this area instead of cutting measures against racism, anti-Semitism, and queer-phobia.
Meanwhile, the number of left-wing extremism cases consists predominantly of property damage, followed by violent offenses, which almost doubled from 79 to 142 in the first half of 2025. There were approximately 497 cases of left-wing extremism in this period, representing an increase of approximately 14%.
The rise in left-wing extremism and violence in Germany is embedded in a wider context of political radicalization, with significant increases in violent acts against politicians mainly attributed to left-wing actors in 2025, amidst an overall climate of escalating far-right violence and extremist tensions. Authorities continue to monitor extremist violence through agencies like the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), which tracks individuals linked to extremism and reports violence statistics.
- The surge in political violence in Germany, marked by an unprecedented number of crimes against Bundestag members, has sparked concerns over community policy, given the rise in left-wing extremism and violence, which has almost doubled in the first half of 2025.
- Journalists and law enforcement agencies have been monitoring the rising political violence within the broader context of increasing political radicalization, focusing on the role of politics in crime-and-justice, especially as left-wing extremists have been predominantly responsible for property damage and violent offenses.
