Rightist resurgence

The upward trend in right-wing violence seen over the past few years in Germany will likely continue through 2009, the head of Germany's federal criminal police agency said on Thursday. More than 20,000 politically motivated crimes were committed in 2008, the highest number since the government began counting them separately in 2001.

"On average, two to three right wing-motivated violent crimes are committed in Germany each day, and about three anti-Semitic violent crimes each month," Joerg Ziercke said at a press conference in Berlin.

Eighty-five percent of violent crimes ended in bodily injury, totalling nearly 1,000 in 2008. Three-quarters of these crimes were committed in public spaces such as train stations or streets near bars.

Ziercke said alcohol often plays an important roll, and many of the crimes are committed spontaneously.

The rise is attributed in part to the Internet, which right-wing extremists in Germany are increasingly using to spread propaganda, especially on foreign servers.

East-West divide

While right-wing violence occurs in both western and eastern Germany, the motivations for it often differ, according to Uwe Backes, director of the Dresden-based Hannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism.

"In the eastern state of Saxony between 2003 and 2006, the motivation of violent crimes has largely changed," Backes said. "Violence against people with opposing political views and people with alternative lifestyles was more common than violence against immigrants or other minorities."

But in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, xenophobic violence has been most prevalent, Backes said.

The Hannah Arendt Institute also released a study on Thursday which indicates that election successes by the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) may also fuel right-wing violence.

In Saxony, where the 2004 election gave the party 9.2 percent of the vote, the party and right-wing radicals often cooperate, the study found.

The solution to Germany's problem with right-wing violence is not a simple one, and completely eradicating the problem is not very likely.

"You can open youth clubs in the countryside so that the young people find alternatives and do not engage in right-wing gangs," said Steffen Kailitz, a researcher at the Hannah Arendt Institute. "But I don't think it's possible to lower the number to zero of right-wing crimes."

Rehabilitation programs may help

Other researchers who've been investigating the increase of right-wing violence and its causes have expressed fears that budget constraints may lead to the federal and state governments cutting funds for so-called "exit programs," which show people involved in the right-wing scene a safe way to get out.

"You have to see the results of the evaluation of these programs," he said. "If they made a contribution to the lowering of the number of crimes, it would be truly wrong to cut the money for these programs. But if there is no effect at all, then it's a different question."

Police chief Ziercke called for greater efforts to be made to apprehend repeat offenders. Judges should also be encouraged to hand down harsher sentences, which Ziercke said have been proven to act as a deterrent.

Author: Andrew Bowen

Editor: Kyle James