Germany
Germany regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. Close collaboration with civil society in the area of hate crime victim support has been established at the level of federal states, namely with the Weisser Ring civil society organization (CSO) and a number of specialized CSOs. The Federal Ministry of Justice and the Federal Victims' Commissioner are in regular contact with a number of victim support institutions and victims' representatives. Germany has conducted victimization surveys to measure under-reported hate crimes. The most recent report covering 2012-2017 is available here.
In 2021, ODIHR, together with Federal Ministries, organized a virtual study visit to Germany on strengthening co-operation between the Government and civil society on hate crime victim support.
The German government funds several organizations and projects to monitor hate incidents and assist hate crime victims. These include the Competence Network Against Antisemitism (KOMPAS), which consists of five experienced civil society organizations that register anti-Semitic incidents and develop measures to prevent anti-Semitism. The government also funds the Competence Network on Hate on the Net, which advises victims of hate speech, strengthens civil society networks, and develops media literacy materials.
OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES
| Year | Hate crimes recorded by police | Prosecuted | Sentenced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 17,007 | Not available | Not available |
| 2022 | 11,520 | Not available | Not available |
| 2021 | 10,501 | Not available | Not available |
| 2020 | 10,240 | Not available | Not available |
| 2019 | 8,585 | - | - |
| 2018 | 8,113 | Not available | Not available |
| 2017 | 7,913 | Not available | Not available |
| 2016 | 3,598 | Not available | Not available |
| 2015 | 3046 | Not available | Not available |
| 2014 | 3059 | Not available | Not available |
| 2013 | 4647 | Not available | Not available |
| 2012 | 4514 | Not available | Not available |
| 2011 | 4040 | Not available | Not available |
| 2010 | 3770 | Not available | Not available |
| 2009 | 4583 | Not available | Not available |
About 2015 Data
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148 Crimes motivated by bias against social status were also reported but are not presented on this page. Some of the incidents can include more than one bias motivation and are therefore listed more than once in the breakdown below. Incidents broken down by bias motivation thus do not necessarily add up to the overall number of hate crimes listed here, or the number reported in other official statistics.
Hate crime recorded by police
KEY OBSERVATION
ODIHR observes that Germany has not reported the numbers of prosecuted and/or information on sentenced hate crime cases to ODIHR.
INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY
INTERNATIONAL REPORTS
Racist and xenophobic hate crime
In its "Concluding observations on the combined nineteenth to twenty-second periodic reports of Germany", the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended that an explicit duty to investigate and document any racist motive of criminal offences be imposed on the police, that police be trained on reporting and investigating hate crimes, and that Germany's hate crime data-collection system be improved. CERD also expressed concerns about the increase in attacks against asylum-seekers and called for them to be protected from racially motivated violence.
The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, in the annual activity report following his country visit to Germany, welcomed amendments to the criminal code that made racist motivation an aggravating circumstance. The Commissioner also called on the authorities to improve the recording of hate crimes, in particular by increasing the disaggregation of data, to introduce guidance for police and prosecutors, and to train all criminal justice actors on hate crimes.