Far-right groups are often behind violent crimes involving assault, vandalism and sabotage, as well as verbal hate crimes, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the Bavarian conservative CSU party said.
Most of the crimes were committed, by a large majority, by right-wing and far-right groups, Dobrindt said, adding that the largest increase in crimes was among left-wing groups.
Social media are driving the development of “social polarization,” through which hatred, incitement and propaganda are spread, Federal Police Commissioner Holger Münch said.
A total of 85,837 cases were reported last year, representing a doubling over the past decade.
