The number of registered antisemitic crimes in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has more than doubled in the first half of the year.
According to the Schwerin Interior Ministry, the police recorded 69 crimes, up from 33 in the first six months of 2023.
This is evident from the state government’s response to a minor inquiry by the independent state parliament member Eva Maria Schneider-Gärtner.
The authorities have identified 46 suspects. Only one individual had a nationality other than German, it was reported. Schneider-Gärtner had asked the state government about the effects of the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Throughout 2023, the authorities registered 115 antisemitic crimes. Of these, 90 had a right-wing extremist background, as Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) stated in the state parliament on 13 November. On that day, parliament initiated a constitutional amendment. The protection and promotion of Jewish life is to be enshrined as an additional state goal. In the future, spreading National Socialist and antisemitic ideas will also be deemed unconstitutional.
Interior Minister Christian Pegel described the development as dramatic. “This should not be acceptable for us, especially given our German history,” he cautioned.
“Due to its past, Germany bears a special responsibility for the fight against antisemitism.” The state police will persist in prosecuting antisemitic crimes. Pegel noted that the figures for the first half of 2024 are provisional and that detailed assessments could change during the course of investigations.