Nazi attacks in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: It doesn’t just stop at mobs

The number of right-wing attacks has risen sharply in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In Wismar, Christopher Street Day could only take place with police protection.

They could only be held back by the police: right-wing extremists at the CSD in Wismar on September 14, 2024 Photo: dpa

Hamburg taz | A stranger racially insults a man in downtown Schwerin. He threatens to hit him with his telescopic baton. The victim is lucky: passers-by intervene and prevent the stranger from injuring the man.

This situation is just one of dozens that occurred in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the first half of 2024; The number of cases of right-wing violence has increased massively: The advice center for those affected by right-wing violence in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Lobbi) registered a total of 89 right-wing attacks in the first six months of the year. “126 people were affected by the violence,” says Robert Schiedewitz from Lobbi. The number of attacks is already at around the same level as the annual average for the past ten years.

Schiedewitz suspects that the actual numbers are significantly higher, but that many of those affected do not want to report such incidents – they fear poor treatment from the police, and the fear of further hostility is also a motive.

On the other hand, cases that became public attracted nationwide attention, such as an attack on a Ghanaian family in Grevesmühlen. A group of young people first approached their eight-year-old daughter. When she tried to drive past one of the young people on her scooter, he is said to have blocked her path with an outstretched leg and hit her with the tip of his foot. The young people are then said to have verbally and physically attacked the family and insulted them racially.

Racism is the main motive for the crime

Racist attitudes were the main motive in the majority of cases; 52 attacks resulted from this attitude. But the growing number of attacks on political opponents is also striking. Lobbi counted 22 attacks in the first half of the year, and last year there were a total of 16 violent acts. There were threats to SPD election workers and left-wing candidates, particularly during the European and local election campaigns in the spring.

This increased violence comes as no surprise to the counseling center. “We assume that the aggressive mood of the extreme right during the election campaign contributed to this alarming intensification,” says Schiedewitz. According to Schiedewitz, it is AfD supporters in particular who support surveys based on violence against refugees and against politicians as a means of influencing other processes.

The queer community was also largely affected by right-wing violence. In Wismar, Christopher Street Day could only take place under police protection because right-wing extremists were mobilized against this event. In recent months, people carrying rainbow flags have been attacked several times.

And this is apparently continuing: just two weeks ago, an arson attack was carried out on the queer bar “B Sieben” in Rostock. “The number of violent crimes against queer people is increasing worryingly,” says the queer policy spokesman for the Greens in the state parliament, Hannes Damm. “How long until we’re not just talking about hate speech, stickers and arson, but about injuries and deaths?”

It’s not just the high number of incidents that worries Lobbi, but also the growing willingness to use violence: she counted 40 cases of bodily harm, 17 of dangerous bodily harm and one attempted murder.

The fact that political disputes at the federal level are “increasingly being waged at the expense of migrants” reinforces the mood. The racist demands turn perpetrators into violence, says Schiedewitz, citing an incident in Loitz. In the town, a pedestrian needed a man from Afghanistan to stop his car. The person affected was racially abused by another unknown person. When he managed to escape, he was chased, thwarted and injured. Three people then hit his car with objects, reports Schiedewitz.