Published February 20, 2020last updated May 30, 2023
Estimates suggest that more 200 people have died in far-right attacks in Germany since 1990. Here's an overview of the right-wing terror attacks that have rocked the country in recent years.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
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Germany's security agencies categorize crimes committed by far-right extremists as "politically-motivated right-wing crime." This includes violence perpetrated against foreigners, Jews, Muslims, political opponents or representatives of the state.
Since German reunification in 1990, authorities have collected data pertaining to the victims of far-right violence in the country. The official death toll is currently 113, but journalists and the Amadeu Antonio Foundation estimate that the figures are much higher — closer to 219. Critics accuse authorities of not always categorizing crimes as politically-motivated, but rather attributing them to private revenge, for instance, or motivated by other circumstances.
Hanau far-right shootings in 2020
Police reported that a gunman killed nine people in two different shisha bars in Hanau on Feb. 19, 2020. The suspect was found dead hours later at home, along with the body of his 72-year-old mother, in what appeared to be a murder-suicide. A letter of confession written by the suspect and a video in which he espouses far-right ideology were also found. Eight of the victims had a "migration background," meaning they or at least one parent did not have German nationality at birth; and one victim was a Romani German citizen.
Halle attacks 2019
On Oct. 9, 2019, a neo-Nazi called Stephan B. from Eisleben set out to commit a massacre at a synagogue in the eastern German city of Halle. It was Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism. After renting a car and packing it full of weapons and explosives, he arrived in combat gear at the synagogue, where dozens had gathered to pray. He was unable to get into the building, however. In his frustration, he killed a passerby before driving to a nearby kebab shop where he killed a customer. He had written a manifesto expressing anti-Semitic, racist and xenophobic hatred.
To the point: Halle terror attack: How deadly is Germany's far right?
The murder of the regional CDU politician Walter Lübcke on June 2, 2019 also falls into the category of far-right violence. He was murdered by right-wing extremist Stephan E., who had been previously accused of convictions. A a far-right extremist motive was behind the killing of the politician, who was supportive of Merkel's welcoming policy towards asylum-seekers.
Politician's killing an 'alarm bell' for Germany
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Attacks on refugee centers in 2015 and 2016
As the number of refugees in Germany rose in 2015, amid much controversy, the number of hate-fueled attacks on refugee centers also increased. The authorities registered 995 such attacks in 2016.
In 2015, a far-right terrorist group that named itself the "Gruppe Freital" carried out several attacks on refugees and their supporters. In 2018, eight members of the group were convicted of founding a terrorist organization.
Logo from the Facebook page of the 'Oldschool Society' in 2015. Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
In May 2015, members of the neo-Nazi "Oldschool Society" were arrested in five different German towns before they were able to carry out any attacks. They had allegedly planned attacks against refugee homes, mosques and schools.
Knife attacks on politicians in 2015 and 2017
The attacks on politicians in 2015 and 2017 involved lone perpetrators who were not connected with right-wing extremist terror networks.
In October 2015, a right-wing extremist stabbed Henriette Reker, an independent candidate for Cologne mayor, in the neck with a knife. She was targeted because of her views on refugees. Reker survived the attack and was elected Cologne mayor the next day.
@dwnews - Cologne mayor criticized on social media #einearmlaenge
"You let me die of thirst, but bring 200 foreigners to the city." These were the words a 56-year-old man used when he threatened the mayor of the town of Altena, Christian Democrat Andreas Hollstein, with a knife to the neck during an incident at a snack stand in November 2017. The snack stand manager intervened and Hollstein was only lightly injured.
Franco A. —impersonating a refugee
In April 2017, German soldier Franco A. was arrested in a bizarre and confusing case. Investigators suspected him of planning a right-wing terrorist attack that he wanted to blame on Syrian refugees. Franco A. had even registered as a war refugee and applied for asylum in Germany.
German police arrests soldier in far-right probe
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However, the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court was unable to find sufficient suspicion for the "preparation of an act of violence that seriously endangered the state." The federal prosecutor has lodged an appeal. Franco A. compiled a list of possible victims, including SPD politicians and the current foreign minister, Heiko Maas. The case sparked a discussion in Germany about whether the military had a right-wing extremism problem within its own ranks.
For years it was debated whether the incident was a lone wolf shooting spree or a right-wing extremist attack. One thing is for sure: On July 22, 2016, an 18-year-old man killed nine people, many of them teenagers, in a mass shooting at the Olympia shopping mall in northern Munich before ultimately turning the gun on himself. It was not until the fall of 2019 that state police said the case was "politically motivated" because the shooter's "racist motives." Authorities noted he had written a manifesto and demonstrated right-wing extremist views in his online activity.
The NSU murders
For 13 years, the neo-Nazi terrorist group National Socialist Underground (NSU) was unknown to the German public. Their members, Uwe Böhnhardt and Uwe Mundlos — who police knew to be neo-Nazis — carried out bombings and shootings between 2000 and 2007 that killed nine people of immigrant background and a police officer. When the group was forced to flee after a bank robbery in November 2011, Böhnhardt and Mundlos committed suicide. Beate Zschäpe, the third member of the group, was sentenced to life in prison in July 2018 for her role in the murders.
The NSU affair raised questions in Germany over whether the authorities and the media had for too longoverlooked the danger of right-wing terrorism in the country. For years, police had suspected the killers were people familiar to the NSU victims. The media made reference to the "Döner murders," because two of the victims worked at a Turkish fast food restaurant.
Who were the victims of the neo-Nazi NSU murder spree?
From 2000 to 2007, the notorious National Socialist Underground (NSU) neo-Nazi cell killed 10 people in Germany. After five years, the trial of the group's sole surviving member has come to a close.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N.Försterling
10 victims, 10 tragedies
Nine of the 10 victims were of foreign heritage, but they had all made Germany their home when they were killed. The 10th victim was a German police officer. Every one of them was shot in cold blood.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Enver Simsek
On September 9, 2000, the florist Enver Simsek, pictured with his wife, was shot eight times. The 38-year-old father of two sold flowers near a small parking lot in the southern city of Nuremberg. Simsek, who migrated from Turkey to Germany in 1986, is believed to be the first murder victim in the NSU series of racially motivated killings.
Image: privat/Ufuk Ucta
Abdurrahim Ozudogru
Also in Nuremberg, Turkish-born tailor Abdurrahim Ozudogru was shot on June 13, 2001 in his alteration shop. He was 49 years old with a daughter who was 19 at the time of his murder.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
Suleyman Taskopru
Later that month, on June 27, 2001 Suleyman Taskopru was shot dead in his father's fruit and vegetable shop in Hamburg. He was 31 years old and had a three-year-old daughter.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Habil Kilic
On August 29 of the same year, 38-year-old Habil Kilic, who was also a fruit and vegetable grocer, was killed in his shop in Munich. Like Taskopru, he was shot in the head. His wife and his 12-year-old daughter later left Germany.
Image: picture alliance / dpa
Mehmet Turgut
Mehmet Turgut lived in Hamburg, but was visiting a friend in the eastern German city of Rostock and helping out at a Doner kebab fast food restaurant when he was shot on February 25, 2004. He was killed by three bullets to the head.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
Ismail Yasar
Ismail Yasar was shot five times in his doner kebab restaurant in Nuremberg on June 9, 2005. A customer found him behind the counter. The 50-year-old had three children.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
Theodoros Boulgarides
Just a few days later, on June 15, 2005, Theodoros Boulgarides was shot dead in Munich in his lock and key service shop. He was the only victim with Greek heritage. The 41-year-old father of two was the NSU's seventh murder victim.
Image: DW/I. Anastassopoulou
Mehmet Kubasik
On a busy street at noon on April 4, 2006 in the western city of Dortmund, Turkish-born Mehmet Kubasik was killed by several shots to the head in his small convenience store. The 39-year-old left behind a wife and three children.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
Halit Yozgat
In Kassel on April 6, 2006, Halit Yozgat was also shot in the head. He was killed in the internet cafe he ran with his father. Twenty-one years old, Turkish-born but with a German passport, Yozgat was taking night school classes to graduate from high school.
Image: picture alliance / dpa
Michele Kiesewetter
Michele Kiesewetter, a 22-year-old police officer, was shot dead on April 25, 2007 in the southwestern city of Heilbronn. She was the NSU's 10th and final murder victim.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N.Försterling
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Arson attacks and riots in the 1990s
In the early 1990s, neo-Nazis set fire to multiple buildings housing asylum-seekers and foreigners. At the time, asylum law in Germany was hotly debated, and right-wing extremist violence rose to new levels. Asylum-seekers and other foreigners were increasingly injured in riots, such as during the 1992 xenophobic riots in Rostock.
That same year in Mölln, two young girls and their grandmother were killed when neo-Nazis set fire to their house. In May 1993, three young girls and two women of Turkish descent died in a similarly-motivated arson attack in Solingen.
From 1990 to 1993, 58 people were killed in right-wing extremist violence in Germany. Amadeu Antonio Kiowa of Angola is considered the first victim to die after German reunification. On November 24, 1990, in the northeastern city of Eberswalde, a group of neo-Nazis brutally beat him and stomped on his head.
On June 11, 2000, in another prominent case, Mozambican immigrant and father of three Alberto Adriano was beaten to death by drunk neo-Nazis in the city park of Dessau, a city in eastern Germany.
Right-wing extremist terror attacks: A timeline
In the past 10 years, there have been numerous attacks targeting Muslim and Jewish communities, as well as people of color. DW examines some of the world's major right-wing extremist terror attacks.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/PA Wire/D. Lawson
Germany 2009: Stabbing of woman in Dresden court
Marwa El-Sherbini, a pharmacist who lived with her husband and son in Dresden, was killed in Dresden's district court on July 1, 2009. She was stabbed by a 28-year-old Russian-German man shortly after testifying against him in a verbal abuse case. He'd previously called her a "terrorist" and "Islamist." El-Sherbini is considered to be the first murder victim of an Islamophobic attack in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Hiekel
Norway 2011: Mass murderer Breivik carries out terror attacks
Right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people in two lone-wolf terror attacks on July 22, 2011. He first set off a bomb in the government district in Oslo before killing young people attending a summer camp on the island of Utoya. Prior to the attack, Breivik published a manifesto where he decried multiculturalism and the "Islamization of Europe."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Berit
USA 2015: Chapel Hill shooting
Three university students — Deah Barakat, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, and her sister Razan Abu-Salha — were shot dead by their 46-year-old neighbor on February 10, 2015. The shooter described himself as an opponent of organized religion and reportedly repeatedly threatened and harassed the victims. The killings sparked outrage online, with millions of tweets using the hashtag #MuslimLivesMatter.
On June 17, 2015, a white supremacist opened fire at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine African-American worshipers were killed, including a pastor at the church, which is one of the oldest black congregations in the United States. The 21-year-old suspect was convicted of a federal hate crime and sentenced to death.
Image: Getty Images/J. Raedle
Germany 2016: Mass shooting in Munich
A mass shooting at a shopping mall in Munich on July 22, 2016 wounded some 36 people and killed 10 — including the 18-year-old shooter. The perpetrator, a German of Iranian descent, made xenophobic and racist comments and idolized school shooters, according to police. He also suffered from depression, was frequently bullied and wanted to take revenge on people with immigrant backgrounds.
Image: Getty Images/J. Simon
UK 2017: Attack on Finsbury Park mosque
On June 19, 2017, a 47-year-old man killed one person and wounded another 10 after driving a van into a group of pedestrians near the Finsbury Park mosque in north London. All of the victims were Muslims who were on their way to take part in special night prayers during Ramadan. The perpetrator later stated that he was motivated by a "hatred of Islam" and was sentenced to life in prison.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Augstein
USA 2017: Car attack during neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville
One woman was killed and dozens were wounded when a white nationalist drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, 2017. The counterprotesters had been demonstrating against the Unite the Right rally, a gathering of white supremacists, white nationalists and neo-Nazis. The suspect was sentenced to life in prison.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P.J. Richards
Canada 2017: Attack on mosque in Quebec
A gunman opened fire on worshipers at the Islamic Cultural Center in Quebec City in late January 2017, killing six people and wounding over a dozen. The shooting took place during evening prayers. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the shooting as "a terrorist attack on Muslims in a center of worship and refuge."
Image: Reuters/M. Belanger
USA 2018: Tree of Life Synagogue shooting
On October 27, 2018, a 46-year-old gunman opened fire at a synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, killing 11 people and wounding seven. He reportedly shouted anti-Semitic slurs during the attack and previously posted conspiracy theories online. It was the deadliest attack on Jewish people in US history.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/M. Rourke
Germany 2019: New Year's attack in Bottrop and Essen
Shortly after midnight as people were out celebrating, a 50-year-old man carried out targeted attacks on immigrants in the western German cities of Bottrop and Essen — injuring eight people, one seriously. He deliberately drove his car at two Syrian and Afghan families who were out celebrating with their children in Bottrop. German authorities said "he had a clear intent to kill foreigners."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kusch
New Zealand 2019: Twin terror attacks on mosques in Christchurch
At least 50 people were killed and dozens others were injured in twin terror attacks at mosques in Christchurch. Officials called it a "right-wing extremist attack" and the deadliest shooting in New Zealand's history. One of the gunmen livestreamed the attack and posted a racist manifesto online before the attack. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called it "one of New Zealand's darkest days."
