Hitler salute as a “challenge”?
More and more extremist crimes in schools
April 6, 2024, 7:11 a.m
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Since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, there has been an increase in extremist incidents in Germany – including at schools. Sometimes the acts are provoked via social media networks.
According to a media report, several federal states are recording an increase in extremist crimes in schools. “Welt am Sonntag” asked all 16 federal state education ministries. Six of the countries collecting data responded and reported an increase. Most incidents were reported in Brandenburg, a tripling to 180 offenses compared to the previous school year. This is followed by Saxony, where there were 150 cases in the last calendar year and 90 in the previous year.
In Hesse, too, the number of extremist incidents tripled in 2023 compared to the previous year to a total of 35. In the first quarter of 2024 there were already 39. According to the article, the Hessian ministry justifies this with the increased showing of the banned Hitler salute – often as a challenge on social media . In addition, after the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, there was an increase in anti-Semitic or Islamist incidents.
In the current school year, extremist incidents have also increased in other federal states. Saxony-Anhalt had already registered 22 “anti-constitutional incidents” by January, compared to 15 in the last school year 2022/2023. It is similar in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the number has almost doubled compared to the previous school year.
In seven federal states (Bavaria, Berlin, North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein), extremist incidents are either not reported or not statistically evaluated by the education ministries, as “Welt am Sonntag” writes. Hamburg, Bremen and Thuringia reportedly did not respond to the request.