Dramatic increase in attacks on Russians in Germany

Several German media outlets have been reporting on hostile sentiment expressed towards Russians or Germans with Russian roots living in Germany.

At the beginning of March, the SWR magazine Report Mainz asked the interior ministries of the federal states and several police headquarters in Germany for relevant information. Authorities said they were expecting more “incidents of property damage, vandalism, verbal provocation and physical altercations” as a result of recent events.

The Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of the Interior spoke of an “emotionally heated situation“. According to Der Spiegel, in the first week and a half since the events in Ukraine began, the Federal Criminal Police Office registered “318 ‘criminal-relevant events’, ranging from damage to property and insults to threats on the Internet and on the street”. Since February 24, 86 incidents have been reported to the Berlin police.

The SWR news app listed examples of other incidents:

“A bakery has renamed its Russian Zupfkuchen, a restaurant has banned people with Russian passports from entering the premises… On social media, Russians are blamed for the war. There are now calls for a boycott of Russian shops.”

Russian shops are indeed increasingly suffering from boycott calls. Russian restaurants have witnessed a clearly noticeable drop in sales of up to 30 percent. There were also threats, said manager Katharina Winter. “A man called several times and announced that he would come over with his pump gun.”

Referring to information from the Russian Embassy on March 5, it can be assumed that the total number of incidents is significantly higher. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a pro-war member of the Green party, meanwhile tweeted a ridiculous message of German “gender-sensitive” support to Russians.

Der Krieg in der #Ukraine ist Putins Krieg. Wer Belaruss*innen oder Russ*innen in Deutschland anfeindet, der greift nicht nur unsere Mitbürger*innen an, sondern auch die Grundprinzipien unseres Zusammenlebens. Wir halten zusammen. Wir sind stärker als der Hass. pic.twitter.com/r6NXkx7qqG

— Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock (@ABaerbock) March 3, 2022

Deutsche Welle quoted CDU General Secretary Mario Czaja who spoke out against “strong and increasing anti-Russian hostility in our own country”. His party is also on the side of the Russian-speaking people in Germany. “The attacks on them, bullying against them is not okay. We have to take action against this together,” said Czaja.

According to German weekly Stern, migration experts estimate the number of Russian-speaking immigrants at around 2,2 million.