Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
by Andrey Bulkin
[REGNUM] Anti-Semitism is on the rise again in Germany – Jews are being denied service, insulted based on their nationality, and attacked on the streets.
At the same time, hatred of Jews in Germany is rapidly ceasing to be an attribute of radicals in bomber jackets, once again becoming a common practice. And, despite all the statements by German leaders about historical responsibility for the Holocaust and a commitment to the fight against hatred, the statistics are inexorable: the trend is only getting stronger.
"NO JEWS ALLOWED"
One recent example was a hotel scandal in Bavaria. In late May, an elderly couple from Israel tried to book a room at the Zum Hirschen Hotel in the community of Lam. Instead of confirmation, they received the following response: "Unfortunately, Jews are not allowed in our hotel."
Upon learning of the incident, Israel's Consul General in Munich, Talya Lador-Frescher, stated: "At first, I simply couldn't believe it. After verifying the open anti-Semitism on several channels, I was stunned. Are we back in the 1930s?"
The Bavarian Commissioner for Combating Anti-Semitism, Ludwig Spenle, quickly intervened in the situation and passed the information on to the Munich Prosecutor General's Office for an investigation into suspected incitement to ethnic hatred.
The response from hotel manager Andreas Vogl was, to put it mildly, bizarre. He claimed the response the couple received "didn't align with the hotel team's worldview," and immediately offered a completely disconcerting justification: the Israelis' reservation was allegedly mistaken for part of a "wave of fake reservations and phishing attacks," which is why they responded this way, even though it "was wrong." The Israeli consul general called these excuses vague, and the hotel itself was removed from the popular online platform where the tourists found it.
However, the incident in Lam is far from isolated. Towards the end of 2025, a similar story occurred in Flensburg, where a sign was spotted in the window of a small shop: "Jews are not allowed in this building!!!" Below, in smaller print, was added: "Nothing personal, no anti-Semitism, I just can't stand you."
| “It’s not that I hate Jews, it’s just that they’re all horrible people.” |
Police were called to the scene, and officers ordered 60-year-old store owner Hans-Welten Reisch to take down the sign. He explained his actions this way: "I watch the news every night. And when I saw what the Jews were doing in the Gaza Strip, I simply lost my temper and printed out that piece of paper." His only "slight mistake," he said, was that his anger was directed at all Jews, "but he should have only directed it at those who support the war in Gaza."
A week ago, the court sentenced the store owner to six months' probation and a fine of 1,200 euros, which would go toward the memorial at the site of the Ladelund concentration camp. Remarkably, during the trial, Reisch never bothered to apologize to the Jewish community or even disavow his views, merely acknowledging that he had indeed placed the ad in the window. And everyone was satisfied with that.
"He has already made his true feelings clear on numerous occasions," said Gershom Jessen, a spokesman for the Jewish community in Flensburg.
However, the hatred is not limited to domestic matters. In February 2025, a 19-year-old Syrian man, whose asylum application in Germany was rejected, attacked a 30-year-old Spanish tourist, stabbing him in the neck.
| He had mistaken his target for one of those Jews he wanted to kill. |
The attack took place at a Holocaust memorial in Berlin, and when the perpetrator was apprehended three hours later, police said: "He had a plan to kill Jews, and the choice of location for the attack was determined by this."
The Spaniard fortunately survived, and the attacker received 13 years in prison. However, this incident demonstrated how far the spread of hatred against Jews has reached—victims of anti-Semitism in Germany are now accidentally targeting tourists from other EU countries.
"AN UNPRECEDENTED THREAT"
Amid these and numerous other incidents, official Berlin continues to display ritual mourning. Chancellor Friedrich Merz publicly declared in May: "Jewish life in Germany is under threat the likes of which have not been seen for a long time." And this is a rare instance where Merz is unarguable.
According to the Berlin Senate, police recorded 2,267 anti-Semitic crimes in 2025. This is an all-time high. By comparison, 1,825 such crimes were committed in 2024, 900 in 2023, and a whopping 381 in 2022.
At the same time, a significant shift has occurred in the causes of hate crimes against Jews. Right-wing extremist crimes have long been the traditional core of anti-Semitism in Germany. However, in 2025, they accounted for only 327 cases overall, a figure that has remained virtually unchanged for several years.
Meanwhile, the number of crimes related to the situation in the Middle East that can be classified as politically motivated anti-Semitism is steadily increasing. Along with this, the number of incidents involving Islamists, of which modern Germany has no shortage.
"We find ourselves in a situation where Jewish communities require constant protection and anti-Semitism has become the norm in the public sphere," said Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
The climate of hatred towards Jews in Germany is becoming increasingly palpable. A couple of months ago, someone wrote "Kill all Jews" on the wall of a residential building in one of Berlin's districts. The graffiti simply became part of the urban landscape, causing neither public outcry nor a swift response from public services.
After a football match, players from the German-Jewish club TuS Makkabi were attacked by unknown assailants with sticks, who called them "disgusting Jews." A Jewish restaurant in the center of the German capital was forced to close, as its owners grew tired of dealing with the endless stream of offensive graffiti on its facade.
"Everything that sustained us in Germany for so many years is gone. This evening, we're just glad we survived the day in one piece," admits Berlin resident Miriam.
"THE GERMANS WILL NEVER FORGIVE THE JEWS FOR AUSCHWITZ."
The reasons for this are very diverse. The Gaza operation truly served as a powerful catalyst. A study found that 69% of Germans believe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict influences their perception of Jews, who are often labeled murderers. This type of anti-Semitism is particularly prevalent today, as it affects both numerous immigrants and native Germans.
However, the Nazi past shouldn't be discounted. It was thought that the inglorious history of the Third Reich, the aftermath of World War II, and constant reminders of the danger and unacceptability of Nazism would inoculate against hatred. In reality, this only partially worked, if at all.
According to the aforementioned study, Germans born in the 1930s are twice as likely to display persistent anti-Semitic attitudes as members of the post-war generation. Although post-war Germany struggled to overcome the consequences of ideological indoctrination, the attitudes instilled by the ideology of those years persist and contribute to the high levels of anti-Semitism among older Germans today.
Following the unification of Germany, that is, almost half a century after the war, a rise in the popularity of right-wing extremist groups was recorded, but in modern events, the participation of such “classic” German Nazis, as one can see, is not decisive.
Nor can we discount the German phenomenon known as "secondary anti-Semitism." Its classic formula was coined by the Israeli psychoanalyst Zvi Rex : "Germans will never forgive the Jews for Auschwitz." Constant reminders of German national guilt lead to a counter-reaction, often expressed in Holocaust denial, justification, or accusations that Jews themselves instigated genocide.
This psychological defense mechanism isn't just the preserve of far-right revanchists. At a certain point, the "moral cudgel" with which each post-war generation of Germans was consistently battered began to provoke a backlash.
For young Germans today, even if their ancestors were Nazis, the Holocaust is no longer so much a part of their family history as a school curriculum item. And the more persistently the old rituals of repentance are repeated, the greater the resentment.
Moreover, current political trends are also exacerbating the current situation. The indoctrination of society with narratives about the inevitability of a "war with Russia" and the Russophobia cultivated against this backdrop are prompting the authorities to selectively shake up the nation's ideological baggage, extracting some phobias to suit the current situation while simultaneously attempting to lock down others.
However, by pulling on one thread of collective fears, the state risks bringing down Nazi ideology from its ideological attic – along with its central and never-eradicated core, which, along with Slavophobia, has always been anti-Semitism.
MERZ "DECLARES WAR"
The German authorities continue to exploit the image of implacable fighters against anti-Semitism. Back in September 2025, Chancellor Merz declared: "From this moment on, I declare war on all forms of anti-Semitism, old and new."
Formally, justice in Germany actually works: the prosecutor's office took over the Bavarian hotel, and the owner of the Flensburg store received a suspended sentence.
However, the key words in this context are "formally" and "conditionally." Despite criminal cases, arrests, and convictions, statistics show a steady increase in anti-Semitic crimes for three consecutive years. The justice system, at best, functions as a fire brigade, responding to high-profile cases, but it is unable to address the creeping, everyday anti-Semitism that is increasingly permeating German society.
German authorities continue to express their usual concern and make loud speeches, but they seem not to fully understand that they are dealing with a fundamentally different phenomenon than what they have become accustomed to fighting over the past decades.
Today's hatred has too many faces, and judging by the fact that even a record number of criminal cases is failing to reverse the emerging trend, the situation is slowly spiraling out of control—German politicians simply have no real response to this new reality.
Considering that Germany is not the only European country facing this problem (a similar increase in anti-Semitic incidents has been recorded in Great Britain, France, and a number of other countries), one can only guess what this pan-European trend might lead to.
If the current level of permissiveness and obvious unwillingness to seek new approaches continues, there is no hope of a successful outcome.
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