Germany's east 10 times more unsafe for asylum-seekers | News | DW | 24.02.2019

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Germany's east 10 times more unsafe for asylum-seekers

Asylum applicants in Germany's eastern states are far more likely to be the victims of hate crime than those in the west, according to a study. Researchers have a theory as to why that might be the case.

A police car stands in front of a home for asylum seekers in Salzhemmendorf,

Asylum-seekers in eastern Germany are 10 times more likely to be hate crime victims as those who live in the west, a study published on Sunday found.

Researchers from the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) looked at 1,155 incidents that took place between 2013 and 2015.

The Mannheim-based center found that they were most frequent in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge administrative district near the Czech border, with 9.76 attacks per 100,000 people in 2015.

Next-worst, when it came to hate crime against asylum-seekers, was the northeastern district of Uckermark , in the state of Brandenburg on the Polish border. In third place was the district of Saalekreis in the state of Saxony Anhalt, near Leipzig.

Less familiarity with new faces

All three areas are in the part of Germany that was once part of the country's Soviet-controlled East, and which have traditionally had fewer immigrants than the West.

Read more: Germany speeds up asylum process

According to the study, there were 118 districts across Germany in which not a single attack was reported. Of those, only four lay in the eastern states.

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    Fleeing war and poverty

    In late 2014, with the war in Syria approaching its fourth year and Islamic State making gains in the north of the country, the exodus of Syrians intensified. At the same time, others were fleeing violence and poverty in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Niger and Kosovo.

  • Syrien Flüchtlingslager (picture-alliance/dpa)

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    Seeking refuge over the border

    Vast numbers of Syrian refugees had been gathering in border-town camps in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan since 2011. By 2015, with the camps full to bursting and residents often unable to find work or educate their children, more and more people decided to seek asylum further afield.

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    A long journey on foot

    In 2015 an estimated 1.5 million people made their way on foot from Greece towards western Europe via the "Balkan route". The Schengen Agreement, which allows passport-free travel within much of the EU, was called into question as refugees headed towards the wealthier European nations.

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    Desperate sea crossings

    Tens of thousands of refugees were also attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean on overcrowded boats. In April 2015, 800 people of various nationalities drowned when a boat traveling from Libya capsized off the Italian coast. This was to be just one of many similar tragedies - by the end of the year, nearly 4,000 refugees were reported to have died attempting the crossing.

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    Pressure on the borders

    Countries along the EU's external border struggled to cope with the sheer number of arrivals. Fences were erected in Hungary, Slovenia, Macedonia and Austria. Asylum laws were tightened and several Schengen area countries introduced temporary border controls.

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    Closing the open door

    Critics of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's "open-door" refugee policy claimed it had made the situation worse by encouraging more people to embark on the dangerous journey to Europe. By September 2016, Germany had also introduced temporary checks on its border with Austria.

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    Striking a deal with Turkey

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    No end in sight

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    Author: Rachel Stewart


The study's authors said that the number of immigrants in a particular district is not the decisive factor in the level of hate crime. More important, they say, is the amount of experience that residents have with immigration.

In western parts of Germany, residents have long had more experience with foreigners, such as the Turkish guest workers who arrived in the country in the 1960s.

Economic issues

Economic conditions in the region also play only a minor role, the authors said. Hate crimes against foreigners had "primarily no economic motive," they stressed.

Read more: Opinion: Abandoning asylum rights means forgetting German history

Instead of focusing on economic improvements, the researchers said, there was a need to increase the awareness and compassion of locals when it came to the plight of asylum-seekers.

The authors also said hate crimes were more likely in areas where comparable offenses have already been committed in the past and where "xenophobic views appear to be hardened."

According to the study, hate crimes included hate speech, offensive graffiti, physical assault, and arson attacks.

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