German neo-Nazi activity on the rise

Neo-Nazi march: German government acknowledges rise in right-wing extremism

WIESBADEN, Germany (CNN) -- Racist attacks and neo-Nazi activity are on the increase in Germany, according to figures released by the government.

At a meeting with senior police officials in Wiesbaden, Interior Minister Otto Schily said 10,000 acts attributed to right-wing extremists were registered in the first nine months of this year. That represents an increase of about 30 percent in comparison to recent years.

The figures cover a broad spectrum of crimes, ranging from the display of neo-Nazi symbols to vandalism, physical attacks and murder.

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Schily says police and regional government officials will work together to introduce new measures against far-right activity. But he is also calling on ordinary Germans to help combat the rise of racism.

"We cannot expect the police alone to take up the fight against right-wing extremism," he said. "It is up to us all to successfully integrate foreigners."

The upsurge in right-wing extremism has caused alarm in Germany in recent months.

Earlier this month three skinheads were jailed for their part in the killing of an Algerian immigrant.

In another high-profile incident, nine immigrants from the former Soviet Union were injured when a bomb exploded at a train station in Dusseldorf last July.

Six of those hurt were Jewish, and police have not ruled out the possibility that the attack was motivated by anti-Semitism.

The German government has begun moves to outlaw a far-right political party alleged to have neo-Nazi links.

Security officials accuse the National Democratic Party (NPD) of having a "close affinity" with Nazi ideology. The NPD is also accused of inciting violence against foreigners.

A decision to ban the party can only be made by the Constitutional Court, and the legal process could take up to two years. A survey of 1,300 Germans for the ZDF television station found that two-thirds backed a ban on the NPD.

Public concern at the rise in racist attacks was also demonstrated at a mass rally in Berlin on November 9. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in a call for greater tolerance towards foreigners.

The rally was held on a key date in German history, the anniversary of both the fall of the Berlin Wall and the date in 1938 that members of the Nazi party launched a wave of attacks against Jewish businesses and synagogues -- an episode which became known as Kristallnacht or the 'Night of Broken Glass'.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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German government's position on right-wing extremism
National Democratic Party website (in German)
Combating Right-Wing Violence and Hate Crimes in Germany
Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

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