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Germany Reports Record in Politically Motivated Crime

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Germany on Tuesday reported a new record in the number of politically motivated crimes last year as anger over government measures to curb the pandemic fuelled extremism. Breaking News

The interior ministry and the BKA federal crime office tallied 55,048 offences with a political background — the first time the total surpassed 55,000 and a 23-percent increase on 2020.

Nearly 22,000 of the unlawful acts were attributed to the right wing, down seven percent from the previous year, while around 10,000 were classed as leftist, an almost eight-percent decrease.

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Another 21,340 cases could not be classified ideologically — a figure that exploded by 147 percent — most of which were linked to protests against state restrictions to fight the spread of coronavirus whose participants came from both ends of the political spectrum.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the new record underlined “how indispensable the work of the security authorities is in protecting our democracy”.

She called far-right crime “the greatest extremist threat to our democracy”, noting that 41 percent of victims of violent offences in Germany had been attacked by right-wing extremists.

Faeser said Germany was tackling the problem with “well-equipped security services, unyielding prosecution efforts and an active civil society”.

German authorities also reported a more than 50-percent surge in crimes targeting victims’ sexual orientation or identity.

The report also highlighted a nearly 29-percent jump in anti-Semitic crimes to 3,027 offences, the vast majority of which — 2,552 — were attributed to the far-right scene.

Faeser described the figure as a “disgrace for our country” given its historical responsibility for the Holocaust.

She called it “shameful” that some radical opponents of pandemic restrictions “trivialised” the Nazis’ slaughter of the Jews by wearing yellow stars used in their World War II-era persecution.

“We are aware of our responsibility to fight anti-Semitism with everything in our power and to protect Jews,” she said.

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Notes from APS Radio News

According to Statista, which is an award-winning service that compiles and analyzes data for governments and corporations, in the US, for example, one of the countries reportedly most affected by the virus, the average mortality rate was .07%.

In previous years, when the seasonal flu was recorded, the mortality rate could be as high as .13%.

As well, according to the CDC’s numbers, the number of deaths from all causes recorded in 2020 increased by one million compared to 2019.

However, similar numbers were recorded, for example, for the years 2016 compared to 2015.

During the past few years, it was reported that for most age groups the recovery rate was 99%.

As a result of lockdowns and quarantines many small businesses were shuttered, a number of which closed for good.

The number of instances of suicides and drug abuses increased during the period of lockdowns, as millions fell into despair.

Due, in part, to the closure of businesses and lockdowns, disruptions in supplies and services occurred.

The combination of shortages of goods and services as well as massive programs of monetary expansion contributed to increases in rates of inflation.

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