Year | Incidents | Deaths | Injuries |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | 3 | 11 | 12 |
2019 | 12 | 3 | 14 |
2018 | 22 | 0 | 8 |
2017 | 27 | 1 | 10 |
2016 | 44 | 27 | 117 |
2015 | 66 | 1 | 38 |
2014 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2012 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
2011 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
2010 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2009 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
2008 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
2007 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
2006 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
2005 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
2004 | 3 | 1 | 25 |
2003 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
2002 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
2001 | 8 | 3 | 6 |
2000 | 8 | 1 | 28 |
1999 | 13 | 3 | 47 |
1998 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
1997 | 12 | 0 | 27 |
1996 | 52 | 1 | 5 |
1995 | 147 | 10 | 26 |
1994 | 79 | 2 | 85 |
1993 | 37 | 7 | 58 |
1992 | 156 | 17 | 217 |
1991 | 65 | 10 | 35 |
1990 | 13 | 1 | 4 |
1989 | 22 | 5 | 8 |
1988 | 18 | 1 | 14 |
1987 | 20 | 2 | 33 |
1986 | 49 | 10 | 276 |
1985 | 57 | 9 | 114 |
1984 | 22 | 0 | 3 |
1983 | 6 | 2 | 25 |
1982 | 30 | 5 | 44 |
1981 | 31 | 2 | 31 |
1980 | 20 | 17 | 218 |
1979 | 17 | 0 | 10 |
1978 | 20 | 0 | 4 |
1977 | 41 | 6 | 2 |
1976 | 50 | 4 | 36 |
1975 | 35 | 1 | 12 |
1974 | 29 | 2 | 10 |
1973 | 27 | 1 | 1 |
1972 | 24 | 23 | 45 |
1971 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
1970 | 32 | 8 | 9 |
Total | 1,307 | 205 | 1,633 |
Germany has experienced significant terrorism in its history, particularly during the Weimar Republic and during the Cold War, carried out by far-left and far-right German groups as well as by foreign terrorist organisations.
In recent years, far-left, far-right and Islamist extremist violence have resurged, and groups have been suspected of terrorism or terrorist plans.
Germany's loss in the First World War resulted in a chaotic situation, with multiple far-left and far-right organisations attempting to seize power. Both the far left and the far right organised their own militias, and carried out assassinations. For example, the Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau was assassinated in 1922 by a far-right group. Members of the Communist Party of Germany assassinated police captains Paul Anlauf and Franz Lenck in Berlin in 1931.
Turkish and Kurdish Islamist groups are also active in Germany. [3] Political scientist Guido Steinberg stated that many top leaders of Islamist organizations in Turkey fled to Germany in the 2000s, and that the Turkish (Kurdish) Hezbollah has also "left an imprint on Turkish Kurds in Germany." [3] Also many Kurds from Iraq (there are about 50,000 to 80,000 Iraqi Kurds in Germany) financially supported Kurdish-Islamist groups like Ansar al-Islam. [3] Many Islamists in Germany are ethnic Kurds (Iraqi and Turkish Kurds) or Turks. Before 2006, the German Islamist scene was dominated by Iraqi Kurds and Palestinians, but since 2006 Kurds from Turkey and Turks are dominant. [3]
According to a research conducted by the Abba Eban Institute as part of an initiative called Janus Initiative, Shiite clans in Germany are involved in organized crime and are specifically supporting Hezbollah. [4]
In 2015, 11 verdicts concerning jihadist terrorism related offences were issued by German courts. [5] In 2016, 28 verdicts for jihadist terrorism related offences were delivered. [6] In 2017 there were 27 verdicts. [7]
Almost all known terrorist networks and individuals in Germany have links to Salafism, [8] an ultra-conservative Islamic ideology. [9]
During the Cold War, especially in the 1970s, West Germany experienced severe terrorism, mostly perpetrated by far-left terrorist groups and culminating in the German Autumn of 1977, the country's most serious national crisis in postwar history. Terrorist incidents also took place in the 1980s and 1990s. Some of the terrorist groups had connections to international terrorism, notably Palestinian militant groups, and were aided and abetted by the communist regime of East Germany.
Right Wing Extremists | Anarchists and Left Wing Extremists | Islamists and Salafists | Separatists and foreign Nationalists |
---|---|---|---|
Atomwaffen Division since 2018 | Red Army Faction 1970–1998 | Al-Qaeda since 2006 | Provisional Irish Republican Army |
Freikorps Havelland 2003–2005 | Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine | Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant since 2015 | Black September |
Gruppe Freital 2015–2018 | Revolutionary Cells 1973–1993 | Ansar al-Islam | Grey Wolves since 1968 |
National Socialist Underground 1999–2011 | Anti-Imperialist Cell 1992 – 1995 | ||
Deutsche Aktionsgruppen 1980 | Movement 2 June 1972–1980 | ||
Wehrsportsgruppe Hoffman 1973–1980 | Tupamaros West-Berlin (and Munchen) 1969-1970 | ||
Combat 18 since 1992 | Revolutionäre Aktionszellen (RAZ) 2009–2011 [10] | ||
Action Front of National Socialists/National Activists 1977–1983 | Rote Zora 1974–1995 | ||
Revolution Chemnitz 2018–2019 [11] | Militante gruppe 2001–2009 | ||
Nationale Bewegung 2000-2001 | Klasse gegen Klasse 1992–2003 | ||
Hepp-Kexel-Group 1982 | Feministische Autonome Zelle (FAZ) since 2019 |
Germany | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Type | Perpetrator or motives | Description | |
2 April 1968 | Frankfurt | — | — | Arson | Red Army Faction | -- Shopping Mall
| |
11 April 1968 | Berlin | — | 1 | Small arms fire | Josef Bachmann | -- Rudi Dutschke, prominent figure of the left-wing students movement
| |
10 February 1970 | Munich | 1 | 23 | Grenade attack and Small arms fire | PDFLP (Palestinian nationalists) | -- Airports & airlines
| |
13 February 1970 | Munich | 7 | 10 | Arson | Anarchist group (suspected) | -- Cultural institutions | |
2 February 1972 | Berlin | 1 | — | Bomb attack | 2 June Movement | -- British Military Vehicles and a British yacht-club (British Armed Forces)
| |
11 May 1972 | Frankfurt | 1 | 13 | Bomb attack | Red Army Faction | -- Government institutions (Foreign: United States Army)
| |
24 May 1972 | Heidelberg | 3 | 5 | Car bombing | Red Army Faction | -- Government institutions (Foreign: United States Army)
| |
5 September 1972 | Munich | 17 (5 perps.) | — | Hostage taking (2 days) | Black September (Palestinian nationalists) | -- Olympic Games
| |
7 April 1977 | Karlsruhe | 3 | — | Small arms fire | Red Army Faction | -- Government institutions
| |
30 July 1977 | Oberursel | 1 | — | Small arms fire | Red Army Faction | -- Business
| |
5 September 1977 | Cologne | 5 | — | Small arms fire | Red Army Faction | -- Business
| |
22 August 1980 | Hamburg | 2 | — | Arson | Deutsche Aktionsgruppen Right-wing terrorism | -- Private citizens (Refugees) & property
| |
27 September 1980 | Munich | 12 (one perp.) | 213 | Suicide bombing | Right-Wing Terrorism (perpetrator: Gundolf Köhler) | -- Private citizens & property
| |
11 May 1982 | Seckbach (Frankfurt am Main) | 1 | — | Assassination | Revolutionary Cells (German group) | -- German Politician Heinz-Herbert Karry | |
15 January 1982 | Berlin | 1 | 46 | Bomb attack | Palestinian Nationalists | -- Private citizens & property
| |
25 August 1983 | Berlin | 2 | 23 | Bomb attack | ASALA (Armenian nationalists) and Carlos the Jackal | -- Diplomatic (French)
| |
1 February 1985 | Munich | 1 | — | Small arms fire | Red Army Faction | -- Business
| |
19 June 1985 | Frankfurt | 3 | 74 | Bombing | Abu Nidal Organization | -- Airports & airlines
| |
8 August 1985 | Rhein-Main Air Base | 2 | 20 | Car bombing | Red Army Faction & Action Directe | -- Government institutions (Foreign: United States Army)
| |
4 April 1986 | Berlin | 3 | 231 | Bombing | Libyan agents | -- Private Citizens & Property
| |
9 July 1986 | Munich | 2 | — | Bombing | Red Army Faction | -- Business
| |
23 March 1987 | Rheindahlen | — | 31 | Car bombing | Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) | -- British military base | |
19 June 1989 | Osnabrück | — | — | Bomb attack | Provisional Irish Republican Army | -- Government institutions (Foreign: British Army)
| |
30 November 1989 | Bad Homburg vor der Höhe | 1 | 1 | Bombing | Red Army Faction | -- Business
| |
13 February 1991 | Bonn | — | — | Sniper attack | Red Army Faction | -- Government institutions (Foreign: United States)
| |
16 June 1991 | Friedrichshafen | 1 | — | Stabbing | Neo Nazi | -- Angolan migrant
| |
12 October 1991 | Holzminden | 2 | 0 | Ambush, Shooting | Action Group for the Destruction of the Police State | --Police officers | |
24 August 1992 | Koblenz | 1 | 7 | Shooting | Neo-Nazi Andy Johann H. | --Civilians
| |
23 November 1992 | Mölln | 3 | — | Firebombing | Neo-Nazis | -- Private Citizens & Property
| |
29 May 1993 | Solingen | 5 | 14 | Firebombing | Far-Right | -- Private Citizens & Property
| |
17 November 1993 | Cologne | — | — | Small arms fire | Anti-Imperialist Cell | -- Property
| |
27 October 1994 | Bad Freienwalde | — | — | Arson | Das K.O.M.I.T.E.E. | -- Bundeswehr Building & Property
| |
28 June 1996 | Osnabrück | — | — | Mortar attack | Provisional Irish Republican Army | -- Government institutions (Foreign: British Army) | |
23 October 1996 | Leipzig | 1 | — | Stabbing | Neo-Nazis | --Syrian migrant
| |
23 February 1997 | Roseburg | 1 | 1 | Shooting | Kay D. Neo-Nazi | --Police officers
| |
9 June 2004 | Cologne | — | 22 | Pipe bombing | National Socialist Underground | -- Private Citizens & Property | |
9 September 2000 to 25 April 2007 | 10 | 1 | Serial Killing, Small arms fire | National Socialist Underground | -- Government institutions, Private Citizens & Property | ||
26 February 2009 | Burg bei Magdeburg | — | — | Arson | Militante gruppe left-wing extremists | --Bundeswehr vehicle
| |
11 November 2009 | Frankfurt | — | — | Arson | Bewegung Morgenlicht | Solitary activist pretending to be a movement attacked a bank with fire bomb [59] | |
30 December 2009 | Berlin | — | — | Bomb attack | Revolutionäre Aktionszellen (RAZ) left-wing terrorists | --Employmeent agency
| |
4 February 2010 | Berlin | — | — | Bomb attack | Revolutionäre Aktionszellen (RAZ) left-wing terrorists | --House of economy
| |
19 November 2010 | Berlin | — | — | Firebombing | Revolutionäre Aktionszellen (RAZ) left-wing terrorists | --German Federal Administrative Office Berlin
| |
2 March 2011 | Frankfurt | 2 | 2 | Small arms fire | Arid Uka | -- Government institutions (Foreign: United States Army)
| |
3 December 2011 | Göttingen | — | — | Firebombing | Revolutionäre Aktionszellen (RAZ) | --County Court
| |
14 May 2012 | Potsdam | 0 | 0 | Arson | Friends of Loukanikos | --County Court
| |
17 September 2015 | Cologne | — | 5 | Stabbing | Right-wing extremist Frank S. | -- Henriette Reker (Politician)
| |
17 October 2015 | Berlin | 1 (one perp.) | 1 | Stabbing | Rafik Mohamad Yousef | -- Ayad Allawi (Politician) Plotted to assassinate the Prime Minister of Iraq during his visit to Germany . [68] | |
1 November 2015 | Freital | — | 1 | Bomb attack | Gruppe Freital (Right-wing extremists) | -- Refugee accommodation | |
5 February 2016 | Hanover | — | — | Arson | Saleh S. (Islamist) | -- Civilians
| |
26 February 2016 | Hanover | — | 1 | Stabbing | Safia S. (Islamist) | -- Government institutions (Police) | |
16 April 2016 | Essen | — | 3 | Bomb attack | Yussuf T. and Mohammed B. Islamic Terrorism | -- Sikh temple
| |
19 July 2016 | Würzburg | 1 (one perp.) | 5 | Axe attack | Riaz Khan Ahmadzai (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) | -- Private Citizens & Property | |
22 July 2016 | Munich | 10 (one perp.) | 36 | Shooting | David Sonboly (Right-wing terrorism) | -- Private Citizens & Property | |
24 July 2016 | Ansbach | 1 (one perp.) | 12 | Suicide bombing | Mohammad Daleel (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) | -- Private Citizens & Property | |
26 September 2016 | Dresden | — | — | Pipe bombing | Nino K. Right-wing terrorism | -- Mosque & International Congress Center Dresden
| |
19 December 2016 | Berlin | 13 | 55 | Truck attack | Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant | -- Private Citizens & Property | |
28 July 2017 | Hamburg | 1 | 6 | Stabbing | Ahmad Alhaw (Islamic State) | -- Private Citizens | |
March 2018 | Multiple cities | — | — | Multiple arson | Kurdish extremists and left-wing extremists | --Turkish Mosques, stores and cultural centers
| |
12 March 2018 | Gütersloh | — | — | Arson | Left-wing extremist cell Vulkangruppe NetzHerrschaft zerreißen | --Power supply system
| |
26 March 2018 | North Rhine-Westphalia | — | — | Arson | Anarchist communist extremist group Action Cell Haukur Hilmarsson | --Power supply system
| |
24 December 2018 | Hambach Forest | — | — | Arson | Green anarchist group Hambi Chaos Crew | --Pumping station | |
3 January 2019 | Döbeln | — | — | Bomb attack | Left-wing extremists | --Alternative for Germany office
| |
31 May 2019 | Bremen | — | 1 | Stabbing | Right-wing extremists | --Muslim civilian
| |
2 June 2019 | Wolfhagen | 1 | — | Assassination | Right-wing extremist | --Walter Lübcke
| |
22 July 2019 | Wächtersbach | 1 (one perp.) | 1 | Murder-suicide/Drive-by-shooting | Right-wing extremist | --Random African citizen
| |
23 July 2019 | Zittau | — | — | Bombing | Suspected right-wing extremists | --Home of a left-wing politician | |
27 September 2019 | Berlin | — | — | Arson | Left-wing extremists | --Court building
| |
9 October 2019 | Halle (Saale) | 2 | 2 | Attempted mass shooting | Right-wing extremist | --Synagogue and Turkish restaurant
| |
19 February 2020 | Hanau | 11 (one perp.) | 5 | Mass shootings | Right-wing extremist | --Hookah bars
| |
18 August 2020 | Berlin | — | 6 | Vehicle-ramming attack | Islamist | --Motorists
| |
4 October 2020 | Dresden | 1 | 1 | Stabbing | Islamist | --Civilians | |
26 May 2021 | Berlin | — | — | Arson | Left-wing extremist group Vulkangruppe NetzHerrschaft zerreißen | --Power cables to factory
| |
18 September 2021 | Idar-Oberstein | 1 | — | Shooting | Opponent of Covid restrictions | --Civilian
| |
In December 2019, German authorities reported to have thwarted ten Islamic terrorist plots since the 2016 Berlin truck attack. [96] [97] Among these:
The terrorism of the 1970s has formed Germany's political culture and its policy of not negotiating with terrorists. It also led to the formation of the GSG9 counter-terrorism unit. In 1972, a law was passed, the Extremist Act (Radikalenerlass), which banned radicals or those with a 'questionable' political persuasion from public sector jobs.
In 2019 the Federal Criminal Police Office created a department dedicated towards Islamic terrorism and extremism. [100]
Traditionally counter-terrorist organisations in Germany have been slower to respond to extreme right-wing groups than extreme left-wing ones. It has been suggested that this is due to the extreme right being seen as corrigible (fighting for attainable, tangible goals that can be negotiated) while the extreme left are regarded as incorrigible (fighting for ideological goals that are "pure" and cannot be negotiated). Thus because the extreme left are seen as targeting the heart of the German political system while the extreme right is not, this tends to result in a reduced response to extreme right-wing terrorism. In addition, far-right terrorism was at times dubiously regarded as a form of terrorism by the security services, as it did not seem to have self-explanatory political statements nor were any official announcements made by far-right groups explaining the act; for example, a house burning of Turkish immigrants was initially blamed on organised crime and was only later determined to have been perpetrated by extreme right-wing groups, leading officials to doubt it was a form of terrorism as it did not seem to have any broader political goals beyond the killing itself. [101]
A number of books and films address this topic.
A series of Islamist terrorist attacks linked to al-Qaeda were planned to occur on or near January 1, 2000, in the context of millennium celebrations, including bombing plots against four tourist sites in Jordan, the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), USS The Sullivans, and the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814.
Right-wing terrorism, hard right terrorism, extreme right terrorism or far-right terrorism is terrorism that is motivated by a variety of different right-wing and far-right ideologies. It can be motivated by Ultranationalism, neo-Nazism, anti-communism, neo-fascism, ecofascism, ethnonationalism, religious nationalism, anti-immigration, anti-semitism, anti-government sentiment, patriot movements, sovereign citizen beliefs, and occasionally, it can be motivated by opposition to abortion, tax resistance, and homophobia. Modern right-wing terrorism largely emerged in Western Europe in the 1970s, and after the Revolutions of 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it emerged in Eastern Europe and Russia.
Gundolf Köhler was a German far-right terrorist who planted a bomb at the 1980 Oktoberfest in Munich, killing 13 people and injuring more than 200 in what is known as the Oktoberfest bombing.
Rote Zora was a West German radical left feminist urban guerrilla organization active from 1974 to 1995. The group committed a series of bombing and arson attacks against ideological enemies, including individuals and organizations thought to be involved with sexism, the exploitation of women, genetic engineering, enforcing patriarchal society, nuclear power, and anti-abortionism. Rote Zora were particularly opposed to Section 218 of the German Penal Law limiting abortion, which they referred to as the "Terrorism Paragraph". The organization never officially dissolved, but was completely inactive by 1996.
Manfred Roeder was a German lawyer and Neo-Nazi terrorist. Roeder was a prominent Holocaust denier. He has also been described as an early representative of the Reichsbürger movement.
There is a long history of terrorism in Europe. This has often been linked to nationalist and separatist movements, while other acts have been related to politics, religious extremism, or organized crime. Terrorism in the European sections of the intercontinental countries of Turkey and Russia are not included in this list.
Terrorism in France refers to the terrorist attacks that have targeted the country and its population during the 20th and 21st centuries. Terrorism, in this case is much related to the country's history, international affairs and political approach. Legislation has been set up by lawmakers to fight terrorism in France.
Islamic terrorism in Europe has been carried out by the Islamic State (ISIL) or Al-Qaeda as well as Islamist lone wolves since the late 20th century. Europol, which releases the annual EU Terrorism Situation and Trend report (TE-SAT), used the term "Islamist terrorism" in the years 2006–2010, "religiously inspired terrorism" 2011–2014, and has used "jihadist terrorism" since 2015. Europol defines jihadism as "a violent ideology exploiting traditional Islamic concepts".
On 19 December 2016, a truck was deliberately driven into the Christmas market next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, leaving 12 people dead and 56 others injured. One of the victims was the truck's original driver, Łukasz Urban, who was found shot dead in the passenger seat. The truck was eventually stopped by its automatic brakes. The perpetrator was Anis Amri, an unsuccessful asylum seeker from Tunisia. Four days after the attack, he was killed in a shootout with police near Milan in Italy. An initial suspect was arrested and later released due to lack of evidence. Nearly five years after the attack, a man who was critically injured during the attack died from complications related to his wounds, becoming the 13th victim. As of December 2023, this attack remains the worst Islamist terrorist attack by number of casualties in German history.
On 11 April 2017, the tour bus of the German football team Borussia Dortmund was attacked with roadside bombs in Dortmund, Germany. Three bombs exploded as the bus ferried the team to the Westfalenstadion for the first leg of their quarter-final against Monaco in the UEFA Champions League. One of the team's players, Marc Bartra, and a policeman were wounded, but the strengthened windows of the bus prevented casualties.
This article covers attacks and activity of terrorism in Belgium.
The Atomwaffen Division, also known as the National Socialist Resistance Front, is an international far-right extremist and neo-Nazi terrorist network. Formed in 2013 and based in the Southern United States, it has since expanded across the United States and it has also expanded into the United Kingdom, Argentina, Canada, Germany, the Baltic states, and other European countries. The group is described as a part of the alt-right by some journalists, but it rejects the label and it is considered extreme even within that movement. It is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and it is also designated as a terrorist group by multiple governments, including the United Kingdom and Canada.
The 2018 Cologne attack was an attack and subsequent hostage-taking that occurred at the central railway station of Cologne, Germany, on 15 October 2018.
The 2016 German terror plot was a plot by ISIL to commit a terror attack in Germany in 2016. Three teams of attackers planned travel to Germany, to prepare and execute a large-scale attack on a music festival, the name of which hasn't been published yet. The plot was made public only in October 2018, when NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung led an interview with a German ISIL supporter. Bundeskriminalamt and Bundesanwaltschaft led the investigations. The German Public Prosecutor General, Peter Frank, confirmed the plot, saying: "For us, the facts in this case were very concrete and resilient."
On 31 December 2018 and 1 January 2019, a car was intentionally driven into crowds of people in the cities of Bottrop and Essen in Germany, injuring ten people. First media reports suspected a terrorist background. Later, the perpetrator was admitted to psychiatry and a surveyor certified that he is probably not guilty by reason of mental disease.
The Halle synagogue shooting occurred on 9 October 2019 in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, and continued in nearby Landsberg. After unsuccessfully trying to enter the synagogue in Halle during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the attacker, 27-year-old Stephan Balliet, fatally shot two people nearby and later injured two others. Federal investigators called the attack far-right and antisemitic terrorism.
The Hanau shootings occurred on 19 February 2020, when eleven people were killed and five others wounded in a terrorist shooting spree by a far-right extremist targeting a shisha bar, a bar and a kiosk in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. After the attacks, the gunman returned to his apartment, where he killed his mother and then committed suicide. The massacre was called an act of terrorism by the German Minister of Internal Affairs.
The 2020 Vienna attack was a series of shootings that occurred on 2 November 2020 in Vienna, Austria. A few hours before the city was to enter a lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lone gunman started shooting in the busy city centre. Four civilians were killed in the attack and 23 others were injured, seven critically, including a police officer. The attacker was killed by police and was later identified as an ISIL sympathizer. Officials said that the attack was an incident of Islamist terrorism.
Die Mehrzahl der Salafisten in Deutschland sind keine Terroristen, sondern politische Salafisten. Andererseits sind fast alle in Deutschland bisher identifizierten terroristischen Netzwerkstrukturen und Einzelpersonen salafistisch geprägt bzw. haben sich im salafistischen Milieu entwickelt. [The majority of Salafists in Germany are not terrorists, but political Salafists. On the other hand, almost all hitherto identified terrorist networks and individuals in Germany are influenced by Salafism, for instance having developed in a Salafist environment.]
bomb heidelberg.
munich massacre terrorists.
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