5 people injured in 4 political terror attacks in Germany

A rise of terror attacks against politicians in Germany ahead of local elections at the end of May and European Parliament elections next month is raising concerns. Five politicians were injured in four terror attacks during this month alone.

One of the victims is Franziska Giffey, a famous female politician of the ruling Social Democratic Party who served as the Mayor of Berlin from 2021 through 2023. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed concerns, saying that these are attacks against democracy.

“Violence does not belong in a democratic debate,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in his video message on Wednesday, expressing his concerns about attacks against democracy, according to Reuters. He called for the resolution of threats to democracy through votes. “When politicians aren’t safe, democracy isn’t either,” President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said.

Former Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey was hit by an unidentified assailant with a bag filled with a hard object in a library in Berlin on Tuesday, injuring her head and neck. Green party candidate Yvonne Mosler was attacked while putting up an election poster in Dresden, Saxony on the same day.

Matthias Ecke, a member of the European Parliament for the Social Democratic Party, was severely injured by a group of teenagers in Dresden on Saturday. Kai Gehring, a member of the Green Party serving as a member of the German Parliament, and Rolf Fliss, a member of the same party, were assaulted in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia on May 2.

Saxony, a state formerly in East Germany, has a deeply rooted anti-refugee sentiment due to chronic economic struggle and economic disparity with West Germany. Many people are expressing concerns that terror attacks took place even in North Rhine-Westphalia, which is one of the wealthiest states in Germany. BBC reported that some are reminded of the Nazi period by a series of recent terror attacks.


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