Schwesig warns: AfD is contributing to the increase in right-wing extremist attacks!

Schwesig warns: AfD is contributing to the increase in right-wing extremist attacks!

Today, November 1st, 2025, the focus is on a serious social trend: the increasing right-wing extremist crimes at schools and universities can no longer be ignored. Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) was clearly critical of the AfD and sees it as a central cause of this worrying development. As magdeburger-news.de reports, Schwesig describes the AfD as a “party of hate”. She argues that this party has created a climate in which right-wing extremist ideas are expressed more openly. It is important to resolutely counter this trend, she emphasizes.

The Federal Government's Eastern Commissioner, Elisabeth Kaiser, supports this view and calls for uniform statistics on right-wing extremist attacks in schools. In her opinion, the incidents must be recorded precisely in order to enable a comparison between the federal states. Kaiser also emphasizes the urgency of strengthening schools and teachers so that they can respond appropriately to such incidents.

Growing threat in schools

A look at North Rhine-Westphalia shows that this is not only supported by political rhetoric, but also by hard facts. As zeit.de reports, there was a considerable increase in right-wing extremist acts in schools there last year. In 2022, 452 incidents were registered, while the number fell to 277 in 2023. School Minister Dorothee Feller (CDU) emphasizes that extremism has no place in educational institutions and that these must be safe places for everyone.

Regardless of these declines, the North Rhine-Westphalia Research and Information Center (RIAS NRW) draws attention to an alarming trend: In 2024, there was an increase in anti-Semitic incidents that are associated with a right-wing extremist or right-wing populist background. In this situation, Dilek Engin from the SPD is calling for more time for teachers to engage more intensively with young people and to promote political education. It is obvious that there is a need for action here.

The role of the AfD

Katrin Göring-Eckardt from the Greens sees the AfD's responsibility as something that cannot be ignored. She describes children and young people as the primary target group of right-wing extremist propaganda. In your opinion, the AfD is not only a driver, but also a beneficiary and accelerant of this dangerous development. Göring-Eckardt therefore calls for a serious review of the AfD's constitutionality.

Given these alarming developments, it is clear that the issue of right-wing extremist crimes in schools has serious social consequences. Political actors and educational institutions are called upon to work together to meet the challenges posed by extremism.