• German authorities have learned from past errors and ‘stand firmly committed to protecting our democratic constitutional order and ensuring peaceful coexistence,’ says Groetsch

BERLIN

German authorities recognize that far-right extremism has become the “greatest threat” to the country, according to Uli Groetsch, Germany’s top official overseeing federal police agencies.

Federal police organizations are taking new measures to counter this growing danger, Groetsch told Anadolu in an interview, expressing optimism for positive results.

“Right-wing extremism remains the greatest threat to peaceful coexistence and security in Germany,” he said.

“The German police stand firmly committed to protecting our democratic constitutional order and ensuring peaceful coexistence throughout the country. All people in Germany, regardless of their origin, can place their trust in our police.”

Groetsch, a former lawmaker for the Social Democratic Party (SPD), became Germany’s first federal police commissioner in 2024. He serves as an ombudsperson for federal police agencies, including the Federal Police (Bundespolizei) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, or BKA).

He took office during an unprecedented rise in far-right incidents, with Germany recording 42,788 crimes last year, a 48% increase from 2023. Rights groups have criticized German authorities, accusing them of insufficient investigations and bias against migrants and refugees.

Groetsch emphasized that authorities are taking these concerns seriously, implementing new initiatives to address hate crimes, especially online abuse directed at minority communities.

“When we talk about issues like hate crime online, which largely comes from the far right and is directed against migrant communities, the BKA, for example, has positioned itself extremely well on this issue,” he said.

“The BKA has established a specialized, well-resourced division dedicated to this issue. But of course, this should also apply to police authorities throughout Germany, not just the central division of the BKA.”

Police must ‘treat everyone fairly and equally’

Groetsch highlighted that his office thoroughly reviews complaints, including those related to racial profiling and discriminatory conduct by individual officers. He acknowledged that German police organizations face a significant trust deficit among migrant communities, describing it as a serious issue requiring urgent attention.

“People who emigrate to Germany arrive with over 80% trust in police authorities, stating they can trust the German police. However, after experiencing perceived discrimination, this trust plummets to less than 20%,” he explained.

“This highlights the critical importance of ensuring police treat everyone fairly and equally, without discrimination, across Germany. We need to strengthen awareness through police training and continuing education, and ensure it actually happens. That is part of my mission,” he added.

Before becoming the federal police commissioner, Groetsch served as the SPD’s senior representative on the parliamentary committee investigating the German state’s failure to prevent the racially motivated murders by the neo-Nazi National Socialist Underground (NSU) terror group between 2000 and 2007.

For years, German police and intelligence wrongly ruled out racial motives, instead suspecting immigrant families of involvement in organized crime. The public only learned of the NSU’s existence in 2011, when two members died following a failed bank robbery and police discovered weapons and far-right literature in their apartment.

Groetsch, a former police officer himself, insisted authorities have learned significant lessons from past errors during the NSU investigation. He said current measures now emphasize combating discrimination and bias while actively recruiting officers with migrant backgrounds.

“This is also one of the 47 recommendations from the first parliamentary investigative committee on NSU murders,” he said. “The police and all security organizations must become more diverse. The personnel of the security authorities must reflect a society that has become more diverse than it was 50 years ago.”

He concluded that, ultimately, ensuring fairness and diversity in policing is central to preserving trust in law enforcement among all communities.