Easter in the shadow of vandalism: churches under fire in Germany!

Easter in the shadow of vandalism: churches under fire in Germany!

In the days before Easter there was a worrying increase in church descriptions in Germany. According to Oidac Europe , several cases were documented that in their brutality and efficiency present the communities with great challenges. The director of Oidac Europe, Anja Hoffmann, drawn attention to the terrifying details of vandalism, which includes urine in holy water, faeces on altarbibles and Easter candles, destroyed confessionals and ignited Bibles.

The Mainz pastor also reported an increase in vandalism in churches in which faeces left and damaged. In Kürnbach, Baden-Württemberg in particular, the Easter candle and the altarbible were smeared with faeces. The Öhringer collegiate church was also not spared where the wooden high altar was damaged. In Eslohe, North Rhine-Westphalia, the altar towel and cross were affected, while in Groß-Gerau, Hesse, a Bible went up in flames. The police in Neuss-Erfttal investigated arson, and a statue of Marien was damaged in Salzgitter-Bad.

criticism of the recording of criminal offenses

OIDAC Europe has sharp criticism of the defective detection of anti -Christian crimes by the federal government. While the NGO documented eleven arson in German churches in 2023, the federal government did not report a single one. In nationwide statistics on “politically motivated crime”, only 55 property damage to churches were recorded. This discrepancy illustrates a structural problem: the definition of hate crime in Germany does not correspond to the actual circumstances.

As the organization continues to emphasize, the state criminal offices record significantly higher number of churches than in nationwide statistics. In the same year, more than 2,000 property damage was registered in or in churches. In Austria, 150 anti -Christian hate crimes, including 78 property damage to churches, were reported, which underlines the urgency of Oidac's demand for a differentiated recording of vandalism incidents.

growing intolerance against Christians

The reports of the increasing attacks on Christian institutions are part of a larger trend that can be observed in Europe. According to an investigation of the Observatory on intolerance and discrimination of Christians in Europe (Oidac) are Christians and Christian institutions in Europe Exposed discrimination and persecution. The results show that vandalism on churches and hate crimes are increasing against individuals and at the same time fundamental rights such as freedom of religion and expression are restricted by social and state pressure.

In particular, transferred to Christianity are often exposed to threats and violence, especially Islamists. The study documented an increase in anti -Christian hate crimes in Europe around 70 percent from 2019 to 2020. In Germany alone, 255 cases, primarily vandalism in churches, were registered.

Regina Polak, special OSCE representative, expressed concern about these developments and appealed to the need to better record and discuss hate crimes. For example, every fourth state of the OSCE does not record such hate crimes separately, which significantly increases the number of unreported cases.