“Dangerous threat and Nazi re-activation”, “Nazi greasers investigated”, “Inciting messages distributed” – these are the headlines of this young year in Austria. These are not isolated cases like this new right-wing extremism report of the Austrian Resistance Documentation Archive (DÖW) for the year 2024.
Quite the opposite: a new negative record was recorded with 1,486 acts classified by the police as right-wing extremist. This corresponds to an increase of 23 percent compared to the previous year, after an increase of 30 percent in 2023. This makes right-wing extremism the largest extremist threat to Austrian democracy in quantitative terms, according to the authors.
In addition to Nazi propaganda and re-activation, the statistics also include physical injuries, property damage and similar crimes with a right-wing extremist background. The profile of the perpetrators is striking: over 90 percent are male, around 80 percent are Austrian citizens.
While around 200 relevant crimes were registered in 2005, the number has increased more than sevenfold within two decades. Almost two thirds of the offenses were prosecuted under the Prohibition Act, which criminalizes National Socialist re-activity. More than a quarter of the crimes were committed on the Internet. International networking remains intensive, especially in Germany.
Conspiracy thinking about Corona
Anti-Semitism is particularly widespread in “Israel-related” and “guilt-deflecting” forms, with conspiracy thinking about the corona pandemic increasing the values. The Israelite Community documented an increase in anti-Semitic incidents by almost a third to 1,520 cases in 2024. At the same time, anti-Muslim racism also remained at a high level (1,336 cases).
According to researchers, the increasing normalization of right-wing extremist concepts is particularly worrying. As a prime example, they cite the term “remigration,” which became the scene’s central buzzword in 2024. The Identitarian Martin Sellner popularized it with a book, among other things.
There he describes how Europe should be “ethnically homogenized”. The FPÖ and AfD adopted the term in their political communication. Already for years trivialized and courted the FPÖ, currently the largest Austrian parliamentary partythe Identitarians.
According to surveys, 50 percent of the Austrian population are in favor of “comprehensive remigration”, although, according to DÖW, many lack awareness of the right-wing extremist background of the term. Although a large majority support democratic principles, around more than half agree with restrictions on fundamental rights in the event of deportations.
Own media universe
The report also describes how a right-wing extremist parallel society has established itself: alternative media spread their own narratives, there is agitation against minorities in social networks, and a whole system of combat terms such as “population exchange” or “globalism” forms a parallel discourse. In hers own media universe The FPÖ systematically promotes this sentiment.
The right-wing extremism report existed in Austria from 1994 to 2001 before the black-blue government stopped it in 2002. Five years ago, Parliament decided to reintroduce it. Since 2023, the DÖW has prepared the report annually on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior and Justice.
The report now presented refers to 2024, but the researchers said that the developments are likely to have continued in 2025. Their core message: Despite the almost daily reports about weapons discoveries, pictures of Hitler and the like, one should not become numb.