German state security services have opened an investigation into a suspected arson attack at the private residence of Andreas Büttner, the antisemitism commissioner for the state of Brandenburg. The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday, January 4, in the town of Templin, approximately 70 kilometers north of Berlin.
Emergency services were alerted at approximately 3:40 a.m. local time to a fire in a shed on the commissioner’s property. While the blaze was extinguished without injuries to Mr. Büttner or his family—who were inside the main residence at the time—authorities discovered an “anti-constitutional symbol” painted near the scene. Security sources confirmed the discovery of an inverted red triangle, a symbol associated with the militant group Hamas, on the front door of the main house.
This incident marks the second targeted attack on Mr. Büttner in the past 16 months; his vehicle was previously vandalized with swastikas in August 2024. In a statement released following the fire, Mr. Büttner characterized the act as an attempt at intimidation. “We are physically unharmed, but we are under the impression of a serious attack,” he stated, adding that the incident would not deter his work in combating antisemitism.
The attack has drawn swift condemnation from high-ranking German officials. Brandenburg State Premier Dietmar Woidke stated that “extremism in any form has no place” in the state, while Interior Minister René Wilke reaffirmed the government’s support for the commissioner’s office. The investigation is being treated as a matter of state security amid a documented rise in antisemitic incidents across Germany.
