Arson attacks and asylum policy after reunification
In the period of social upheaval that came in the wake of Germany’s reunification, asylum policy was the dominant domestic policy issue. The racist debate portrayed migrants and refugees as a threat to the nation. Media campaigns with the slogan "The boat is full" fuelled sentiment against the right to asylum and called for it to be significantly curtailed.

The asylum debate led to a massive increase in violence against migrants, Black people and People of Colour. In Hoyerswerda in September 1991 and in Rostock-Lichtenhagen in August 1992, right-wing rioters fire-bombed refugee shelters and the homes of former foreign contract workers, cheered on by local residents.

Several hundred hooligans, including Hamburg-based neo-Nazis, stormed the building, cheered on by thousands of bystanders, and set it ablaze. The residents, more than 120 in number, escaped the flames onto the roof. The pogrom-like rioting lasted for four days.
On 23 November 1992, two girls, Yeliz Arslan and Ayşe Yılmaz, and their grandmother Bahide Arslan died in Mölln after an arson attack. The funeral service for the three dead took place in Hamburg.

10,000 mourners paid their respects to 10-year-old Yeliz Arslan, 14-year-old Ayşe Yılmaz, and their grandmother Bahide Arslan. Norbert Blüm, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, delivered the eulogy. Afterwards, a demonstration marched to Hamburg City Hall. Turkish shops remained closed as strikers expressed their condolences and outrage.
On 26 May 1993, the German Bundestag significantly restricted the basic right to asylum. Three days later, Hatice Genç, Hülya Genç, Saime Genç, Gürsün İnce and Gülüstan Öztürk died when fire was set to their home in Solingen.
Ten people died when fire was set to a refugee shelter in Lübeck on 18 January 1996: Monica Maiamba Bunga, Nsuzana Bunga, Rabia El Omari, Françoise Makodila Landu, Christelle Makodila Nsimba, Legrand Makodila Mbongo, Christine Makodila, Miya Makodila, Jean-Daniel Makodila Nkosi and Sylvio Bruno Comlan Amoussou. The police arrested one of the residents as a suspect. He was tried but acquitted. To date, no charges have been brought against four suspects from the far-right scene, one of whom has confessed to the offence several times. Hamburg also saw numerous racist attacks on the streets and arson attacks on refugee shelters. In view of the dire threat, immigrant initiatives called for a fight against racism and for self-defence.