Germany’s foreign minister has called for strengthened efforts against antisemitism to ward off the possibility that many Jews may decide to leave the country.

Heiko Maas said in an article for Der Spiegel that German politicians must do more “but there is one thing they can’t do: replace solidarity in everyday life”.

Mr Maas’s comments came a day before the 75th anniversary of the Soviet liberation of the Nazis’ Auschwitz death camp and at a time of rising concern in Germany and elsewhere in Europe about antisemitism.

In October, a man tried to force his way into a synagogue in Halle, northwest of Leipzig, on Judaism’s holiest day, later killing two passers-by before being arrested. The suspect posted an anti-Jewish message before the attack.

Mr Maas said antisemitism had become part of everyday life now for Jews in Germany and “it doesn’t surprise me that nearly every second Jew in Germany has thought about leaving the country”.

Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Show all 24 1 /24 Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Police officers secure a synagogue in Halle. At least two people have been killed in the shootings at multiple locations in Germany AP Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos A man shots from a long-barreled gun ATV Studio Halle/Reuters TV Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos A police tank patrols at a crime scene near the Synagogue. The attack came during Yom Kippur, a Jewish religious festival that sees observers fast and pray at synagogues to atone for sins. EPA Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos The shooter walking in Halle ATV Studio Halle/Reuters TV Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos One victim's body was in the street outside the synagogue, while another victim was said to have been shot at a nearby kebab shop dpa via AP Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Policemen climb over a wall close to the site of a shooting in Halle dpa/AFP/Getty Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos The shooting took place in the eastern German city of Halle, with the incident taking place on Humboldtstrasse, which houses a synagogue and Jewish cemetery Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Synagogue's in over parts of Germany had a police officer presence, including Dresden AP Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Local reports said one of the victims was killed outside a kebab shop around 600m away, where witnesses told Focus the assailant was wearing a helmet mounted with a camera, and wearing combat fatigues dpa/AFP/Getty Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Police officer runs on a road in Halle dpa via AP Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Police guard a crime scene EPA Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Bullet casings after the shooting Reuters Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Police officers block a road AP Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos A spokesperson for the local Jewish community told Der Spiegel that up to 80 worshippers were inside the synagogue at the time, but security measures at the synagogue's entrance "withstood the attack" Reuters Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Policemen walk through a street close to the site of a shooting dpa/AFP/Getty Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Policemen climb over a wall close to the site of a shooting in Halle an der Saale, eastern Germany, on October 9, 2019. - At least two people were killed in a shooting on a street in the German city of Halle, police said, adding that the perpetrators were on the run. "Early indications show that two people were killed in Halle. Several shots were fired. The suspected perpetrators fled in a car," said police on Twitter, urging residents in the area to stay indoors. (Photo by Sebastian Willnow / dpa / AFP) / Germany OUT (Photo by SEBASTIAN WILLNOW/dpa/AFP via Getty Images) SEBASTIAN WILLNOW dpa/AFP/Getty Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Police secures the area after a shooting in the eastern German city of Halle on October 9, 2019. REUTERS/Marvin Gaul. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES STRINGER Reuters Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Police secure the area Reuters Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos A police officer walks onto the street at the scene of a fatal shooting in Halle Nonstopnews/Reuters TV Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Germany synagogue shooting - Multiple people dead as gunman on run in Halle MZTV Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Police block the area around the site of the shooting dpa/AFP/Getty Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos First responders attend to the scene Nonstopnews/Reuters TV Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Police gather Reuters Germany synagogue shooting: Halle attack in photos Police secures the area after a shooting in the eastern German city of Halle on October 9, 2019. REUTERS/Marvin Gaul. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES STRINGER Reuters

“We must urgently take countermeasures so that such thoughts don’t turn into bitter reality and it doesn’t come to a massive exodus of Jews from Germany,” he wrote.

“That people of Jewish faith no longer feel at home here is a real nightmare – and a disgrace, 75 years after the liberation of Auschwitz.”

Mr Maas said too few European Union countries have national commissioners against anti-Semitism. He said when Germany holds the EU presidency later this year, it will step up the fight against online hate and disinformation.

He said the security of Jewish facilities and communities must be improved throughout Europe. Germany will give the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe €500,000 (£420,000) this year to that end.

Germany’s main Jewish leader told Der Tagesspiegel that he has seen a “change in the social climate” over the past decade, pointing among other things to the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

Asked if Jews in Germany are “sitting on packed suitcases”, Josef Schuster, who heads the Central Council of Jews, said he would not put it that drastically.

“The suitcases are unpacked, but people are checking where the empty suitcase is,” he said.

Mr Schuster added: “Is there a European country in which things are better? Jewish facilities have been the target of attacks in the US too. And you’re not safe from terrorist attacks, even in Israel.”