"Violence and hatred are not legitimate means of settling differences… We have to find solutions that will meet our ethical standards, and will not jeopardize social cohesion. Solutions that will take into account the demands of [German] citizens, but will not leave refugees in the lurch," the president said in a Christmas message, published in the German Bild newspaper on Wednesday night.
He noted that Germany still received large numbers of refugees, and thanked the country's citizens for assistance and readiness to help with their resettlement.
On Monday, around 8,000 people took part in an anti-refugee rally in the German city of Dresden, organized by an anti-Islamization Pegida movement.
Earlier in December, the Bild said that far-right German radicals had committed over 1,610 crimes against refugees since the beginning of the year, doubling the last year’s record.
Europe is struggling to cope with a massive influx of refugees, fleeing conflict-torn countries of the Middle East and North Africa in search of safety and refuge in Europe. Germany, as one of the most popular points of their destination, expects to receive around a million of asylum applications over the course of 2015.
