since germany's peak number asylum applicants in 2015 – 890,000 – the trend began to reverse. in 2018, only 185,000 syrians applied for asylum in germany. despite the heavy drop in applications, deportations nearly doubled to 20,000 a year, marking a shifting sentiment among the german people away from the welcoming culture that brought thousands of syrians to germany since 2015. the changing sentiments among german leaders and citizens towards syrian refugees comes in light of an increasingly right-wing parliament. in the 2017 elections, the alternative für deutschland (afd) party gained seats, bringing anti-syrian opinions to a national stage.