The murder of six young Italians shot dead in front of an Italian restaurant in Duisburg in the early hours of the 15th August 2007 marks a cut. Since then, the question came up whether Italian mafias are present and operating on German ground. This article deals with the German perception of the Italian mafias, both operating inside and outside Italy. Findings from different sources, among them science, police and media, are presented and evaluated.
Keywords: Mafia, cosa nostra, `ndrangheta, camorra, criminology, police, media, public