2025 in Germany

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Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2025 History of Germany  • Timeline  • Years

Events in the year 2025 in Germany .

Incumbents

Further information: German order of precedence

• President – Frank-Walter Steinmeier
• President of the Bundestag – Bärbel Bas
• Chancellor – Olaf Scholz
• President of the German Bundesrat – Anke Rehlinger ^[a]
• President of the Federal Constitutional Court – Stephan Harbarth

Events

January

• January 7 – Two people are killed in a shooting inside a company office in Bad Friedrichshall. ^[1]
• January 9 – Elon Musk does a live broadcast with Alice Weidel from the AfD on X Spaces, during which Musk doubles down on his endorsement of the AfD. ^{[2] [3]}
• January 10 – The first case of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany since 1988 is discovered in a herd of water buffalo in Hönow, Brandenburg. ^[4]
• January 11 – A bus overturns near Prenzlau, killing two people. ^[5]
• January 12 – The Alternative for Germany (AfD) leadership votes to formally replace the Young Alternative for Germany (JA) as its youth organisation. ^[6]
• January 15 – The Karlsruhe branch of the AfD initiates a campaign by distributing flyers resembling flight tickets labeled Abschiebetickets (deportation tickets) in mailboxes, prompting a police investigation. ^[7]
• January 20 – Six people are injured after coming into contact with pepper spray at a concert by JPEGMafia in Berlin. ^[8]
• January 22 – 2025 Aschaffenburg stabbing attack: Two people, including a child, are killed in a knife attack in Aschaffenburg. A suspect is arrested. ^[9]
• January 29 – A non-binding resolution calling for tighter immigration policies passes in the Bundestag with support of opposition parties including the CDU and the AfD. ^[10] The next day, Angela Merkel criticises CDU leader Friedrich Merz for introducing the resolution. ^[11]
• January 31 – A bill filed by the CDU/CSU restricting immigration to Germany is voted down in the Bundestag. ^[12]

February

• February 12 – The government extends controls on Germany's borders until 15 September. ^[13]
• February 13 – 2025 Munich car attack: Two people are killed while at least 37 others are injured after a car rams through a street demonstration in Munich. The suspect, an Afghan with a valid residence and work permit, is arrested. ^{[14] [15]}
• February 20 – The Federal Court of Justice rejects a petition by Birkenstock to recognise its footwear products as copyright-protected artwork. ^[16]
• February 21 – One person is injured in a knife attack near the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin. ^[17]
• February 23 –
  • 2025 German federal election: The CDU/CSU wins a plurality in the Bundestag with about 28.6% of the vote, followed by the AfD with 20.8% and the SPD with 16.4%. ^[18]
  • The AfD becomes the strongest party in the East, securing all five former East German states. ^[19]
  • Christian Lindner resigns as leader of the FDP and announces his retirement from active politics after the party fails to win a seat in the Bundestag following the federal election. ^[20]
• February 25 – Maximilian Krah and Matthias Helferich are readmitted back into the AfD parliamentary group after a party meeting. ^{[21] [22]}
• February 26 – Four people are injured in a shooting near a courthouse in Bielefeld. ^[23]
• February 27 –
  • A court in Jena sentences two Afghan residents to up to five years imprisonment for plotting to attack the Swedish Riksdag and assassinate lawmakers in response to the burning of copies of the Koran. ^[24]
  • A two-day strike is launched at Munich Airport, resulting in disruptions to 80% of flights. ^[25]

March

• March 2 – 2025 Hamburg state election. ^[26]
• March 3 – 2025 Mannheim car incident: Two people are killed and ten others injured when a car crashes into a crowd in Mannheim. ^[27]

Holidays

Further information: Public holidays in Germany

Source: ^[28]

• 1 January – New Year's Day
• 6 January – Epiphany
• 8 March – International Women's Day
• 28 March – Maundy Thursday
• 29 March – Good Friday
• 31 March – Easter Sunday
• 1 April – Easter Monday
• 1 May – International Workers' Day
• 9 May – Ascension Day
• 19 May – Whit Sunday
• 20 May – Whit Monday
• 30 May – Corpus Christi
• 15 August – Assumption Day
• 20 September – Children's Day
• 3 October – German Unity Day
• 31 October – Reformation Day
• 1 November – All Saints' Day
• 20 November – Repentance Day
• 25 December – Christmas Day
• 26 December – Saint Stephen's Day

Art and entertainment

• List of German films of 2025
• List of 2025 box office number-one films in Germany
• List of German submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Deaths

January

• 8 January – Rudolf Dreßler, 84, politician (SPD)
• 14 January – Hans Reichelt, 99, politician
• 15 January – Stephanie Aeffner, 48, politician (Alliance 90/The Greens), member of the Bundestag (since 2021) ^[29]
• 16 January – Wolfgang Wesemann, 75, cyclist
• 17 January – Christine Wischer, 80, politician (SPD)
• 28 January – Horst Janson, 89, actor
• 29 January – Klaus Willbrand, 83, antiquarian bookseller and literary critic

February

• 1 February – Horst Köhler, 84, President of Germany (2004–2010), president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (1998–2000) and managing director of the International Monetary Fund (2000–2004) ^[30]
• 1 February – Friedrich Kronenberg, 91, politician (CDU), member of the Bundestag (1983–1990) ^[31]
• 1 February – Manfred Meinsen, 86, politician (The Greens)
• 1 February – Sigi Renz, 97, racing cyclist
• 2 February – Peter Enders, 62, chess player
• 2 February – Gerd Wirth, 73, politician (SPD)
• 3 February – Erwin Rüddel, 69, politician (CDU), member of the Bundestag (since 2009) ^[32]
• 3 February – Jürgen Schmude, 88, politician (SPD), federal minister of the interior (1982), member of the Bundestag (1969–1990)
• 5 February – Thea Bock, 86, politician (SPD), member of the Bundestag (1991–1994)
• 5 February – Ernst-Joachim Küppers, 82, swimmer
• 5 February – Hans-Peter Lehmann, 90, opera and artistic director, and intendant
• 7 February – Akbar Behkalam, 80, Iranian-German painter and sculptor
• 7 February – Robert Maus, 91, politician (CDU)
• 9 February – Elena Grölz, 64, handball player
• 10 February – Otto Mayr, 94, mechanical engineer and technology historian
• 10 February – Horst Weidenmüller, 60, music executive producer and entrepreneur
• 11 February – Sigrid Metz-Göckel, 84, sociologist and political scientist
• 12 February – Gisela Bleibtreu-Ehrenberg, 95, sociologist, ethnologist and sexologist
• 15 February – Gerhart Baum, 92, lawyer and politician (FDP), federal minister of the interior (1978–1982), member of the Bundestag (1972–1994) ^[33]
• 16 February – Walter Althammer, 96, politician (CSU)
• 18 February – Claus Roxin, 93, jurist, scholar of criminal law
• 20 February –
  • Erhard Hofeditz, 71, footballer (KSV Baunatal, TSV 1860 Munich, 1. FC Kaiserslautern)
  • Friedrich-Wilhelm Junge, 86, actor ( SAS 181 Does Not Reply , Love's Confusion )
• 21 February – Herbert Mertin, 66, jurist and politician (FDP)
• 25 February – Wolfgang Hamberger, 94, politician and author, mayor of Fulda (1970–1998). ^[34]
• 26 February – Monika Lundi, 82, film and television actress ( Crazy – Completely Mad )

March

• ≤1 March – Tim Kruger, 44, film actor, producer, and director
• March – Klaus Richtzenhain, 90, East German middle-distance runner
• 2 March – Bernhard Vogel, 92, politician, Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate (1976–1988) and Minister President of Thuringia (1992–2003)
• 4 March – Antje-Katrin Kühnemann, 80, television presenter and physician
• 9 March – Hans-Peter Korff, 82, (1942–2025), German actor

See also

• 2025 in the European Union
• 2025 in Europe

Notes

1. The President of the Bundesrat, the speaker of the Bundesrat, a federal legislative chamber, in which the governments of the sixteen German states are represented. The president of the Bundesrat is ex officio also deputy to the President of Germany (Basic Law, Article 57), thus becomes first in the order, while acting on behalf of the President or while acting as head of state during a vacancy of the presidency.

References

1. "2 killed and 1 critically injured in shooting at a company's premises in Germany". Associated Press. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
2. Marsh, Sarah; Escritt, Thomas (9 January 2025). "Elon Musk doubles down on endorsement of far-right German party in conversation on X". USA Today. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
3. Gilbert, David (9 January 2025). "Elon Musk and Far-Right German Leader Agree 'Hitler Was a Communist'". Wired. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
4. "Animal transports banned in German region after foot-and-mouth disease detected". Associated Press. 11 January 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
5. "A bus accident on a highway in northeastern Germany leaves 2 dead". Associated Press. 11 January 2025. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
6. "Germany's far-right AfD replaces 'Young Alternative' group". Deutsche Welle . 12 January 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
7. "German police investigate AfD mock plane ticket campaign". DW. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
8. "Several people are injured at a Berlin concert by US rapper JPEGMafia because of pepper spray". Associated Press. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
9. "2 people were killed in a knife attack in Germany and a suspect has been detained, police say". Associated Press. 22 January 2025. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
10. "German parliament backs election front-runner's call for tough border rules with far-right support". Associated Press. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
11. "Merkel criticizes German front-runner Merz over migration vote with far-right support". AP News. 30 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
12. "German lawmakers reject contentious immigration law". DW News. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
13. "Germany extends border controls by 6 months as election rivals focus on migration ahead of poll". Associated Press. 12 February 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
14. "Afghan held after suspected ramming attack injures 28 in Germany". France 24. 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
15. "Mother and child die from injuries after Munich car attack". BBC. 15 February 2025. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
16. "Can sandals be art? Birkenstock says yes, but a German court says no". Associated Press. 20 February 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
17. "Man seriously injured in stabbing at Berlin Holocaust memorial". BBC. 22 February 2025. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
18. "Germany's conservatives celebrate, but far right enjoy record result". BBC. 24 February 2025. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
19. "Far-right AfD wins eastern Germany by huge margin as divisions remain". The Korea Times. 24 February 2025. Archived from the original on 24 February 2025. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
20. "Liberal Leader Who Sparked German Govt's Downfall Resigns". Barron's. 23 February 2025. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
21. Connolly, Kate. "AfD readmits two politicians excluded over Nazi-related remarks". The Guardian.
22. Pitel, Laura. "Germany's AfD brings 'friendly face of National Socialism' into fold". Financial Times.
23. "4 people hurt as shots are fired near a courthouse in western Germany". AP News. 27 February 2025. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
24. "A German court sentences 2 Afghans to prison for plotting to attack the Swedish parliament". AP News. 27 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
25. "A two-day strike at Munich Airport results in most flights being canceled". AP News. 27 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
26. "Startseite". Radio Hamburg. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
27. "Two killed, 11 injured after car rams crowd in German city of Mannheim". CNN. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
28. "Germany Public Holidays 2024". Public Holidays Global. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
29. ""Grünenpolitikerin Stephanie Aeffner plötzlich verstorben"". spiegel.de (in German). 15 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
30. "Former German President Horst Köhler dies at 81". AP News. 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
31. ""Herausragende Persönlichkeit des Laienkatholizismus"". Central Committee of German Catholics (in German). 4 February 2025. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
32. "CDU-Bundestagsabgeordneter Erwin Rüddel aus dem Kreis Neuwied ist tot". SWR (in German). 4 February 2025. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
33. Gerhart Baum ist tot. faz.net, 15 February 2025 (in German). Retrieved 15 February 2025.
34. "Fulda trauert: Ex-Oberbürgermeister Hamberger stirbt mit 94 Jahren". www.osthessen-zeitung.de (in German). 26 February 2025. Retrieved 26 February 2025.

External links

Media related to 2025 in Germany at Wikimedia Commons

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