2025 in Germany

Events in the year 2025 in Germany.

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

Incumbents

Further information: German order of precedence

• President – Frank-Walter Steinmeier
• President of the Bundestag – Bärbel Bas (until 25 March); Julia Klöckner (since 25 March)
• 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 attack: Two people are killed and ten others injured when a car crashes into a crowd in Mannheim.^[27]
• March 10 – A strike is held in 13 airports nationwide, causing a total of 3,500 flight cancellations affecting 560,000 passengers.^[28]
• March 11 –
  • The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) officially files a complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court seeking to legally challenge the results of the federal election.^[29]
  • A truck carrying heating oil collides with a tram at a crossing in Ubstadt-Weiher, causing both vehicles to catch fire and leaving three people dead.^[30]
• March 18 – The Bundestag votes 512-206 in favor of the proposed Debt brake agreement amendment, sending it to the Bundesrat, where it would have to pass by two-thirds in order to become law.^[31] The measure passes with the support of the SPD, CDU/CSU, Alliance 90/The Greens and the SSW also supported the reform, while the FDP, AfD, The Left and the BSW vote against.^[32]
• March 21 – The Bundesrat votes in favor of the debt brake agreement amendment 53-16, passing the two-thirds threshold to become law. The states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Rhineland-Palatinate all abstain from voting, which is counted as voting in opposition. The Free Voters of Bavaria, which initially voiced objections to the amendment, ultimately votes in favor as a bloc.^[33]
• March 25 – The CDU's Julia Klöckner is elected as president of the Bundestag.^[34]
• March 26 – Police conduct nationwide raids on locations associated with the Eritrean anti-government group Brigade Nhamedu.^[35]

April

• April 1 – Rabea Rogge is the first female German astronaut in space with human spaceflight mission Fram2.^[36]
• April 6 – A family of three is killed in a shooting in Weitefeld. Rhineland-Palatinate Police launch a state-wide manhunt for the armed suspect.^[37]
• April 9 –
  • The CDU announces a coalition agreement with the SPD at the federal level.^[38]
  • The AfD finishes as the leading party for the first time in opinion polling.^[39]
• April 19 – Two people are killed in a shooting in Bad Nauheim.^[40] A suspect is arrested after five days.^[41]

Holidays

Further information: Public holidays in Germany

Source:^[42]

• 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
  • Irmgard Furchner, 99, war criminal^[43]
• 15 January – Stephanie Aeffner, 48, politician (Alliance 90/The Greens), member of the Bundestag (since 2021)^[44]
• 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)^[45]
• 1 February – Friedrich Kronenberg, 91, politician (CDU), member of the Bundestag (1983–1990)^[46]
• 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)^[47]
• 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)^[48]
• 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).^[49]
• 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)^[50]
• 4 March – Antje-Katrin Kühnemann, 80, television presenter and physician
• 9 March – Hans-Peter Korff, 82, (1942–2025), actor
• 15 March - Doris Fitschen, 56, (1968-2025), footballer
• <17 March – AnNa R., 55, bandsinger Rosenstolz
• 22 March – Rolf Schimpf, 100, actor
• 29 March – Gerd Poppe, 84, politician and dissident

April

• 3 April – Andreas Prinz von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha, 82, head of the former ducal House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (since 1998)
• 5 April – Georg Gölter, 86, politician
• 8 April – Manfred Schüler,93, economist and politician
• 14 April – Peter Seiffert, 71, opera singer
• 15 April – Werner Thissen, 86, Roman-Catholic bishop
• 21 April – Walter Frankenstein, 100, engineer and Holocaust survivor.^[51]

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.