Firefighters pelted with pyros – Germany’s New Year’s Eve chaos in 5 points Without Benedict, Pope Francis is lonelier – and tensions in the Vatican could rise

For the past two years, Germans had to do without fireworks due to the corona pandemic. This year the fireworks were allowed again. Even though the fireworks provided a nice spectacle in many places, in the end it mainly made negative headlines. The fact that accidents happen when handling fireworks is no longer so surprising in itself, but what happened in Germany on New Year’s Day goes much further than that. An overview.

The mild start of the last day of the year

Some heat records were broken in both Switzerland and Germany due to the mild temperatures. This time, the extremely mild weather also drew out those sensitive to the cold. Even at night, double-digit values ​​were still reached in many places, after the German Weather Service even measured 20 degrees and more during the day in four places. The highest value was reached around 2 p.m. with 20.8 degrees in Wielenbach in Upper Bavaria.

The day of the emergency services also started “mildly”. During the day there were only a few calls due to fires or explosions. Things got tough, especially after 6pm.

Around this time, incidents involving fireworks and firecrackers began to increase. While most of the fires were caused by fireworks accidents, the number of deliberate fires increased towards evening.

At 8 p.m., the Berlin fire brigade found two fires that were probably started maliciously. In both cases, according to witnesses, fireworks were thrown at a garbage room until it caught fire. What the Berlin fire brigade did not know at the time: that was only a foretaste of what would happen later.

The fireworks-free party in Berlin

Shortly after 8 p.m., the New Year’s Eve party broadcast on ZDF began in front of the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin. The approximately 2,500 tickets for the show were all sold out, but according to police only about 1,300 people turned out for hours, peacefully and exuberantly rocking and clapping to the sounds of DJ Bobo, Sasha and Laurell. There were no fireworks as part of the show, instead there was a light show at midnight.

But thousands of people who couldn’t make it to the cordoned off area in front of the gate had brought their own missiles – and their own company. There were always incidents and conflicts with emergency services, says a police spokesperson.

The number of attacks on emergency services has increased significantly compared to before the pandemic started, the police spokesman continues. On Twitter, the police informed every minute about their performance. The officials left because of fights, shots from alarm guns and firecrackers and rockets thrown at passersby, buildings and officials, among other things. Given the chaos on some streets and sidewalks, quite a few Berliners prefer not to venture into battle.

The escalation

Berlin

The center of the chaos on New Year’s Eve was Berlin. The situation there escalated in multiple places around midnight, according to videos on social media.

About 60 to 80 people in the Lichtenrade district tried to set fire to a vehicle by placing fireworks under it. In the Tempelhof district, fireworks and a fire extinguisher were thrown at a bus. In an attempt to intervene, the emergency services were also fired upon by the aggressive crowd with fireworks, police said.

In the Neukölln district, firefighters tried to extinguish a vehicle that was already on fire. Meanwhile, they were “attacked en masse with fireworks”.

Fireworks were set off in the middle of the street in several places. Some were even deliberately aimed at people and homes.

The Berlin fire brigade deployed a total of 1,717 times on New Year’s Eve. The Berlin fire brigade wrote on its website on January 1 that there had been 38 attacks in which a total of 33 emergency services were injured. This surprised her:

Leipzig

In Leipzig, too, chaotic people lit their fireworks in the middle of the street. Videos on Twitter show fireworks exploding in close proximity to cars and people, sparking fires in some places. The police were on the spot en masse.

Bonn

As reported by the police, a burning dumpster was reported shortly after midnight in Bonn. She assumes that it was set on fire by young people. When the fire brigade and police arrived on the scene, they were attacked by up to 40 masked people with fireworks and stones.

The emergency services had to withdraw at short notice and ask for support. The fires are finally extinguished and the hooded persons are being investigated.

Duisburg

Serious riots also broke out in Duisburg, in western Germany. The Duisburg fire service reported 381 missions, the police had to intervene 470 times.

For example, groups of people in the Hochheide district fired at each other with fireworks at 10:30 p.m. On arrival, the emergency services were also fired upon and fireworks, stones and gas cylinders were thrown at them.

The search for the perpetrators

The outrage after the chaotic New Year’s Eve was great and led to a discussion about the blame for the escalation.

The right-wing parties clearly see a problem in migration policy here. Green and leftist politicians, on the other hand, see the problem in legal gunfire. They demand that this be abolished, both to protect people and animals and to take into account the environment.

The deputy chairman of the Union parliamentary group, Jens Spahn (CDU), refuses to see the problem in the fireworks. Rather, he sees the problem in a failed integration policy, as he told t-online:

More than 100 suspects were arrested after the riots in Berlin. According to Rainer Wendt, the police unionist, these came from the “migrant environment”. He and the German Police Union (DPoIG) are demanding a ruthless political clarification of the events, “Focus” reports. This also applies to the origin of the perpetrators. Reliable information about the more than 100 detainees is not yet available. The only thing that is certain is that young, drunk men are often behind the riots on New Year’s Eve, says Wendt.

The government’s response

The German government condemned the attacks. Deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said on Monday:

The government has great confidence that the investigative services of the countries will track down the perpetrators consistently. She added: “The rule of law should not allow people peacefully celebrating in our cities and emergency services on duty to be exposed to such attacks.”

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) was also appalled:

Despite everything, she sees no reason for a national fireworks ban at the end of the year at the riots.

When asked whether a ban on fireworks and New Year’s Eve rockets is being considered, Faeser referred to existing prohibition rules – for example near hospitals and retirement homes – as well as the possibility for states and municipalities to set off so-called fireworks. forbidden zones. (saw with material from the sda ​​and dpa news agencies)