During the early days of 2023, scenes of chaos unfolded across Germany as vehicles burned, balconies and private homes caught fire, and police teams, ambulances, and fire units faced aggressive crowds. Young men armed with blank pistols sheltered behind barricades while social networks circulated violent images from Berlin and other cities marking New Year celebrations. It was not the first time such scenes had appeared on New Year’s Eve, yet officials and emergency responders agreed that the level of aggression had reached an unprecedented and unacceptable height.
Official statistics confirmed a rise in violence in medium and large cities. In the capital, police and fire crews reported around 4,000 interventions on the night, and the Berlin fire brigade documented 38 instances of fireworks assaults, with some individuals armed with blank pistols. Fifteen workers sustained injuries. A video posted by Berlin firefighters showed one of their trucks forced to retreat in front of a barricade in the Neukölln district, where roughly 50 people attacked the unit with rockets, fireworks, and blanks. An officer’s warning to retreat was heard during one of these incidents. Multiple arrests occurred in Berlin alone.
Similar violent episodes occurred in several other German states, including North Rhine-Westphalia, the country’s most populous. In Bonn, youths burned containers and then attacked firefighters who arrived to extinguish the flames using firecrackers and similar devices. In Essen and Bochum, police reported being targeted as they tried to separate confrontations between groups, with each side using fireworks to strike at those around them. The Rhine Ministry of the Interior reported approximately 250 New Year’s Eve arrests.
Like a Civil War
The Neukölln district’s mayor, Dieter Walk—speaking outright about the severity of the moment—described situations akin to civil unrest. Emergency crews faced ambushes and attacks in several cases. The doctoring of responsible conduct, he noted, was essential, and restrictions on fireworks sales were discussed, though fireworks remain widely accessible in Germany and are traditionally used on December 31. Police and fire services joined calls for restraint and accountability.
Opposition voices from the CDU-CSU and liberal factions argued against a blanket ban, framing such measures as an infringement on citizens’ freedom to celebrate. They favored tightening penalties for attacks on state representatives rather than broad prohibitions on celebrations.
Extremist groups also seized on the events. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) used the moment to criticize immigration and especially people with migrant backgrounds, asserting responsibility on immigrants and German citizens with migrant roots. A party statement read, “Entry bans should replace fireworks bans.” A broader debate linked immigration to the year-end incidents, though robust statistics were not published at the time.
Scholz’s Message
At the national level, Chancellor Olaf Scholz—leading a Social Democratic government—condemned the violence and ordered stronger protection for emergency and police personnel. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, also a Social Democrat, spoke of a need for a decisive response. In response, critics from the CDU pressed for enhanced documentary measures, including video cameras on fire trucks, ambulances, and police vehicles to capture future attacks.
A law enacted in 2017 provides up to five years in prison for assaulting police officers, firefighters, and sanitation workers. When asked about official statistics during a federal press briefing in early 2023, a spokesperson for the Home Office confirmed several data points: 88,000 assaults on police officers were recorded in 2021, with about 84 percent of identified attackers being men and 70 percent German citizens.