New Year's Eve 2025/2026 in Germany and the Netherlands was marked by severe accidents, fires, and attacks on emergency services. Two young people died in Bielefeld from homemade pyrotechnics, with injuries and numerous fires reported. Despite a somewhat calmer course in places, authorities call for stricter regulations.
The transition from 2025 to 2026 brought an escalation of fireworks incidents in Germany and the Netherlands. In Bielefeld, two 18-year-olds died in accidents involving homemade pyrotechnics; both suffered fatal facial injuries. One incident occurred in the Baumheide district, where the man died on site, and the other in Brake, where he succumbed to injuries in the hospital.
Further injuries were reported: Near Rostock, a 23-year-old lost his left hand due to an exploding banger, and in Leipzig, a 16-year-old girl lost one and a half fingers. A multi-family house burned in Marburg, possibly triggered by a New Year's rocket. In Baden-Württemberg, three people died in fires in Bonndorf, Lenzkirch, and Giengen an der Brenz.
Attacks on police and rescue personnel increased: In Leipzig, Hamburg, and other cities, officers were pelted with pyrotechnics; in Berlin, even paramedics were targeted. In Hamburg, ten police officers were injured so severely they could not continue duty. Bremen's Interior Senator Eva Högl called the assaults "shocking." German Red Cross President Hermann Gröhe condemned: "The increasing violence against rescue forces – unfortunately especially on New Year's Eve – is a shocking sign of growing coarseness in parts of our society."
Firefighters were on constant duty: In Hagen, multiple roof structures burned, and in Erfurt, a historic building at Domplatz spread to two adjacent houses – presumably caused by rockets. In Berlin, where 4300 police were deployed, the night was calmer than before, with dozens injured and hundreds arrested.
Berlin's Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) demands reform of the explosives law and more state competencies. GdP Chairman Andreas Roßkopf calls for harsher penalties: "The use of illegal fireworks against people [...] is not a minor offense, but dangerous bodily harm."
In the Netherlands, where bangers were allowed for the last time, violence and accidents escalated: Molotov cocktails and paving stones at police, two deaths, and severe injuries. In Amsterdam, the Vondelkirche burned down, its tower collapsed, and apartments were evacuated – cause unclear.
