Thousands of extra police had been drafted in across the country, but these failed to stem the trouble that unfolded. In Berlin, authorities say that 30 police officers were injured and over 400 people detained after youths clashed with law enforcement.
Writing on X, Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that the “deployment of strong police forces from the federal states and the federal police and an early and consistent crackdown are the right means against perpetrators of violence and chaos.”
She added: “However, the many arrests in Berlin alone and the renewed attacks on police officers also show that this crackdown was absolutely necessary.”
Footage from the evening shows hooded youths pelting police on streets strewn with bricks and broken glass.
“It is unimaginable what our emergency forces had to experience,” said Lars Wieg, the chairman of Berlin’s police union.
The mayhem was not limited to the capital. In Neuwied, western Germany, firefighters were called to tackle a huge blaze after fireworks were reportedly used to set a warehouse on fire.
In Leipzig, police were showered with fireworks and bottles, while in Hamburg officers reported that they “were literally shot at” with pyrotechnics.
Officials had repeated calls for a ban on fireworks in the lead-up to New Year’s Eve, with many citing the country’s history of previous incidents.
“Fireworks belong in the hands of people who know what they are doing, i.e. firefighters and certified people,” said Bejamin Jendro of Berlin’s police union. “If people don’t want to do without fireworks altogether, then we should offer them more organized events.”
These appeals are set to grow louder after five people were killed following firework-related incidents. According to police, these included a 45-year-old who mishandled “a firework bomb” and a 24-year-old male killed by a homemade rocket that exploded prematurely.
Among other reported injuries, police say that three children aged two, 11 and 14 were “seriously injured” in Munich due to fireworks, with the 14-year-old blowing part of his hand off.
