2023 in Germany

The following is a list of events from the year 2023 in Germany.

Incumbents

Events

January

5 January – The United States and Germany agree to send Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. Germany will also supply the Ukrainian military with a MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system.
8 January – North Rhine-Westphalia Police arrest two Iranian brothers in Castrop-Rauxel, Ruhr, North Rhine-Westphalia, on the suspicion of planning an Islamic terrorist attack using chemical weapons.
16 January – German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht resigns from the Scholz cabinet amid criticism over her handling of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
22 January – German Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock says that Germany will not prevent Poland from sending Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine which Ukrainian officials say are pivotal to defeating Russian forces on the battlefield.
24 January – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz decides to send Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, and will allow other operators of the tanks, such as Poland, to do so as well.
25 January – Two people are killed and seven others are wounded in a mass stabbing on a passenger train in Brokstedt, Steinburg, Schleswig-Holstein.

February

10 February – At least 35 people are injured when a bus overturns near Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt.
12 February – 2023 Berlin repeat state election
22 February – Germany expels two employees of the Iranian embassy in response to Iran sentencing pro-monarchist dual German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd to death over a 2008 bombing in Iran.

March

9 March – [2023 Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hamburg|Hamburg shooting|A mass shooting] in Hamburg kills six people and injures eight others. The gunman then commits suicide.
9–11 March – Last meeting of Synodal Path in Frankfurt am Main

April

3 April – Four people are injured in a fire at a hospital in Berlin. One person has been arrested on suspicion of arson.
11 April – Germany expels the ambassador of Chad in a tit-for-tat decision following the expulsion of the German ambassador from Chad last week.
15 April – The Nuclear power in Germany ends. The last three power plants Isar Nuclear Power Plant, Neckarwestheim Nuclear Power Plant and Emsland Nuclear Power Plant in Germany stop.
18 April – At least four people are severely injured in a stabbing attack at a gym in Duisburg.
26 April – the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution BfV, after four years of investigations into the youth wing of the Alternative for Germany AfD party, categorized that group as a "confirmed" extremist organization. This allowed the chief of the BfV Thomas Haldenwang to place the youth wing of the AfD under even more intensive surveillance than the tapping of phone and the use of undercover agents than had been the case until then.

May

11 May
* 2023 Mercedes-Benz factory shooting: Two people are killed in a shooting at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Sindelfingen, Baden-Württemberg. The perpetrator, a 53 year old Turkish citizen, is arrested.
* Twelve people are wounded in an explosion at an apartment complex in Ratingen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A 57-year-old man is arrested.
14 May – The SPD wins the 2023 Bremen state election with 29.8% of the vote.
25 May – The German economy enters recession for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic amid high levels of inflation.
31 May – Trial of Lina E.: a Dresden court convicts 4 far-left extremists of violent attacks against far-right individuals.

June

3 June – The National Democratic Party of Germany renames itself to Die Heimat at the party congress in Riesa. 77% voted in favor of the name change.
5 June – Björn Höcke, Leader of Alternative for Germany in Thuringia is charged for using Nazi slogan Everything for Germany.
25 June – The Alternative for Germany wins its first district election in Sonneberg, Thuringia despite all other parties supporting the CDU Candidate.

July

2 July – in a run-off election the AfD candidate Hannes Loth won against the independent Nils Naumann in Raguhn-Jeßnitz Saxony-Anhalt, becoming the first ever AfD mayor.
24 July – CDU leader Friedrich Merz shows some willingness to work with the Alternative for Germany party at the local level, which was interpreted as the erosion of the 'firewall' separating conservatives from the far-right, sparking intense backlash within his own party, notably from Kai Wegner, the current Governing Mayor of Berlin.

August

19 August – Killing of Michael Ovsjannikov in Wittlich, Rhineland-Palatinate by U.S. airmen stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base.
21 August – Germany's central bank announces the country's economy will be stagnant in the third quarter, due to high energy prices and rising borrowing costs.
23 August – Germany passes legislation to ease citizenship rules, aiming to reduce a shortage of skilled workers and to improve the integration of immigrants.
24 August – A German federal court rejects an appeal by a military officer who posed as a asylum-seeker and was convicted of plotting to attack prominent politicians.

October

8 October
* The CSU wins the 2023 Bavarian state election with 37% of the vote, with the Free Voters taking second at 15.8%, their best result ever.
* 2023 Hessian state election
13 October – Mühldorf van crash: Seven people are killed and 16 others injured when a severely overloaded vehicle carrying illegal immigrants from the Middle East crashes in Mühldorf, Bavaria.
16 October – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announces he will visit Israel on Tuesday and then Egypt. The German Chancellor said on Monday that the visit allows him to "express his solidarity" with Israel.
18 October – Extremists throw Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin, Germany. Several antisemitic incidents in the country have been rising following the escalation in the Gaza war. The incident is being investigated as a terrorist attack.
24 October – 2023 North Sea incident: Two cargo ships, the British-flagged Verity and the Bahamas-flagged Polesie, collide in the North Sea near the Heligoland islands, with several individuals missing and the suspected sinking of the Verity. Rescue efforts are underway.
30 October – AfD politician Daniel Halemba is arrested after Nazi salute complaints and possession of banned totalitarian symbols.

November

5 November – 2023 Hamburg Airport hostage incident: A hostage crisis caused by "family drama" halts flights at Hamburg Airport.
27 November – German Catholic priest Hans-Joachim Lohre, who disappeared in Bamako, Mali, in November 2022 and was presumed kidnapped, is released by his captors and returns to Germany.

December

17 December – The AfD candidate for mayor of Pirna, Saxony wins, becoming the first mayor of a city with more than 20,000 inhabitants to be held by the Alternative for Germany.
December – The Cologne Cathedral bomb plot, an apparent Islamist plot to bomb Cologne Cathedral, was discovered.

Sports

10 September – Germany wins its first FIBA Basketball World Cup, beating Serbia 83–77 in the final. Dennis Schröder is named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Deaths

January

1 January – Bob Jongen, 95, German-born Dutch footballer.
2 January – Kurt Horres, 90, theatre director.
3 January – Norbert Werbs, 82, Roman Catholic prelate and theologian, auxiliary bishop of Schwerin and Hamburg.
4 January
* Rosi Mittermaier, 72, ski racer
* Hans Rebele, 79, footballer.
5 January
* Ruth Adler Schnee, 99, German-born American textile and interior designer.
* Renate Boy, 83, shot putter, [Summer Summer Olympic Games|Olympic Games|Olympic] silver medallist.
6 January – Axel Troost, 68, politician, MP.
8 January – Siegfried Kurz, 92, conductor and composer.
9 January
* Rainer Ulrich, 73, footballer and coach.
* Thomas Kretschmer, 68, politician, member of the Landtag of Thuringia.
* Hermann-Josef Blanke, 65, academic and legal scholar.
10 January
* Lothar Blumhagen, 95, film and voice actor.
* Hans Belting, 87, art historian.
11 January
* Tatjana Patitz, 56, model and actress.
* Günther Deschner, 81, author and historian.
14 January
* Matthias Carras, 58, pop singer.
* Carl Hahn, 96, automotive industry executive, chairman of Volkswagen Group.
* Hermann A. Schlögl, 85, actor and Egyptologist.
17 January – Heinz-Dieter Hasebrink, 81, footballer.
18 January – Clytus Gottwald, 97, composer, conductor and musicologist.
20 January – Hans Kasper, 84, politician, member of the Landtag of Saarland.
22 January – Bernd Uhl, 76, Roman Catholic prelate, auxiliary bishop of Freiburg.
23 January – Inge Kaul, 78, economist.
25 January – Wolfgang Altenburg, 94, general, inspector general of the Bundeswehr and chairman of the NATO Military Committee.
26 January – Sepp Dürr, 69, politician, member of the Landtag of Bavaria.
27 January – Hellmut Mehnert, 94, internist and diabetologist.
29 January
* Gerhard Moehring, 101, teacher and local historian.
* Gero Storjohann, 64, politician.
* Gerhard Woitzik, 95, politician.
30 January – Gerald Mortag, 64, cyclist, Olympic silver medallist.

February

2 February
*Solomon Perel, 97, German-born Israeli author and motivational speaker.
*Caspar Richter, 78, conductor.
3 February
*Andreas Gielchen, 58, footballer.
*Ismail Tipi, 64, Turkish-German politician, member of the Landtag of Hesse.
4 February – Jürgen Flimm, 81, theater director and manager.
7 February – Volkmar Sigusch, 82, sociologist, physician and sexologist
10 February – Hans Modrow, 95, politician
16 February
*Tim Lobinger, 50, pole vaulter
*Tony Marshall, 85, singer
*Gunnar Heinsohn, 79, author, sociologist and economist
25 February – Corinna Miazga, 39, politician
26 February – Günther von Lojewski, 87, journalist

March

2 March – Mary Bauermeister, 89, artist
4 March – Heinz Baumann, 95, actor
5 March – Klaus-Michael Bonsack, 79, luger
6 March
*Traute Lafrenz, 103, resistance fighter
*Heinz Schwarz, 94, politician
14 March – Richard Wagner, 70, novelist
15 March – Antje Vollmer, 79, politician
17 March – Tilman Zülch, 83, human rights activist

April

1 April – Klaus Teuber, 70, game board designer
4 April – Maria Sebaldt, 92, actress
11 April – Lotti Krekel, 81,actress and singer
28 April – Peter Lilienthal, 95, film director

May

9 May – Günter Wewel, 85, television presenter
28 May – Harald zur Hausen, 87, virologist

June

1 June – Margit Carstensen, 83, film and theatre actress
20 June – Doris Stockhausen, 79, music pedagogue
22 June – Peter Brötzmann, 82, jazz saxophonist and clarinetist

July

1 July – Klaus Täuber, 65, football player
2 July – Randolf Stich, 57, politician
8 July – Eva Schreiber, 65, politician
11 July – Richard von Schirach, 81, sinologist and author
12 July – Heide Simonis, 80, politician
16 July – Christian Quadflieg, 78, actor
17 July – Bruno Flierl, 96, architect
19 July – Matthias Zimmer, 62, politician
28 July – Martin Walser, writer and novelist

August

1 August – Heinz Golombeck, 74, politician
7 August – Margit Saad, 94, actress
14 August – Wolfram Setz, 82, historian, editor and translator
16 August – Jürgen Kluckert, 79, actor
22 August
* René Weller, 69, boxer
* Manfred Zetzsche, 93, actor
23 August – Ingrid Olef, 83, politician
25 August – Claus Boje, 65, film producer
27 August – Dennis Kramer, 31, cyclist

September

4 September – Filip Minarik, 48, Czech jockey
5 September
* Jürgen Claus, 88, painter
* Corinna Werwigk-Hertneck, 70, politician
6 September
* Hans-Ulrich Klose, 86, politician
* Lothar Koch, 83, politician
7 September – Edgar Moron, 82, politician
20 September – Ruth Fuchs, 76, politician and athlete

October

3 October – Johannes Kühn, 89, writer
6 October – Bodo Schümann, 87, theologian and politician
17 October – Dirk Alvermann, 57, historian and archivar
19 October – Dietrich Geyer, 94, historian
20 October – Norbert Buske, 87, politician and theologian
21 October – Manfred Braun, 95, politician
23 October – Lutz Riemann, 82, actor
24 October
* Hans Albert, 102, philosopher
* Heinz Günther Hüsch, 94, lawyer and politician
27 October – Ignaz Walter, 87, businessman and entrepreneur
30 October – Hans Meiser, 77, journalist, TV-moderator and TV talkshow host
31 October – Elmar Wepper, 79, actor

November

1 November – Erich Zakowski, 89, mechanic
2 November – Jutta Müller, 94, figure skater
29 November – Henry Kissinger, 100, politician

December

3 December – Klaus Bernbacher, 92, conductor.
4 December – Peter R. Adam, 66, film editor
5 December – Wolfgang Wieland, 75, lawyer and politician, MP .
7 December – Guy Stern, 101, German-American intelligence officer .
8 December – Peter-Michael Kolbe, 70, rower
10 December – Dieter Stolte, 89, journalist
11 December – Ferdinand Keller, 77, footballer .
13 December – Hermann Brede, 100, architect
16 December – Bernd Siebert, 74, politician, MP
19 December – Gunther Emmerlich, 79, operatic bass and show presenter
21 December – Rebekka Habermas, 64, historian
22 December – Ingrid Steeger, 76, actress
25 December – Frieder Birzele, 83, politician
26 December – Wolfgang Schäuble, 81, politician, MP, former interior and financial minister