Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is fielding candidates in three district elections
- Another far-right party could win a mayoral runoff in Saxony
- Merz to join Zelenskyy, Macron in London for talks with UK’s Starmer
- More than 300,000 visitors turned out for German Armed Forces Day
- Politically motivated crimes reached a new high in 2025, Welt am Sonntag reported
Read below for a roundup of news from Germany for the weekend of June 6 and 7, 2026.
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Skip next section Germany’s Armed Forces Day sees record turnout06/07/2026June 7, 2026
Germany’s Armed Forces Day sees record turnout
Events to mark Tag der Bundeswehr (Armed Forces Day) on Saturday drew a new high of about 340,000 visitors, according to Germany’s military, up roughly 20% from last year.
The Bundeswehr opened the gates to 10 of its facilities nationwide for public viewing, including the Eckernförde Naval Base on the Baltic Sea and the Laage Air Base in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
During the open day, soldiers showed off military equipment and technology, while answering questions and offering career advice. There were also parachute jumps, operational simulations and drone flights.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz flew into Laage, where his government plane was escorted by two Eurofighter jets, while Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil took part in an event in the garrison town of Munster in Saxony.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who visited the Bundeswehr University in Neubiberg, near Munich, said the turnout proved that public “interest is enormous.”
Referring to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East, Pistorius said it was vital for Germany to “maintain a stable presence at a time when uncertainty is growing all around us.”
He also praised the renewed interest among young people in the Bundeswehr, noting how the military had recruited around 25,000 new soldiers last year, which was “more than we have seen in many years.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5ExoOSkip next section Merz, Zelenskyy in London for Ukraine war talks06/07/2026June 7, 2026
Merz, Zelenskyy in London for Ukraine war talks
Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, will attend a meeting in London later on Sunday to discuss European governments’ ongoing support for Ukraine.
The talks, hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, will be attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The four leaders are expected to coordinate efforts on sustaining aid to Kyiv, while ramping up pressure on Moscow to end the four-year war.
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a proposal to meet Zelenskyy for face-to-face talks, saying he saw “no point” in a meeting until a peace deal had been agreed.
Zelenskyy hit back at Putin’s reticence, saying the Russian leader was “weak” and “choosing war again.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5ExnsSkip next section Far-right eyes win in typically sleepy eastern elections06/07/2026June 7, 2026
Far-right eyes win in typically sleepy eastern elections
Four typically low-turnout elections in eastern Germany are drawing unusually close attention this year.
In three districts, Saalekreis in Saxony-Anhalt, Saalfeld-Rudolstadt in Thuringia and Ostprignitz-Ruppin in Brandenburg, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is fielding strong candidates for the powerful position of district administrator (Landrat).
In the Saxony town of Aue-Bad Schlema, a candidate from the even more radical Freie Sachsen (Free Saxons) party is in a runoff for mayor after leading the first round.
The AfD already holds one Landrat position — in Sonneberg, Thuringia. Winning a second would be another symbolic breakthrough for the party currently polling at 29%, versus Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative alliance at 21%, according to INSA.
The AfD’s candidate in Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, state MP Thomas Benninghaus, belongs to the party’s most hardline, far-right faction, led by Björn Höcke.
Meanwhile, the party’s branches in Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg are all under surveillance from German intelligence agencies, labeled as right-wing extremist factions.
These four races are seen as an important test ahead of key eastern state elections in Saxony-Anhalt on September 6 and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on September 20.
https://p.dw.com/p/5ExfdSkip next section Our coverage continues06/07/2026June 7, 2026
Our coverage continues
Nik Martin | Dmytro Hubenko Editor
Hallo, guten Morgen! DW’s newsroom in Bonn, in western Germany, continues our coverage of the top stories from across the country.
District elections in four eastern German states that would normally pass without fanfare are being closely watched this time.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is fielding candidates in three of the votes and is polling close to 30% nationally.
In the fourth — a mayoral runoff — the candidate from another small far-right party, Freie Sachsen (Free Saxons), topped the first round of voting last month.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will join his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in London for talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The meeting comes after Russia ruled out face-to-face talks to try to end the Ukraine war.
https://p.dw.com/p/5ExdXSkip next section Germany beat US before World Cup, but injuries cast shadow06/06/2026June 6, 2026
Germany beat US before World Cup, but injuries cast shadow
Germany made it nine wins out of nine with a 2-1 victory over the United States in their last match before the World Cup.
The win, secured by goals from Kai Havertz and Leroy Sane, means that Germany have won four successive friendlies, as well as their last six World Cup qualifiers. But Julian Nagelsmann knows tougher tests than this are not far away.
Read more about Saturday’s game and Germany’s bigger concerns ahead of the World Cup here.
https://p.dw.com/p/5ExO2Skip next section AfD edges toward 30% support, according to poll06/06/2026June 6, 2026
AfD edges toward 30% support, according to poll
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has increased its lead over Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s ruling Christian Democrats (CDU), according to a new poll released by the INSA institute on Saturday.
According to the survey, the AfD had 29% support, a substantial lead ahead of the CDU and its Bavarian CSU sister party, with the conservative alliance netting only 21%.
The survey suggests the CDU/CSU’s junior coalition partners, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), could drop a rank to become Germany’s fourth-largest party with 12% support, behind the environmentalist Greens at 14% but ahead of the socialist Left Party at 11%.
According to the INSA survey, some 77% of respondents were dissatisfied with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s performance in government, 6 points more than in April.
Merz warns of AfD ‘big bang’ in state elections
Also on Saturday, Merz warned against what he described as a potential “big bang” breakthrough by the AfD in regional polls.
“There is more at stake than just the future of a government,” Merz said at a party conference in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the northeast of the country.
“If we are not good enough, then just such a big bang will happen,” Merz said. “In a different way from what some may have imagined.”
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and eastern Saxony-Anhalt are to hold elections in September, with polls suggesting the AfD could become the largest party in the two states for the first time in its history.
The state government in Saxony-Anhalt is currently held by the CDU, while Mecklenburg-West Pomerania’s premiership is held by the SPD.
The AFD shows a massive lead ahead of the CDU in most recent polls in Saxony-Anhalt as well as a substantial one ahead of the SPD in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
https://p.dw.com/p/5ExJ5Skip next section Bayern Munich praise Karl after World Cup exit06/06/2026June 6, 2026
Bayern Munich praise Karl after World Cup exit
Lennart Karl’s club, Bayern Munich, said it was shocked to hear that the 18-year-old has been ruled out of the World Cup for Germany due to an injury.
In a statement, Bayern board member for sport Max Eberl said: “Missing out on a World Cup at such short notice naturally hurts a lot, and the news was a shock” for the entire club.
“But it changes nothing about how much talent, passion and future success Lenny has in him,” Eberl said. “He more than deserved this World Cup with his outstanding first professional season.”
Eberl said Karl knew “he still has many big tournaments ahead of him” and would receive “all the support” he needs from the Bundesliga champions.
Karl picked up a calf injury in training for a friendly in Chicago against the United States on Friday.
In his own statement on Instagram, Karl said it “hurts so incredibly much to miss the biggest tournament. I did everything I could to be fit for the World Cup. Unfortunately, injuries often happen at the worst possible time.”
The attacking midfielder promised to “come back stronger.”
On Saturday lunchtime, Karl was photographed returning to Munich airport. He will be replaced in the 26-man squad by RB Leipzig’s Assan Ouedraogo.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Ex8iSkip next section US doctor who caught Ebola disharged from Berlin hospital06/06/2026June 6, 2026
US doctor who caught Ebola disharged from Berlin hospital
A US doctor being treated for Ebola in a German hospital has been discharged, the hospital said.
The US national was admitted to Berlin’s Charite clinic on May 20 after contracting the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The man had been working in the DRC when he contracted the highly contagious and life-threatening disease.
A PCR test revealed he had a strain of Ebola that has been identified in the current outbreak.
In a statement, the doctor praised the hospital for its “world-class care, including experimental therapeutics that are being evaluated for the treatment of this species of virus.”
“Words do not adequately describe the gratitude that I have. (…) Our hearts remain with those in Congo who do not have the opportunity to receive the incredible care that we were given.”
The hospital said the doctor had tested negative for the virus since May 30 and is in good health, so an isolation order was lifted at midday on Saturday.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Ex85Skip next section German dies in wingsuit BASE jump in Swiss Alps06/06/2026June 6, 2026
German dies in wingsuit BASE jump in Swiss Alps
A German man has died in a failed wingsuit BASE jump in the Swiss Alps, police said.
The 47-year-old and another German national jumped from approximately 2,080 meters (6,825 feet) in the Vättis area above Bad Ragaz, in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen, on Friday.
Shortly after launching, one of the men fell to his death, the dpa news agency reported, citing a police statement.
The victim, from Kremmen in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, was reported to have been wearing a wingsuit, a specialized bat-like outfit with nylon cells that inflate to create an airfoil shape, with wings between the torso and legs.
The man’s body was later recovered by the local air rescue service.
BASE is an acronym for the buildings, antenna (radio/TV masts), span (bridges/arches) and earth (cliffs/rocks/mountains) that jumpers launch from.
The sport is considered extremely dangerous due to high speeds, proximity to terrain and a very small margin for error.
It was the second fatal wingsuit incident in Switzerland in two days.
On Thursday, a 29-year-old man died during another flight attempt in the Valais canton.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EwyaSkip next section Armed Forces Day: 10 military sites open gates to public06/06/2026June 6, 2026
Armed Forces Day: 10 military sites open gates to public
Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to attend events across Germany to mark Armed Forces Day (Tag der Bundeswehr).
Ten military bases and barracks opened their doors to civilians, offering live demonstrations, weapons exhibitions, flight displays and career information sessions.
They include Eckernförde Naval Base on the Baltic Sea — home to Germany’s submarine fleet, Laage Air Base in northern Germany — a key fighter jet station operating Eurofighter Typhoons and Nordholz Naval Air Station — headquarters of German naval aviation on the North Sea coast.
On Saturday morning, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius visited the campus of the Bundeswehr University at Neubiberg in Bavaria, before traveling to Weissenfels in Saxony-Anhalt.
The Bundeswehr urgently needs to grow its ranks. At the beginning of the year, the German armed forces had around 186,000 active soldiers.
The goal is to increase the number of active soldiers to 260,000 by 2035.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EwjGSkip next section Germany qualify for Women’s World Cup06/06/2026June 6, 2026
Germany qualify for Women’s World Cup
Germany has qualified for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil after the national football team’s 2-0 win against Norway in Cologne on Friday.
Debutante Marie Müller’s opener in the 18th minute and Carlotta Wamser’s effort in the 27th were enough to book a spot at the tournament.
“You can tell that we’re happy. We played a good match, which makes us even happier. We’ve had a lot of energy in the past few days and I think people could see that today,” forward Lea Schüller said.
The Germans have one game left in the qualifiers, against Slovenia on Tuesday. However, with 13 points, they can’t be knocked out of the top of Group A4.
Norway is second with nine points and can still qualify for the World Cup, but will need to go through the play-offs.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EwgySkip next section Teenage sensation Karl to miss World Cup after injury06/06/2026June 6, 2026
Teenage sensation Karl to miss World Cup after injury
Germany’s teenage attacking midfielder, Lennart Karl, will miss the World Cup after sustaining an injury in training, coach Julian Nagelsmann said.
The 18-year-old suffered a muscle bundle tear in his left thigh on Friday in Chicago and was taken to the hospital.
Karl, who was due to make his senior World Cup debut, will be replaced by Assan Ouedraogo.
“It is a huge shock for him and for all of us that he will miss the World Cup. It is only a small consolation that he is young and still has many tournaments ahead of him,” Nagelsmann said.
Karl enjoyed a meteoric rise this season, helping Bayern Munich clinch the domestic double and reach the Champions League semi-finals.
In Group E, the Germans play their first match against Curacao on June 14 before facing the Ivory Coast and Ecuador.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5EwgSSkip next section Wadephul: Germany, Mexico to step up efforts to stop drugs from reaching Europe06/06/2026June 6, 2026
Wadephul: Germany, Mexico to step up efforts to stop drugs from reaching Europe
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Germany planned to work more closely with Mexico to tackle organized crime, including drug cartels, to cut the spread of narcotics to Europe.
“The significant rise in drug use in Germany and across Europe is a cause of great concern to us. That is why we must work together very closely on this,” Wadephul, who is on a two-day visit to Mexico, told journalists.
“We are seeing Europe being virtually inundated by a wave of drugs originating from this region, not only from Mexico, but also from other Central and South American countries,” Wadephul said.
“That is why it must be in our interest to strengthen security cooperation here,” he added.
Wadephul had said the fight against organized crime was at the top of the agenda for cooperation.
According to DW correspondent Benjamin Alvarez, Wadephul also announced bids for non-permanent UN Security Council seats in 2035-36 and 2043-44 in Mexico City.
This announcement comes just days after Berlin’s defeat in the current race, when it received only 104 votes, falling short against Austria and Portugal.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EwftSkip next section Report: Politically motivated crime hits new high in Germany06/06/2026June 6, 2026
Report: Politically motivated crime hits new high in Germany
Politically motivated crime in Germany reached a new high in 2025, according to a newspaper report.
Welt am Sonntag reported that German states recorded at least 85,000 such crimes last year, up from 84,174 in 2024.
Over the past 10 years, the number of these crimes has more than doubled, the newspaper reported, citing its own research.
The data covered 15 of Germany’s federal states, with only the figures from Rhineland-Palatinate, in the southwest, missing.
WAS reported that the violent crimes labeled politically motivated were also on the rise, with more than 4,100 offenses recorded last year, including assault, arson and explosives offenses, as well as breach of the peace.
The newspaper said that police had attributed the rise over the past year to the polarized German elections last year, alongside the conflicts in the Middle East.
While more than half of all offenses were classified as right-wing extremism, there was a 35% rise in left-wing extremist crimes, which reached more than 13,000 cases.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EwbuSkip next section Welcome to our coverage06/06/2026June 6, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Nik Martin | Dmytro Hubenko Editor
Guten Morgen from DW in Bonn, on the banks of the Rhine River.
Here in Germany, there has been a doubling in the number of politically motivated crimes over the past decade. While right-wing extremism is responsible for half of those offences, crimes by ultra-left-wing activists have risen sharply.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has promised to work more closely with Mexico to combat organized crime, including drug cartels, responsible for the significant rise in drug use in Europe.
As the countdown to the World Cup continues, Germany’s teenage starlet Lennart Karl has been ruled out of the competition after sustaining an injury in training.
Join us for the latest news from across Germany this weekend.
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