Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
Here is a roundup of top stories from and about Germany on Friday, August 14, 2026:
- A wildfire near the Belgian border has forced around 1,800 people to leave their homes
- Amid high temperatures, farmers say drought could badly damage grain, potato, vegetable and feed crop harvests
- Germany’s car sector is losing jobs faster than any industrial sector in the economy
For coverage of the wildfire in western Germany click on our dedicated blog here
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Skip next section Germany sees rise in new business registrations08/14/2026August 14, 2026
Germany sees rise in new business registrations
Germany saw a noticeable rise in new business registrations in the first half of this year. Around 352,400 new businesses were registered, up 8.3% compared with the same period last year, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
Of these, around 69,600 were considered businesses of greater economic significance — for example because of their legal form or because they planned to employ staff. That was 3.0% more than a year earlier.
At the same time, the number of complete business closures in this category fell by 3.8% to around 49,800.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5Ir4FSkip next section Farmers fear drought will wipe out this year’s harvest08/14/2026August 14, 2026
Farmers fear drought will wipe out this year’s harvest
German farmers fear they could see harvests wiped out entirely by ongoing drought and unseasonably high temperatures, says German Farmers’ Association (DBV) President Joachim Ruckwied.
“We expect below-average grain harvests, especially when it comes to wheat and rapeseed,” he said during an interview with Germany’s Redaktionsnetzwerk media group.
“As far as fall crops are concerned, the trend suggests we must expect significant yield losses here as well.”
Potatoes, vegetables and sugar beets, as well as grain maize and soy could be affected.
Ruckwied warned that although farmers in the north could hope for “acceptable” if “below-average” harvests thanks to occasional rains, farmers in drier southern Germany could be facing “total harvest loss.”
“What’s becoming a problem, especially in southern Germany, is that feed crops aren’t coming in,” he added, noting that this would force farmers to slaughter animals earlier than usual.
The threat adds to the financial pressure farmers already face when it comes to buying seed, fertilizer and pesticides, says Ruckwied.
“The economic situation is brutal… on the one hand high investment costs, and on the other, lower market prices for agricultural products.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5Ir2kSkip next section Dramatic rescue in Berlin high-rise fire08/14/2026August 14, 2026
Dramatic rescue in Berlin high-rise fire
Several people were injured Friday morning when fire broke out in a 21-story apartment complex in Berlin’s Friedrichshain neighborhood, near the Ostbahnhof train station.
The blaze started on the 11th floor, say firefighters, and quickly spread to floors above.
A fire department spokesperson described the situation as “dramatic.”
Witnesses say numerous residents stood at windows and balconies prepared to jump rather than be consumed by smoke and flames.
Although jump cushions were installed as a precaution below, these were not used and authorities say residents were retrieved from a stairwell with a rescue ladder.
Some 130 fire, police and emergency services personnel were in action before residents could be saved and the fire extinguished.
Smoke damage is said to have been extensive, causing at least five injuries, and leaving roughly 70 people to be cared for on site.
The cause of the fire is unclear, though police are treating it as a possible balcony fire.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IqzjSkip next section German hiker injured in Alps fall08/14/2026August 14, 2026
German hiker injured in Alps fall
A 66-year old German hiker was seriously injured in a fall in the Austrian Alps on Friday according to authorities in Nesselwängle, Tyrol.
Emergency services say the man slipped and fell a few meters, losing consciousness before falling over a second, 40-meter-high (132-foot) cliff.
The man’s daughter and others administered first-aid and contacted mountain rescue. He was airlifted to an Innsbruck hospital.
On Thursday, a 36-year-old German died in a fall in Zillertal, Tyrol. A few days earlier, a 74-year-old German similarly died from a fall in East Tyrol.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IqzLSkip next section Almost half of Bundestag sign up to new ‘opt-out’ organ donor model08/14/2026August 14, 2026
Almost half of Bundestag sign up to new ‘opt-out’ organ donor model
More than 200 lawmakers in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, have signed up to a cross-party initiative seeking to change Germany’s organ donor rules.
The proposal seeks to move from an “opt-in” system to an “opt-out” one.
At present, people in Germany have to carry a donor card, register as an organ donor, or otherwise inform healthcare professionals of their willingness to donate in a legally binding manner before death. If they do not, and they are deemed potentially viable donors, sometimes their next of kin are asked to decide on their behalf — a traumatic and difficult decision in the midst of a bereavement.
With donor rates consistently failing to meet demand, some medical professionals have long advocated a system where instead of declaring your willingness to donate, you are assumed to be a potential donor unless you specifically say you are not a willing participant.
A draft law has been put forward in the Bundestag — not as a government initiative but as a cross party conscience vote, typically for causes with only a narrow chance of success but which politicians nevertheless wish to put in the spotlight.
In this case, however, 245 lawmakers have already signed the motion, in a chamber with 630 politicians. If the bill could gather some more support during the parliamentary process, it might have a chance of progressing.
Parliamentary debate on the bill is scheduled after lawmakers return from the summer break.
Around 8,000 people are currently on donor waiting lists in Germany.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IqzFSkip next section Catamaran passenger ferry crashes into Lake Constance harbor wall 08/14/2026August 14, 2026
Catamaran passenger ferry crashes into Lake Constance harbor wall
A catamaran passenger ferry has crashed on Lake Constance, colliding with the harbor wall.
Police said that 12 people were injured, and it was not immediately clear how seriously. They were receiving treatment on site.
Images showed that the ship had collided head-on with the harbor wall, sustaining quite considerable damage. It was still afloat, however.
Police said there was no fuel leak and no environmental hazard posed by the incident. What caused the early morning carsh was not immediately clear.
The hourly catamaran ferry brings people across Lake Constance, or the Bodensee in German, from Konstanz to Friedrichshafen.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IqwqSkip next section Car industry hemorrhaging jobs08/14/2026August 14, 2026
Car industry hemorrhaging jobs
Germany’s automotive branch is losing jobs faster than any industrial sector in the economy according to the Federal Statistical Office Destatis.
The car industry is second only to mechanical engineering when it comes to size, yet its employment numbers are now at their lowest since 2005.
At the end of the first half of 2026, 691,500 people were employed in Germany’s leading industry, a drop of 42,300 workers, or 5.8%, within a single year.
Destatis said manufacturing employment fell by 2.7% overall but had fallen by 7.6% in the automobile sector. Smaller segments within the car sector fell by 10%, whereas manufacturers themselves registered a 6.1% drop in employment.
In May, Germany’s Association of the Automobile Industry (VDA) warned that the sector stands to lose as many as 225,000 jobs by 2035.
Numerous German manufacturers, such as VW, Audi and Porsche, have all cut jobs in an effort to remain lean in the face of rising Chinese competition and punitive US tariffs.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IqtRSkip next section Welcome to our coverage08/14/2026August 14, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Jon Shelton | Mark Hallam | Rob Turner Editor
Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in Bonn.
The major talking point on another hot, dry day in Germany is the wildfire near the Dutch and Belgian border. We’ve got a dedicated blog running on that story, but over here is a wrap of the other topics of the day.
Including more damaging news for the once mighty car industry, and a sharp warning from farmers on the outcome of this years crop yield.
Read on for more.
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