Easter Sunday in Germany was observed with church services and nationwide peace demonstrations, while the country also saw a mix of national news including violent football fan clashes, commemorations, political polling shifts and economic concerns.
Easter marches and gatherings
More than 100 Easter peace marches and related events were held across Germany over the long weekend. Organized locally by trade unions, Christian groups, left-wing and peace organizations and coordinated by the Network of the German Peace Movement and Friedenskooperative, rallies took place in around 70 towns and cities including Berlin, Bremen, Munich, Duisburg, Leipzig and Stuttgart. Police reported attendance figures varying by city — roughly 1,600 in Berlin, 3,000 in Stuttgart and 300 in Duisburg — with many events drawing several thousand participants overall.
This year’s marches were held in the shadow of multiple international conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, Iran and Sudan. Demonstrators also focused on domestic issues: the government’s plans to partially reintroduce conscription and broader debates about increasing militarization. Organizers said the subject helped draw younger people into the demonstrations and speakers planned to address the new military service law and related policies.
Religious observances continued alongside the marches, with churches holding Masses and services for Easter Sunday.
Dynamo Dresden–Hertha Berlin match marred by pitch invasions
A Bundesliga 2 match in Dresden between Dynamo Dresden and Hertha BSC was disrupted by serious crowd trouble. Fans from both sides set off fireworks, some spectators climbed over fences and masked Dynamo supporters ran along the pitch toward visiting fans. Pyrotechnics were thrown between supporter groups, prompting riot police intervention and a 20-minute halt while teams were sent to the dressing rooms. Dynamo fans reportedly set a Hertha Berlin flag on fire. Police opened probes into alleged breaches of the peace, dangerous bodily harm, criminal damage and ticket fraud; the German Football Federation said it would launch its own investigation. Hertha won 1-0 despite having a player sent off.
Commemoration of the La Belle nightclub bombing
Berlin held memorial observances on the 40th anniversary of the deadly La Belle nightclub bombing of April 5, 1986. Wreaths and flowers were placed at the former site — today an upscale supermarket and co-working space — remembering three people killed and more than 200 injured when a bomb detonated in a club frequented by US service members. The bombing led to international tensions and retaliatory US strikes against Libya at the time; subsequent trials and appeals in Germany pointed to involvement by Libyan intelligence and operatives linked to the Libyan Embassy in East Berlin.
Politics and public opinion
A new INSA Sunday-trend poll for Bild am Sonntag showed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as the country’s strongest party at 26%, ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU/CSU at 25% and the SPD at 13%. The Greens and the Left polled at 12% and 11% respectively. The AfD remains the second-largest party in the Bundestag and has been capitalizing on economic anxieties, job losses in industry and high energy prices.
Economic pressures and policy debates
Rising fuel costs and broader price shocks were prominent concerns over the holiday. Diesel prices hit a new daily average record of €2.391 per liter, according to automobile association ADAC. In response, the government limited gas stations to changing pump prices once daily at noon — a rule modeled on Austria — but authorities and consumer groups warned of continued volatility and rapid price jumps at local stations.
Calls intensified for measures to shield households from rising food costs. The business wing of the SPD and labor representatives urged scrapping value-added tax (VAT) on staple foods — items like fruits, vegetables, dairy, bread, pasta, rice and eggs — to protect lower-income families, proposing higher VAT on luxury goods as offsetting revenue. Views differ across the political spectrum on whether tax cuts or rebates effectively reduce prices for consumers.
On energy sector profits, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil and counterparts from Austria, Italy, Portugal and Spain urged the European Commission to consider a windfall profits tax on energy firms benefiting from price surges tied to the Middle East conflict. The ministers said a coordinated approach would signal that firms profiting from war-related market effects should help ease the burden on consumers, though no specifics were proposed.
Government stance on transport and fuel measures
Economy Minister Katherina Reiche rejected calls for gasoline tax rebates and a nationwide autobahn speed limit as tools to lower fuel prices. She argued such domestic measures would have limited influence on global markets that determine fuel costs, citing examples where tax cuts in other countries failed to bring sustained relief.
Civil preparedness and societal impacts
Germany conducted large-scale drills rehearsing mass evacuations and medical transfers in a NATO context, part of readiness exercises for potential allied operations in the eastern alliance area. A survey by the German Institute for Tourism Research found geopolitical crises are affecting holiday decisions: 16% of respondents said they had changed travel plans for the coming months because of political instability, though 72% still intended to travel domestically or abroad between April and June with Spain, Italy and Bavaria among popular destinations.
Coverage pause and updates
DW’s live coverage paused overnight but resumed with further updates across the weekend, bringing developments on peace marches, commemorations and other domestic stories.
Overall, Easter in Germany this year combined religious observance with civic protest and reflection, set against economic strains, political shifts and continuing security and foreign policy debates.