May 19, 2026 — Short updates on the main stories from across Germany.
Görlitz house collapse: Three people missing
A 19th-century residential building in the centre of Görlitz collapsed Monday evening. Police are treating a suspected gas explosion as a possible cause and are searching cautiously using gas detectors to avoid further collapses. Five people were originally reported missing, but two holidaymakers who had not arrived were later found to be safe; three remain unaccounted for.
Deutsche Bank fined over Russia sanctions breaches
The London branch of Deutsche Bank was fined £165,000 by the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation after it processed two payments in June and July 2022 totalling £635,618.75 for an entity later linked to a sanctioned Russian firm. The bank said a third‑party screening provider had reviewed the transfers and raised no flags, but accepted ultimate responsibility and received a reduced penalty for voluntary disclosure. A separate £1.1 million transfer in 2022 was not penalized because sanction rules changed.
Five jailed in driving test doppelganger scam
A court in southwest Germany sentenced five men for running an organised scheme in which doppelgangers sat theory tests in applicants’ names. The ringleader received 4 years and 3 months in prison; two operators of driving schools were jailed for 3 years and 9 months. Prosecutors said customers typically paid around €2,000 per fraudulent test; the five are alleged to have taken more than €179,000 across 59 cases.
Child’s 110 call over confiscated bus pass
Police in Wilhelmshaven were dispatched after a 13‑year‑old used the emergency hotline to complain that a bus pass had been confiscated by family members. Officers checked the situation, found no signs the child was at risk, and were able to resolve the domestic dispute. Authorities used the incident to remind the public to reserve emergency calls for genuine dangers.
Europe should learn from Ukraine on energy resilience, minister says
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul urged Europe to adopt lessons from Ukraine’s experience repairing and defending energy infrastructure. Speaking at an energy security conference in Berlin, he highlighted hybrid threats such as cyberattacks and damage to undersea cables, and advocated decentralised systems—microgrids, storage and redundancy—to boost survivability during attacks or outages.
Political party members increasingly targeted, AfD most affected
Police recorded 5,140 attacks on members of German political parties in 2025, up 40% from 3,690 in 2024. For the first time, members of the far‑right Alternative for Germany (AfD) were the most targeted (1,852 incidents), followed by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) with 1,171 cases. Authorities’ figures include verbal abuse, threats and some violent assaults.
Online youth protection report: child abuse dominates offences
A state report found more than 15,000 breaches of youth protection rules online in 2025. Of those, 12,334 involved child abuse and 1,091 related to child pornography. Platforms and providers enabled the rapid removal of illegal content in 96% of cases (about 14,520 deletions), and roughly 6,500 cases triggered criminal proceedings. Officials warned that AI chatbots and weak provider safeguards pose new risks to minors.
Freiburg to contest Europa League final
Bundesliga side SC Freiburg will face Aston Villa in the UEFA Europa League final in Istanbul — the biggest match in the club’s history. Freiburg, a 100% member‑controlled club from the Black Forest, are being held up as an example that success is possible without the mega‑spending models seen elsewhere in European football.
German start‑up founders getting younger
A KfW study showed the average age of start‑up founders in Germany fell to a record low of 34.2 in 2025, with 40% under 30. Despite the younger profile, the total number of new business foundations remains well below early‑2000s levels. Analysts say social media visibility of founders may be inspiring more young people to start companies.
Electric car subsidy draws big demand
Germany launched a €3 billion subsidy scheme for private buyers of electric and hybrid vehicles, offering between €1,500 and €6,000 depending on household and vehicle criteria. Authorities reported 1,858 applications within minutes of the portal going live. The program runs through 2029 and can be backdated to January 1, 2026; the government hopes it will help encourage up to 800,000 cleaner vehicle purchases.
Many petrol stations breach new “12 o’clock rule”
A study found that 2,995 of 15,240 petrol stations in Germany breached a law introduced April 1 that allows price increases only once per day at midday. Between April 1 and May 11, violations were recorded on roughly 17,000 occasions. Bavaria had the highest rate of infractions (25.6%), Berlin the lowest (8.2%). Operators have blamed technical delays and poorly designed reporting systems for apparent breaches.
End of roundup
These are the main developments being followed in Germany today. We will update as more details become available, particularly regarding the Görlitz collapse and the ongoing searches.