Germany updates: Severe storms hit several states
Published June 1, 2025last updated June 1, 2025
What you need to know
- More rounds of thunderstorms, showers, and hail are expected in the south, central, and eastern parts of Germany
- The western state of North Rhine-Westphalia and southern state of Baden-Württemberg among those impacted by storms so far
- At least three people were killed in a fire at a major hospital in Hamburg
- Federal police report success with stricter border controls
This blog is now closed. Here's a roundup of the news stories from Germany from June 1, 2025:
Woman charged for manslaughter over deadly incident during Orban visit
A 70-year-old German woman has been charged with manslaughter over a death of a German police officer last year.
The policeman was escorting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a trip to Germany.
On June 24, 2024, Orban was on his way to Stuttgart airport, returning home after watching a Hungary national team match during the European Cup hosted by Germany.
German police officers were blocking an intersection on Orban's route when the woman allegedly crashed into a police motorbike, seriously injuring the 61-year-old officer and propelling him into his 27-year-old colleague.
The 61-year-old later died in hospital.
Prosecutors in Stuttgart did not say how the defendant responded to the charges.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko awarded German human rights award
Mayor of Kyiv and former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko was awarded the Franz Werfel Human Rights Award in Frankfurt on Sunday.
Klitschko had entered politics after retiring from boxing, and has become a prominent figure during Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion.
He accepted the award on behalf of all Kyiv residents and the Ukrainians fighting to defend the country.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius spoke at the ceremony. He said that the Kyiv mayor stood for those who had not lost faith in a free and democratic Ukraine.
"Klitschko has decided to accept responsibility — for his homeland, his brothers and sisters in Ukraine, for freedom and human rights. He is an example to all Ukrainians, to all of us," Pistorius said.
"Vitali has fighting spirit. He does not give up," he added.
The award comes with €10,000 ($11,350) and is given out every two years by the Wiesbaden-based Centre against Expulsions, which documents expulsions and ethnic cleansing.
What do Polish voters in Germany hope for?
Some 2 million people with Polish roots live in Germany. At least 850,000 of them only have Polish citizenship.
Anyone with a Polish passport is eligible to take part in Poland‘s elections, but only around 80,000 Poles in Germany made use of this right in the first election round that took place two weeks ago.
Poland's presidential runoff is underway. Follow our live coverage for the latest updates.
Germany: Fire at Hamburg hospital kills 3, injures over 50
At least three people were killed in a fire that broke out at a hospital in the northern German city of Hamburg.
More than 50 people were injured, 16 of them seriously. At least one person was in a life-threatening condition.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire.
National police chief sees favorable initial result from tightened border controls
National police chief Dieter Romann has given a favorable initial assessment of the tightened border controls and dismissed the police union’s concerns about overburdened personnel.
"Why shouldn't the Federal Police, with around 56,000 employees, achieve what we used to achieve with 10,000 or 30,000 officers?" Romann told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
Romann said he has spoken with all of his counterparts several times. "With some of them weekly. I've received a lot of support for our measures. One person put it simply: 'About time!'"
The Federal Police permanently has around 9,800 officers in their regular stations along the national borders, Romann said.
Since September 16, 2024, when Germany reintroduced temporary checks at all nine of its land borders, the personnel have been reinforced by almost 1,200 colleagues. There are now as many as 13,000 to 14,000 federal police officers deployed at the borders.
Romann rejected the assumption that personnel would be withdrawn from other operational areas, such as train stations, for border controls.
Storms caused damage in parts of Germany overnight
Strong thunderstorms, heavy rain and hail, and gusty winds caused chaos in parts of Germany over the weekend.
In the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in particular, the storms have flooded basements and streets and uprooted trees.
Within a few hours, there were hundreds of emergency calls. However, no injuries were reported.
Some outdoor events had to be canceled at short notice, including an open-air concert on Münsterplatz in Ulm in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg and the 3RIDES Gran Fondo race in Aachen.
Today, the weather is expected to be warm, but occasionally unpleasant. The south, central, and eastern parts of the country are mainly affected, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).
Welcome to our coverage
Moin from the team in DW's Bonn newsroom. It's been a wet and windy weekend for us.
The western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where we are based, has been particularly hit by strong thunderstorms, gusty winds, and heavy rain and hail.
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