Money saving trend highest since 2008 – DW – 12/19/2025

The German military is investigating why the controversial first verse of “Deutschlandlied”, or “Song of Germany”, was played during a Christmas party in the eastern city of Delitzsch.

Authorities said the first verse of the old Nazi-era anthem, which contained the words “Deutschland über Allis”, was played instead of the official anthem.

The line “Deutschland über alles,” or “Germany above all,” was part of the lyrics of the national anthem but was removed after World War II. The Nazi regime misused this poem to emphasize Germany’s superiority over other countries.

Today, only the third verse is used, which begins with “Unity and justice and freedom / For the German Fatherland”, meaning “Unity and justice and freedom / For the German Fatherland”.

The glitch occurred on 11 December at an Army NCO school, where a civilian DJ played the wrong version. The commander immediately ordered the playing of the correct national anthem and reported the incident.

German lawmakers in the Bundestag have passed legislation that would ban people under 18 from buying nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas.

The use of gas as a party drug has become popular in recent years, with high health risks associated with its consumption, especially for minors.

Selling the gas online or through vending machines will be completely banned, with the new rules also applying to gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4-butanediol (BDO) chemicals, which are used as date rape drugs when mixed into drinks.

The new set of rules will likely start coming into effect from April 2026.

A 61-year-old man in Germany has been sentenced to prison after repeatedly drugging his wife, sexually assaulting her and posting documentation of the attacks online.

The man, named Fernando P. due to German privacy laws, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison by a court in the western city of Aachen.

He was found guilty of aggravated rape and bodily harm as well as violating his wife’s intimate privacy for distributing videos of the attacks that took place between 2018 and 2024 on the internet.

The victim’s lawyer praised the court for handling the case sensitively, while also giving his client the opportunity to “raise his voice in this case”.

German media compared the case to the Dominique Pelliquot trial in France.

Germany’s federal states have voted in the Bundesrat in favor of amending the country’s military service.

As part of the amendment, the German military will be able to collect data on 18-year-old youths for potential military service, as well as require them to complete a questionnaire asking whether they would be willing to join the Bundeswehr, Germany’s military.

Young men will have to undergo the procedure, according to a German government decision from November, while prescriptions will still be voluntary rather than mandatory.

Should this not provide the Bundeswehr with sufficient soldiers, the government could turn to compulsory army service for youth to fill the remaining shortfalls.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke in the Bundestag to express his commitment to the security of Ukraine, while also hinting at the possible deployment of German armed forces to Ukraine.

The western city of Frankfurt will allow women to take taxis within the city at a discounted price of €6 (about $7) between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., German public broadcaster WDR reported.

This offer is effective immediately, and is available to all girls and women above 14 years of age to help them get home safely.

Women were required to pick up a voucher from City Hall to ride, with each woman having six such vouchers a year.

A homeless man in the German city of Stuttgart donated €200 ($235) to a local organization that helps single mothers, public outlet SWR reports.

In a letter added to the donation, the homeless man, known only as Schwalbe, said he wanted to give single mothers “a more beautiful holiday” through the donation.

Schwalbe, who makes his living by collecting bottles and returning them in exchange for a deposit, said his donation was a gift to God in celebration of Jesus’ upcoming birthday.

“Some people have too little while others have too much,” Schwabe said.

“Everyone would have enough if [income] were distributed appropriately.”

Germany’s lower house, the Bundestag, will debate the country’s partnership with the US at the request of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

The party has filed several resolutions calling on Germany to “seize the opportunities” offered by the new security approach of the US administration under President Donald Trump, with one resolution also saying Germany and the US should “push back” against a “woke culture”.

Members of the Trump administration have expressed support for the Nationalist Party on several occasions, including Vice President J.D. Vance.

During the last federal election campaign, the AfD received support from the United States. In a widely discussed speech at the Munich Security Conference, US Vice President Vance called for closer cooperation between German parties and the radical right AfD.

Germany’s employment prospects fell to their lowest figure since May 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The IFO Institute’s employment index fell from 92.5 points in November to 91.9 points this month, largely due to the prolonged weakness of the manufacturing sector, the institute said.

“The labor market is slowing down because of the weak economy,” said Klaus Wohlrabe, IFO’s survey chief. a press release,

This comes despite an economic stimulus package from the government led by Friedrich Merz.

While the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts average growth of about 1.5% in Western industrialized countries and Japan, according to its October update, Germany’s economy may only experience large domestic product growth of 0.1%.

A new referendum in Germany Suggests that consumers’ propensity to save rather than spend is at its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.

Concerns about potential inflation and an ongoing debate in Germany about the future of the country’s retirement funds may have contributed to the result, according to the pollsters, market research company GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decision (NIM).

NIM expert Rolf Bürki called the results “not positive news” ahead of the Christmas shopping season, while also expecting the negative trend to continue into early 2026.

Apart from retail, other sectors taken into consideration include services, travel and real estate rentals.

good day From our newsroom in Bonn!

We’ll be keeping an eye on the news in Germany today as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has asked the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, to hold a debate about Berlin’s relations with the United States.

Also in news: It looks like Germans are stockpiling their savings ahead of the Christmas holidays.

Stay tuned for the latest news, videos and analysis from Germany.