In recent years, there have been Islamic terrorist attacks in Berlin, Magdeburg, Solingen, and other locations across Europe. It is due to these attacks that security has had to be increased for the annual, peaceful Christmas celebration.
In 2024, a Saudi Arabian man who had sought asylum in Germany murdered five people at a Christmas market, including a 9-year-old child. In response, protesters took to the streets demanding mass deportations of migrants. The protesters shouted "Anyone who doesn't love Germany should leave Germany," "Migration kills," and "We must take back our cities, our villages and our homeland."
In 2023, two teens were arrested, ages 15 and 16, for plotting a terror attack on a Christmas market in Leverkusen. They had intended to blow up a small truck using fuel as an accelerant. The 15-year-old boy was a German-Afghan from Burscheid, and his 16-year-old accomplice was a Russian national.
Organizers in Kerpen suggested holding a smaller market and not calling it a Christmas market, in order to lessen security concerns. Islamic extremists, they suppose, may be less likely to attack those who are attending a secular rather than a religious event.
The AfD spoke out against that plan, saying that it erodes Christian traditions. AfD parliamentary group leader in Saxony, Jörg Urban, said, "The CDU has long since capitulated to the Islamists." The AfD has advocated for stricter border measures and less immigration.
Other German towns have also canceled their Christmas markets in the wake of the federal government's requirement of extra security measures as a means to thwart the attacks that have seen terrorists drive cars into crowds or go on stabbing sprees.
Security measures required include "installing barriers, setting up surveillance systems, and posting additional guards," per The European Conservative. The association that runs the Christmas market has been trying to get Overath, population 27,000, to fund the security costs.
"We were informed that we would have to cordon off the marketplace from all sides. At the same time, we’re not receiving any financial support from the city and must shoulder all the costs ourselves," said René Hövel, chairman of the Kolpingstadt Kerpen Action Group.
