Letting The Terrorists Win: Christmas Markets Ruined Following Attacks

Authorities in Europe and the U.S. have closed or restricted many Christmas markets amid security concerns, moves that have followed years of terrorist attacks.

Although many mainstream outlets reject claims that there are mass full-scale closures of these markets, restrictions made by officials are leading larger markets to adapt, while leaving smaller markets in the dust.

Multiple German Christmas markets have closed while many others have beefed up their security, according to reports. This follows a 2024 terrorist attack, where a Saudi refugee allegedly drove a car through Magdeburg, Germany, killing six people and injuring nearly 300 more, according to Le Monde.

But this attack was merely the latest incident in a trend. In 2016, a terrorist killed at least 12 people by driving a tractor-trailer through a market in Berlin, according to Euro News. In 2017, six Syrian nationals, asylum seekers, were arrested on allegations of plotting an attack on an Essen market with bombs and firearms, according to their prosecutors. In 2023, a plot was uncovered to allegedly ram an explosive-laden vehicle into a market in Leverkusen, Euro News reported.

Markets in Overath, Rostock and Dortmund are facing closures this Advent, according to The Catholic Register. Multiple local officials cited security costs as one reason for Dortmund shuttering. A year and a half of negotiations between Overath officials and Christmas market organizers over who would pay for the heightened security expenses fell through, Chairman Andreas Koschmann of the city marketing association told the Rheinische Post. This forced the market to shutter. (Read more from “Letting The Terrorists Win: Christmas Markets Ruined Following Attacks” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr