German Christmas Market Installs 'Anti-Tank' Barriers; Public Cheers 'Creative' Solution
The German town of Külsheim is dealing with the soaring costs of terror-proofing German Christmas markets with a very festive solution: anti-tank barriers.
The German public media reporting this news does not even blink about how absurd the situation has become, but instead actually praises the “creative solution” of the anti-tank barriers. For skeptics, the anti-tank barriers may serve as a comical or tragic illustration of German Christmas markets moving beyond a mere police state and right into something resembling a militarized zone.
The Christmas market in Külsheim, which has a population of approximately 5,000 and is located in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg, has announced it is saving money by recycling anti-tank barriers for its Christmas market.
Located in the Main-Tauber district, Tageschau notes that “four disused concrete anti-tank barriers with a diameter of 1.4 meters were converted for the Christmas market.”
The barriers were painted with white and red paint, and were produced at the cost of €1,000 per anti-tank barrier when paint and working time are considered.
The city notes it saved €30,000 by repurposing the anti-tank barriers for its Christmas market.
Notably, across Germany, cities are spending millions on bollards, moveable barriers, and other security measures for Christmas markets, which is why the cost of Christmas markets is becoming more and more expensive.
According to Simone Hickl-Seitz, head of the city of Külsheim, protective bollards used to cost only €800, but he says that manufacturers now charge ten times as much.
“They know exactly that all cities need this. But the coffers are empty,” said Hickl-Seitz. The four anti-tank barriers were acquired from former Bundeswehr barracks, and each weigh several tons.
Their previous purpose was to prevent the movement of tanks, presumably from invading territory in Germany.
🇩🇪🎄 German police are now confiscating pocket knives from elderly women at Christmas markets.
Exploding knife crime in Germany, which the police openly says is tied to mass immigration, has led to a security state at German Christmas markets. pic.twitter.com/nRTQRIOr2d
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) December 17, 2024
German public media outlet SWR also included the Külsheim measure as a “cost-effective” and “creative” solution.
Just last year, Saudi national Taleb al-Abdulmohsen allegedly drove a vehicle at high speeds into the Magdeburg Christmas market, killing six people and injuring hundreds. The former doctor, who became a doctor despite years of fraud, abuse, and threats to kill Germans, is standing trial for his crimes. However, his actions, and other Christmas market attacks, have led to a crisis, with spiraling security concerns spread across the country.
🇩🇪🔥 Saudi doctor Taleb al-Abdulmohsen is now on trial for allegedly killing 6 people during a deadly car-ramming terror attack on a German Christmas market last year.
The 51-year-old suspect faces 6 counts of murder and hundreds of counts of attempted murder and bodily harm for… pic.twitter.com/HRsaqF9kE6
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) November 11, 2025
In Magdeburg, there were fears that the entire market would be canceled due to the stringent and costly security measures being required of organizers.
In response, Alternative for Germany (AfD) politician Ulrich Siegmund, chairman of the AfD’s parliamentary group in Saxony-Anhalt, visited the market and lamented that countries like Poland and the Czech Republic, that have so far managed to avoid mass immigration, do not have these issues.
“There was a terrible attack here a year ago. That was right here, where I’m standing right now. Of course, you have to learn from these experiences and do better. But the question must be, not how do you protect Christmas markets? But why do we need to protect Christmas markets?” he asked. “Go to the Czech Republic, go to Poland, go to other countries that have not opened their borders, that have not sold their own security for anything here. No, the CDU’s policies at state and federal level have brought us exactly to this point. We are losing our freedom bit by bit. We are giving up our way of life. And for what? That is the question.”
While the left will mock Germans for saying they want their “old” country back, the reality of a police state at swimming pools in the summer and a police state at Christmas markets in the winter, or even anti-tank barriers, is leaving many Germans longing for a previous era.
Pointing to an old picture of the market, Siegmund says, “Have a look at this, I just discovered it here. It used to be a perfect world, that’s exactly how I knew it. That’s exactly how I want it back… I want our old country back. I want every one of you here to be able to walk peacefully through a Christmas market like this and enjoy your lives. We don’t deserve this, our country doesn’t deserve this. Our children do not deserve this.”
🇩🇪🎄The German Christmas market in Magdeburg has been suspended over security concerns, sparking a nationwide debate.
The question: Why are Christmas markets in Germany being canceled while countries like 🇵🇱Poland and the 🇨🇿Czech Republic have no serious terror threats at their… pic.twitter.com/MUW5fofh5w
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) November 12, 2025
Although the Magdeburg Christmas market has since announced it will open, the costs for security remain sky-high and worries remain about another deadly terror attack.
Last week, Gerold Leppa, chairman of the German Federal Association for City and City Marketing (BCSD), said that the costs for organizers are exploding, rising a whopping 44 percent in the last three years. Of course, it is not just security but also personnel and even music licensing, but as Remix News noted yesterday, cities are spending millions more to ensure proper security.
While it is true that only a small handful of Christmas markets have been canceled due to security costs, such as in Overath, there is no denying that German cities — already facing major debt crises in large part due to mass immigration — are having to shoulder extremely expensive security solutions at their own Christmas markets.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 11/29/2025 – 07:00