Germany today (Thu 5 Nov): Anmeldung goes online nationwide from December, driving licence reform voted on today, 37% of new cars in October are electric, Dortmund 2-1, Leipzig 2-3

Good morning! Here's your German news for Thursday, 5 November. If you're planning to move, read item 1; if you want to get a driving licence, don't miss item 3. Waiting weeks for an appointment at the office just to register your address (Anmeldung) may soon be a thing of the past.

1. [Politics] Registering your address (Anmeldung) goes online nationwide from December

• Decided by the federal cabinet on Wed 4 Nov — it passed a regulation (IT-Komponentenverordnung) that makes the online address registration service developed by Hamburg the standard for every registration office (Meldebehörde) in Germany
• Due to take effect on 1 December — the government says the service will be available everywhere in Germany "from the end of this year". The address is wohnsitzanmeldung.gov.de
• Over 3,800 offices already connected — you can already use it at more than 3,800 registration offices, covering areas where about 74.2 million people live. The rest now have to follow
• "Goodbye to the patchwork" — Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger (CDU) said it ends the "patchwork quilt" (Flickenteppich) of different systems in each state
• What it means for you — in Germany you usually have to register within two weeks of moving. To do it online, the online ID function (eID) of your ID card or residence card must be switched on, so check your PIN in advance

Source: zdfheute.de · bundesregierung.de · City of Hamburg press release

2. [Economy] 37% of new cars in October were electric — a new record

• Announced by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) on 4 Nov — 254,492 new cars were registered in October, 1.7% more than a year earlier
• 94,086 electric cars, 37.0% — battery electric cars rose by about 79% on the year, setting a new record share
• Petrol cars down 40% — 38,516 (15.1%), while diesel cars fell 21.6% to 23,882 (9.4%)
• The rest: hybrids and others — petrol, diesel and electric together make up about 61.5%; the remaining share goes to other drive types such as hybrids
• What it means for you — if you're planning to buy a car, electric is now a very common choice in Germany. First check whether there's somewhere to charge near your home or workplace

October 2026, based on 254,492 cars

Source: electrive.net · mobiflip.de · goingelectric.de

3. [Society] Driving licence reform voted on in the Bundestag today — cheaper from July 2027?

• Bundestag vote on Thu 5 Nov — the driving licence (Führerschein) reform comes from the Federal Transport Ministry. The part on driving school training also needs separate approval from the Bundesrat
• Currently about €3,400 on average — that's the average cost of a car (class B) licence, according to the ministry. Minister Steffen Bilger (CDU) says learners could save several hundred euros, or up to €1,000 at best; the ADAC thinks costs could fall by up to a third
• What changes? — theory lessons can be done online or in an app. The 12 compulsory special drives (motorway, night and country-road driving) are dropped. The driving time in the practical test goes down from 30 to 25 minutes
• From 1 July 2027 — most of it starts then, later than the originally planned start in early 2027
• Criticism too — the driving instructors' association says it "clearly comes at the expense of road safety". What it means for you: if you start your licence now, ask your driving school which rules will apply to you

Under the reform plan (planned from July 2027)

Source: schwaebische.de (dpa) · news.de (dpa) · tagesspiegel.de

4. [Culture] Janosch, author of "Oh, wie schön ist Panama", dies at 95

• Died on Tue 3 Nov in Tenerife — his real name was Horst Eckert. Tübingen publisher Bernhard Feil confirmed the news to dpa
• Born in Upper Silesia in 1931 — in an area that is now part of Poland
• Best known for "Oh, wie schön ist Panama" — a picture book in which Little Tiger and Little Bear set off to find Panama, the "land of their dreams". The yellow-striped wooden duck on wheels, the "Tigerente" (tiger duck), is also his character
• Novels for adults too — he also wrote "Cholonek oder der liebe Gott aus Lehm", about the place he grew up
• What it means for you — almost every child in Germany knows his characters. With short, simple sentences, his books make a great first picture book for adults learning German, too

Source: tagesspiegel.de (dpa) · t-online.de · srf.ch

5. [Arts] Herbert Blomstedt, former head of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, dies at 99

• At home in Gothenburg on Wed 4 Nov — the Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt has died at 99. The Leipzig Gewandhaus and his agency announced the news
• Gewandhauskapellmeister from 1998 to 2005 — he succeeded Kurt Masur at the head of one of Germany's oldest civic orchestras and later became its honorary conductor
• Dresden and Hamburg, too — he was chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden and the NDR orchestra in Hamburg
• Still on stage in his 90s — born in the USA in 1927 to Swedish parents, he kept conducting orchestras around the world well into old age
• What it means for you — if you visit Leipzig, try to catch a concert at the Gewandhaus. It's one of the centres of German classical music

Source: zdfheute.de · tagesspiegel.de (dpa)

6. [Entertainment] "Block 10", an Auschwitz film starring Christian Berkel, opens today

• In German cinemas from Thu 5 Nov — a German film directed by Marcus O. Rosenmüller
• Christian Berkel in the lead — he plays Maximilian Samuel, a Jewish gynaecologist forced to assist Nazi doctors
• Axel Prahl as camp doctor Clauberg — the actor, well known from the crime series "Tatort", takes on the villain's role
• The story of Block 10 at Auschwitz — the film deals with the forced sterilisation experiments carried out on Jewish women
• What it means for you — it's a heavy subject, but it's history every German school teaches. November has many days of remembrance in Germany, so films like this often come up in conversation

Source: filmstarts.de · tagesspiegel.de

7. [Sports] Champions League — Dortmund win 2-1, Leipzig lose 2-3 to Haaland's City

• Dortmund 2-1 Real Betis — the home game we previewed yesterday. It was 0-0 at half-time; Fábio Silva (49') put Dortmund ahead, Ruibal equalised in the 67th minute, but Konstantinos Karetsas (72') scored the winner — his first goal for Dortmund
• Guirassy injured — Serhou Guirassy came off after about 30 minutes with a thigh problem; it isn't yet clear how long he'll be out
• Leipzig 2-3 Manchester City — Leipzig went behind to a Lukeba own goal (37') and came back twice through Baku (49') and Nusa (61'), but Haaland (78') scored the winner. Haaland now has 13 goals in 9 games against Leipzig
• European games tonight — in the Europa League, Leverkusen host Marseille (21:00; Leverkusen have won all three games without conceding), Hoffenheim play Crystal Palace in London (18:45), and in the Conference League Freiburg are away at Trabzonspor (18:45)

Source: sky.de · t-online.de · espn.com · skysports.com

Weather

City	Fri 6 Nov	Sat 7 Nov	Sun 8 Nov
Berlin	⛅ 7° / 3° mostly cloudy	🌤️ 7° / 2° sunny spells	⛅ 8° / 3° mostly cloudy
Hamburg	☁️ 7° / 3° cloudy	☁️ 4° / 3° cloudy	☁️ 7° / 3° cloudy
Munich	☁️ 4° / 3° cloudy	🌤️ 10° / 4° sunny spells	⛅ 8° / 3° mostly cloudy
Cologne	☀️ 10° / 5° mostly sunny	🌤️ 9° / 4° sunny spells	🌤️ 10° / 5° sunny spells
Frankfurt	☀️ 9° / 3° mostly sunny	☁️ 7° / 3° cloudy	☁️ 10° / 6° cloudy

Tip: High pressure stays put, so there's hardly any rain. Instead, fog and low cloud hang around for a long time, leaving many places grey all day, and on clear nights it may dip just below freezing in some areas. A warm jacket is more useful than an umbrella, and on foggy mornings allow extra time if you drive. (Forecast: wetter.com; Berlin checked with wetter.de)

German from today's news

Word	Meaning	Example from the news
die Anmeldung	registering your address	Die Anmeldung geht bald überall online.
das Elektroauto	electric car	Mehr als jedes dritte neue Auto ist ein Elektroauto.
der Führerschein	driving licence	Der Führerschein soll billiger werden.
die Fahrprüfung	driving test	Die Fahrprüfung wird kürzer.
das Bilderbuch	picture book	Janosch hat viele Bilderbücher gemacht.
der Dirigent	conductor	Der Dirigent ist mit 99 Jahren gestorben.

A foggy Friday is on its way, so wrap up warm. Einen schönen Donnerstag! 🇩🇪