The blackout, described by multiple reports as the largest in Berlin since World War II, affected five hospitals and 66 care homes. Many homes were left without heating and hot water as temperatures dropped well below freezing. Andreas Thomsen, a 68-year-old ALS patient on a ventilator, was directly endangered.
His ventilator had six hours of battery life when the power went out, and he had to be disconnected from his stationary ventilator and carried to an ambulance with a mobile ventilator. Hospitals, care homes, high-rise residents, cell phone networks, and commuter rail services were also impacted. Power was restored to parts of the network by Monday, but about 30,000 households were still offline, with full restoration not expected until Thursday.
According to Simon Teune, a doctor in political sociology at Freie Universität Berlin, the groups share an anarchist ideology.
The so-called Volcano Group claimed responsibility for the attack, which destroyed several high-voltage cables near the Lichterfelde heat and power station. In a statement, the group said it targeted affluent neighborhoods to 'cut the juice to the ruling class' and framed the attack as a protest against fossil fuel energy use and AI data centers. The group apologized to less wealthy residents but expressed no sympathy for wealthy homeowners, dismissing sympathy for affluent residents and not mentioning those whose lives were put at risk.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner condemned the attack as an 'absolutely unacceptable' act of terrorism, calling the attackers 'professional criminals' and the act 'left-wing extremist'. Germany's federal prosecutor is investigating the incident and will interview Thomsen. A reward of up to €1 million has been offered for information, prompting a wave of tip-offs.
Simon Teune says it is not really known who they are, but they are likely a small group of very experienced individuals.
Since 2011, police have been trying to trace various networks of left-wing extremists carrying out extensive sabotage against German infrastructure. The Volcano Group is a label used by loose groups with no organized connection to each other, and the movement describes itself as technophobic, viewing digitalization as a tool for state control. According to Aftonbladet, Simon Teune, a doctor in political sociology at Freie Universität Berlin, described the groups as sharing an anarchist ideology and likely being a small group of very experienced individuals, though their exact identities remain unknown.
Despite 15 years of mapping, authorities have failed to infiltrate the groups. The Russian threat has stolen focus from left-wing extremism, and Germany's Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has pointed to Moscow as a possible actor, despite lack of evidence. However, a WELT investigation suggests the more significant threat is domestic far-left extremism.
Simon Teune says that while violent acts within the far-right often rest on broader support within their own political sphere, the left-wing extremist groups act more isolated.
The January attack became a turning point in Germany, with growing desperation. According to Aftonbladet, Teune described that while violent acts within the far-right often rest on broader support within their own political sphere, the left-wing extremist groups act more isolated, and there is no environment that supports and legitimizes these types of actions. Teune does not believe the effects of the January attack were desired, even by the perpetrators themselves; the idea was to shut down a specific power plant and simultaneously turn off the lights in affluent areas of Berlin, but those hardest hit were people living in high-rises – people who were poor.
The German economy has suffered nearly €1 trillion in losses from overlapping crises including COVID-19, the Ukraine war, and US trade policy. In other events, thousands of protesters are expected at the Munich Security Conference, Germany's economy minister rejected proposals to tie EU public funding to strict 'Made in Europe' requirements, a truck tire blowout on the A9 in Thuringia caused a 28-vehicle crash with no injuries, and thousands demonstrated in Berlin in solidarity with Iran against its authoritarian government.
There is no environment that supports and legitimizes these types of actions; hardly anyone says it was a good idea to organize these attacks.
Teune does not believe the effects of the January attack were desired, even by the perpetrators themselves.
The idea was to shut down a specific power plant and simultaneously turn off the lights in affluent areas of Berlin, but those hardest hit were people living in high-rises – people who were poor.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner condemned the attack as an 'absolutely unacceptable' act of terrorism.
Wegner said the attackers were 'professional criminals' and the act was 'left-wing extremist'.