In the past year, hunters and sport shooters across Germany reported almost 50,000 firearms and parts as stolen or missing, according to the “Bild” Thursday edition, citing new figures from the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The National Weapon Register recorded exactly 5,537,407 firearms and components at the end of 2025, a 3.8 % increase over 2024. That same period, 48,579 firearms and parts were listed as stolen or lost. Of these, 9,058 firearms and 324 parts-9,382 in all-were classified as stolen, while 38,277 firearms and 920 parts-39,197 in total-were marked as missing, reflecting a 148 % rise since 2019.
Police officials have expressed alarm. Manuel Ostermann, vice chairman of the Federal Police Association, told the paper: “It is shocking that more than 9,000 firearms have been listed as stolen”. He attributes the problem to “cold‑blooded criminals” and notes that those who steal firearms will go to great lengths-breaking into private homes, cracking armored safes, and stealing lethal weapons. They are serious offenders. “What happens to these weapons afterward is difficult to say, but they likely end up on the black market and then in the hands of unscrupulous criminals”.
