Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen, a 51-year-old psychiatrist, was arrested next to the battered vehicle after the attack on Dec 20, 2024, in the eastern city of Magdeburg.
Prosecutors say Abdulmohsen — a critic of Islam and an adherent of far-right views and radical conspiracy theories — was motivated by “dissatisfaction and frustration”.
They say he aimed “to kill as many people as possible”.
AS the trial started, Abdulmohsen, now with a long, greying beard, smiled as he was seated in a bullet-proof cubicle.
He had used a rented BMW to race into the crowd, killing a nine-year-old boy and five women aged between 45 and 75.
Security services faced uncomfortable questions about whether the attack could have been prevented, given Abdulmohsen’s history of extreme rhetoric and violent threats.
He faces six counts of murder and 338 counts of attempted murder in a trial expected to last until at least March.
The large number of victims and witnesses led authorities to build a temporary hall as a court room as no existing court in the state of Saxony-Anhalt could accommodate the trial.
Abdulmohsen, who faces life in prison if convicted.
Multiple warnings
Abdulmohsen arrived in Germany in 2006 and obtained refugee status 10 years later.
Active at times as a migrant rights campaigner, he was also a prolific user of social media, writing rambling posts critical of Islam and repeating far-right conspiracy theories.
As well as clashing with other activists, he criticised the German government for its supposed complicity in the country’s “Islamisation”.
He had been working as a psychiatrist since 2020 despite concerns over his competence that led some colleagues to nickname him “Dr Google”, according to news magazine Der Spiegel.
The magazine also reported that Saudi authorities tried to warn German intelligence about a social media post in August 2024 in which Abdulmohsen mused about attacking a German embassy or “randomly killing Germans”.
However, Abdulmohsen’s often bizarre ideology appears to have contributed to him falling through the cracks of surveillance by anti-terror authorities.
The spark for the attack seems to have been a court ruling that went against Andulmohsen in a civil lawsuit against other refugee activists.
The trial will also examine flaws in the security measures at the market, which should have been significantly reinforced following a deadly truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin in 2016.
This year, some cities have cancelled the beloved winter tradition because of the cost of anti-terrorism measures.
Magdeburg’s own Christmas market will open from Nov 20 but will be closed on the anniversary of the attack.
Magdeburg resident Birgit Lange, 57, told AFP that the attack had made her “more alert”.
“You think to yourself as you move around town: ‘Is this safe?'”
Nevertheless she said she would be going to the market this year, adding: “If we all hid away it wouldn’t help anyone… it’s an attempt to intimidate us.”
The attack was one of a string committed by foreign nationals that inflamed Germany’s debate on immigration in the run-up to a general election in February.
That election saw the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) win a record 20 percent.
The party are now riding high in opinion polls in Saxony-Anhalt, of which Magdeburg is the capital, and observers say they have a real chance of taking control of a state for the first time in elections next year.
As the trial began, Abdulmohsen held up a laptop with the words “Sept 2026” displayed on its screen, possibly a reference to a regional election in which the far-right AfD hopes to make major gains.