diff --git a/backend/Dockerfile b/backend/Dockerfile
index 2caeaf5..e38531c 100644
--- a/backend/Dockerfile
+++ b/backend/Dockerfile
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 FROM python:3.12-slim
 
+# Use German mirror for better connectivity and add retry logic
+RUN echo "deb http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian bookworm main" > /etc/apt/sources.list && \
+    echo "deb http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list && \
+    echo "Acquire::Retries \"3\";" > /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/80-retries
+
 # Install PostgreSQL client for psql (needed for startup.sh)
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y postgresql-client && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*