Separate Interviews and Flexibility: Mediation sessions in Germany can involve joint meetings but also frequently include separate discussions (so-called “caucuses”) with each party. This allows the mediator to address sensitive issues privately, minimize escalation, and help parties express concerns without direct confrontation. The process is tailored to the needs of the parties, and mediators are trained to manage dynamics that could increase tension if parties were forced into direct, head-to-head exchanges.
German Mediator Training
Key Components of German Mediator Training
Duration and Structure: Training typically involves at least 130 hours of instruction over several months, often divided into modules. These modules cover both theoretical foundations and extensive practical exercises, including role-plays and supervised mediation cases.
Core Content Areas: communication techniques and conflict analysis, mediation process phases (from initial contact to final agreement); legal framework for mediation and enforceability of agreements; ethics, liability, and confidentiality; digital mediation and online communication skills; special topics such as diversity, workplace, and family mediation.
Practical Experience: trainees must complete several supervised mediations (currently five within three years after training) to qualify as a “certified mediator.” This ensures hands-on experience in real conflict situations.
Interdisciplinary Approach: trainers come from diverse backgrounds—law, psychology, business, and communication science—providing a broad perspective on conflict resolution.
Continuous Professional Development: certified mediators are required to participate in ongoing education and supervision to maintain their credentials, ensuring they stay current with best practices and new developments in the field.
Flexible and Modern Learning Formats: training can be completed in-person or online, with interactive elements such as digital whiteboards, podcasts, and online learning platforms supporting the curriculum.
Certification and Quality Assurance: he title “Certified Mediator” is protected by law and requires completion of a recognized training program, fulfillment of practical case requirements, and ongoing professional development.
Training programs are regularly updated to reflect new legal and technological developments, such as online mediation skills.
In summary, German mediator training is rigorous, interdisciplinary, and highly practical, combining legal, psychological, and communication expertise to ensure mediators are well-prepared to handle conflicts effectively and professionally.
Fritz Bauer
The People vs. Fritz Bauer (Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer, 2015): The story of prosecutor Fritz Bauer’s pursuit of Nazi war criminals is told through behind-the-scenes investigation and confidential meetings. The film avoids sensational public hearings, instead focusing on indirect channels and private discussions to resolve conflict and build cases, mirroring the German preference for reducing tension through separation and structure.
investigation and mediation
German movies stand in contrast to the more adversarial and theatrical style of American legal dramas, instead illustrating the German cultural and procedural logic of managing conflict by minimizing direct confrontation and focusing on thorough, impartial investigation and mediation.
procedural not adversarial
In German crime and legal dramas, such as Tatort and the various SOKO franchises, investigations are typically methodical, with suspects and witnesses interviewed separately by police. The process is procedural and avoids dramatic, adversarial courtroom showdowns, focusing instead on careful fact-finding and structured dialogue.
These series collectively demonstrate the German cultural and procedural logic of minimizing direct confrontation in conflict resolution, aligning with the business practice of interviewing conflicting parties separately to reduce tension and facilitate resolution.
Separate Hearings
German managers are trained to hold separate hearings with the conflict parties. The initial goal is to establish the root cause of the problem and to guage the intensity of the conflict. The German approach avoids a hearing involving both parties. Student mediators in German schools are taught the same method.
A hearing with both conflict parties present almost always leads to an escalation of tension. Emotions run high. Accusations and counter-accusations are made, often without any basis in fact. The mediator can quickly lose control of the situation.
That kind of a hearing only giesst Öl ins Feuer, literally pours oil into the fire; provoke another person; to push a difference of opinions into an open conflict.
The German term Herrschaftswissen, roughly translated as domination or control via better information, in the sense of knowledge is power, has a negative connotation. It signifies power of one over another based on the former‘s access to critical information.
German mediators strive to be better informed of all the details concerning a conflict than the conflict parties themselves. This not only prevents manipulation, it is the basis for resolving the problem.
Magistrate
The German State of Thüringen (Thuringia) analyzed aspects of its judicial system. It recommended that magistrates (judges) hold separate hearings with the parties in conflict. Separate hearings are considered to be “besonders hilfreich” – especially helpful.
Many attorneys were quoted praising the advantages of separate hearings: “loose, relaxed atmosphere; room to discuss matters other than the conflict itself; each side feels they are taken seriiously; an opportunity to present one’s viewpoint without the other party attacking it; creates a constructive communication climate.”
One of the magistrates underscored the value of holding separate hearings: “For me the most important part of the mediation is the hearing with each party separately. Points are made which are very important to the respective conflict party, points which helped me to better understand the nature of the conflict and which led us to a breakthrough.”