§ 13 of the German Soldiers’ Act begins with one sentence: Der Soldat muss in dienstlichen Angelegenheiten die Wahrheit sagen. (In matters of service, the soldier must tell the truth.) The second paragraph sets a limit on the duty to report. A report, a Meldung, may be demanded only when the service justifies it.
The Report That Did Not Reach the Minister
On 4 September 2009, a German colonel ordered an airstrike near Kunduz in Afghanistan, and civilians were killed. A report on the strike reached the operations staff of the defense ministry on 14 September 2009. Franz Josef Jung, the defense minister at the time, later had to admit this. On 26 November 2009, the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, was dismissed. A state secretary, Peter Wichert, was relieved of his duties, with reference to information withheld inside the ministry. Jung, who had become labor minister in the meantime, resigned on 27 November 2009. He said: Ich übernehme damit die politische Verantwortung für die interne Informationspolitik des Bundesverteidigungsministeriums gegenüber dem Minister bezüglich der Ereignisse vom 4. September in Kunduz. (I hereby take political responsibility for the defense ministry’s internal handling of information toward the minister concerning the events of 4 September in Kunduz.) He also said he had informed the public and parliament correctly about what he knew. In its wording, the statement takes responsibility for the flow of information, not for the airstrike.
Barschel’s Word of Honor
On 18 September 1987, Uwe Barschel, the minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein, faced accusations at a press conference. He said: … gebe ich Ihnen, gebe ich den Bürgerinnen und Bürgern des Landes Schleswig-Holsteins und der gesamten deutschen Öffentlichkeit mein Ehrenwort – ich wiederhole: Ich gebe Ihnen mein Ehrenwort! – dass die gegen mich erhobenen Vorwürfe haltlos sind. (I give you, the citizens of Schleswig-Holstein and the entire German public my word of honor, I repeat, I give you my word of honor, that the accusations against me are groundless.) The sworn statements he presented turned out to be false. He resigned as minister-president on 2 October 1987.
Kohl’s Word of Honor to the Donors
On 30 November 1999, former chancellor Helmut Kohl confirmed in a television interview that the secret CDU accounts existed. He said he had given the donors his Ehrenwort, his word of honor, not to name them. On 18 January 2000, under pressure from the CDU leadership, he resigned as the party’s honorary chairman. On 3 March 2001, the regional court in Bonn agreed to end the investigation against him, and he had to pay 300,000 DM. In this case, keeping his word meant withholding the names.
“That Is Unfair”
On 29 August 2006, Vice Chancellor Franz Müntefering held a joint press conference in Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Without being asked, he said that his party and the Union were being measured against what they had promised during the election campaigns. Then he added: Das ist unfair. (That is unfair.) He named the coalition agreement as the right measure: Das ist die Messlatte, was wir leisten können. (That is the bar for what we can achieve.) In 2009 he was still being quoted as having said Es ist unfair, an den Wahlkampfversprechen gemessen zu werden (It is unfair to be measured against campaign promises). That is not his exact wording.
Coming Forward Too Late
German tax law gives immunity from punishment to a tax evader who corrects his tax returns in a Selbstanzeige, a self-disclosure. The immunity does not apply if the offense had already been discovered, in whole or in part, at that time, and the offender knew this or should have expected it (§ 371 AO). On 15 January 2013, his bank called Uli Hoeneß, the president of Bayern Munich, after a reporter from the magazine Stern had been asking questions at the bank. Early on 17 January 2013 he filed a self-disclosure. The tax office found that it was not a vollständige und einwandfreie Selbstanzeige, a complete and correct self-disclosure, and the court ruled it invalid. He was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for evading 28.5 million euros in tax. Hoeneß had said he filed on 12 January. That date later turned out to be untrue.
A Resignation on Facebook
On 27 November 2019, Jürgen Klinsmann was presented as the head coach of Hertha BSC. In January 2020 alone, the club invested a record 77 million euros. On 11 February 2020, Klinsmann announced on Facebook that he was resigning as head coach with immediate effect. The investor Lars Windhorst called the way he left unakzeptabel, unacceptable.
“Top, the Bet Stands!”
ZDF broadcast the first edition of Wetten, dass..? on 14 February 1981. The show was invented by Frank Elstner, who was also its first host. After each bet was read out, the host called Top, die Wette gilt!, done, the bet stands. That was the signal for the candidate to begin. A celebrity Wettpate predicted whether the candidate would succeed. In case the prediction was wrong, the Wettpate offered a stake in advance, or the host set one. In the original bet with the studio audience, the host himself was the Pate, and his stake had to be paid by the end of the evening.
Canceling an Appointment
Sobald du weißt, dass du einen Termin nicht wahrnehmen kannst, sage den Termin ab. (As soon as you know you cannot keep an appointment, cancel it.) This is a rule in a guide on canceling appointments, published by Utopia.de in January 2025. The guide adds: Kurzfristig absagen ist besser als nicht absagen. (Canceling at short notice is better than not canceling.) A doctor’s appointment should be canceled at least 24 hours ahead.
Words for Keeping a Promise
Versprochen ist versprochen — a promise is a promise.
Zu seinem Wort stehen — to stand by one’s word.
Verbindlich zusagen — to accept in a binding way. Said of a person, unverbindlich means noncommittal, and it is not praise.
Bescheid sagen — to let someone know. Sag rechtzeitig Bescheid — let me know in good time.
Absagen — to cancel. An appointment is canceled, not simply missed.
Eine Vorwarnung geben — to give advance warning.
Hält, was es verspricht — it keeps what it promises, a standard phrase of praise for a product.