Goethe’s Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre (Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, 1795–96) is the classic German Bildungsroman, the novel of formation. Its sequel is Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre, his journeyman years. The titles follow the steps of the crafts. In Book 7, the Abbé hands Wilhelm his Lehrbrief, his certificate of apprenticeship. It begins: Die Kunst ist lang, das Leben kurz, das Urteil schwierig, die Gelegenheit flüchtig. (Art is long, life short, judgment difficult, opportunity fleeting.) In the same chapter, Wilhelm hears: Heil dir, junger Mann! deine Lehrjahre sind vorüber; die Natur hat dich losgesprochen. (Hail to you, young man! Your apprentice years are over. Nature has released you.) Losgesprochen, released, echoes the Lossprechung, one name the crafts still use for the ceremony that ends an apprenticeship.
The Integration Course
A new immigrant in Germany may be required to take an Integrationskurs, an integration course. The Residence Act states its principle in three words: integration wird gefördert und gefordert, is supported and required. The course has a fixed structure. It consists of a language course of 600 lessons and an orientation course of 100 lessons on the legal order, culture and history of Germany. The orientation course ends with a test called Leben in Deutschland, life in Germany. The courses were introduced in 2005. The orientation course was 45 lessons at first. It was extended to 60 lessons in 2012 and to 100 in 2016.
Five Years to Switch Over
On 10 April 2018, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the rules for valuing property for the German property tax in the former West German states were unconstitutional. It did not stop them at once. It gave the legislature until the end of 2019 to pass new rules. After that, the old rules could still apply für weitere fünf Jahre ab der Verkündung, längstens aber bis zum 31. Dezember 2024, for five more years from promulgation, but no later than 31 December 2024. The court explained that revaluing all property needed an extraordinary effort in time and staff. About 36 million properties had to be revalued. The new tax has been levied since 1 January 2025.
Model Regions First
From 15 January 2025, Germany’s electronic patient record was tested in three model regions: Hamburg and the area around it, Franconia, and parts of North Rhine-Westphalia. About 230 doctors’ practices, 60 pharmacies and a few hospitals took part. The health ministry had planned the national start for 15 February. It was delayed, partly because the Chaos Computer Club had shown security gaps at the end of 2024, and partly because testing got off to a slow start. The record could be used across the country from 29 April 2025. Practices, pharmacies and hospitals were required to use it only from 1 October 2025. The minister, Karl Lauterbach, wrote that providers should nicht unter Druck geraten für Umstände, die sie nicht zu verantworten haben, not come under pressure for circumstances they are not responsible for.
The Euro Starter Kit
The euro replaced the D-Mark on paper on 1 January 1999. Germans kept paying with D-Mark notes and coins for three more years. From 17 December 2001, banks sold euro starter kits: a bag of euro coins worth 10.23 euros for 20 D-Marks. Germany provided 53.5 million of them. ZDF summed up the aim: Vertrautheit schaffen, Wechselgeld sichern und die Umstellung an den Kassen beschleunigen, to create familiarity, make sure there was change, and speed up the switch at the checkouts. The D-Mark remained legal tender until 31 December 2001, and large parts of retail and the banks voluntarily accepted it until 28 February 2002.
The Vocabulary of Settling In
Eingewöhnung — getting used to something. It is also the word for a small child’s first weeks at daycare.
Einarbeitung — being worked into a job. Companies speak of the Einarbeitungszeit, the working-in period, and the Einarbeitungsplan, the onboarding plan.
Sich einleben — to live one’s way into a new place. Duden explains it as getting used to new surroundings and becoming at home in them.
Seinen Einstand geben — to give one’s entry. A new colleague marks the start in a job with a small celebration or a round of drinks. Duden marks this use as mainly southern German and Austrian.
Schonfrist — a period of protection, a time of grace before something unpleasant begins.
Aller Anfang ist schwer — every beginning is hard.
The Release of the Apprentices
At the end of an apprenticeship, the German crafts hold a ceremony called the Freisprechung, the release. The apprentices are released from their training contracts and receive their journeyman’s certificates. In Spaichingen in 2023, more than 250 apprentices from 33 trades were released together in what the local paper called an ancient tradition. In Dortmund in July 2026, 85 scaffolders were released with three blows of a hammer. Mit dem ersten Schlag wird die Aufnahme in den Gesellenstand besiegelt. (The first blow seals their admission to the rank of journeyman.) The second blow stands for respect and solidarity among journeymen and masters. The third reminds them to stay true to their trade.
An Apprenticeship Begins With a Trial
The German Vocational Training Act opens the apprenticeship with a trial phase: Das Berufsausbildungsverhältnis beginnt mit der Probezeit. Sie muss mindestens einen Monat und darf höchstens vier Monate betragen. (Vocational training begins with the probationary period. It must last at least one month and at most four months.) During this time, either side can end the training at any moment, without notice. After it, the apprentice faces the years summed up in a common proverb: Lehrjahre sind keine Herrenjahre, the years of apprenticeship are not the years of a gentleman.
The License on Probation
Every first driver’s license in Germany is issued on probation. The Fahrerlaubnis auf Probe lasts two years. During that time, a new driver may not drink any alcohol at the wheel or start a drive under its influence. A driver who is ordered to attend a remedial course after offenses has the probation extended by another two years. Since 2011, federal law has let young people start even earlier, with Begleitetes Fahren ab 17, accompanied driving from age seventeen. The companion must be at least thirty, must have held a license for at least five years, and must be named in the test certificate. Lower Saxony ran a pilot project from April 2004. The scheme was tested in the states from 2004 before it became permanent federal law on 1 January 2011. The federal road research institute found 22 percent fewer accidents in the first phase of driving alone.
Three Years to Prove Yourself
A German civil servant is appointed for life, but only after a long trial. Under the Federal Civil Service Act, the Beamter auf Probe, the civil servant on probation, normally serves at least three years before the appointment for life. The law sets the bar in one sentence: Für die Feststellung der Bewährung gilt ein strenger Maßstab. (A strict standard applies to establishing that someone has proven themselves.)