From 1947 to 1967, the writer Hans Werner Richter invited authors to the meetings of the Gruppe 47. Authors read unpublished texts aloud, and the others criticized them on the spot. The reader sat on the free chair next to Richter, which was jokingly called the elektrischer Stuhl, the electric chair. Zur wichtigen Maxime wurde, dass der Vortragende sich nicht verteidigen durfte, sowie dass die Kritik der konkreten Texte im Mittelpunkt stand. It became an important rule that the reader was not allowed to defend himself, and that the criticism focused on the actual texts. In 1958 Günter Grass read the first chapter of his still unpublished novel Die Blechtrommel at a meeting in the Allgäu and won the group’s prize.
A Remark About a Face
In September 2011, the CDU member of parliament Wolfgang Bosbach said he would vote against the expansion of the euro rescue fund. Days before the vote, the head of the Chancellery, Ronald Pofalla, told him: Ich kann deine Fresse nicht mehr sehen. I can’t stand the sight of your face any more. The remark became public, and Pofalla apologized. The Tagesspiegel called it a Verbalentgleisung, a verbal derailment.
The Critic Who Left
From 1988 to 2001, ZDF’s Das Literarische Quartett showed critics arguing about new books, dominated by Marcel Reich-Ranicki and known for his devastating verdicts. In June 2000 the critics discussed Haruki Murakami’s novel Gefährliche Geliebte. Reich-Ranicki accused the critic Sigrid Löffler of always complaining about novels about love, and said she regarded love as something anstößig Unanständiges, offensively indecent. On air, Löffler rejected this as a persönliche Unterstellung, a personal insinuation. After the episode she announced that she would leave the program.
Words for Leaving the Matter
unsachlich werden — to stop being factual.
persönlich werden — to get personal.
Das ist nicht persönlich gemeint. — That is not meant personally.
das Totschlagargument — literally a manslaughter argument. Duden defines it as a pseudo-argument made on purpose, hard to contest because it is empty or general, and meant to end the discussion of the substance.
die Schlammschlacht — a mud battle. Duden: a dispute, especially in politics, conducted without objectivity and with disparaging remarks.
ein Schlag unter die Gürtellinie — a blow below the belt. Duden: unfair, impermissible behavior.
Der Ton macht die Musik. — The tone makes the music. Germans use the proverb when bluntness has become rude.
One Team Across the Aisle
FC Bundestag is the football club of the members of the Bundestag. It was founded in the 1960s, and members of all political camps play in it. In 2018 the CDU member Johannes Steiniger wrote that members of otherwise competing parties form one team across party lines. In March 2024, the club’s members’ meeting declared membership of the AfD incompatible with membership of the club. In March 2025, the Berlin regional court declared that resolution void on formal grounds. The club’s statutes allow any member of the Bundestag to join, and a resolution of the members’ meeting is not enough to change that.
The Vocabulary of Respectful Objection
Mit Verlaub — by your leave, if you permit
Bei allem Respekt — with all due respect
Das sehe ich anders. — I see that differently.
Da muss ich widersprechen. — I have to contradict you there.
der Einwand — the objection
Widerworte geben — to answer back
Keine Widerworte! — No answering back! This is what the person in charge says to end it.
Hard on the Matter
The president of the Bundestag can call a speaker back to the subject. This is the Sachruf. A speaker called back to the subject three times in one speech can lose the floor. The president can also call a member to order by name when the member violates the order or the dignity of the house. This is the Ordnungsruf. Three calls to order within three sitting weeks bring a fine of 2,000 euros, and 4,000 euros in a repeat case. In November 2025 the Bundestag rejected objections by AfD members to calls to order they had received. Vice President Andrea Lindholz explained the line. Members may “hart in der Sache diskutieren,” argue hard on the substance. They may not give up decency and a dignified manner toward one another.
Criticism of the Matter, Not the Person
German constitutional law protects sharp criticism. It does not protect Schmähkritik, abusive criticism. The Federal Constitutional Court defines this narrowly. A statement is abusive criticism only when “nicht mehr die Auseinandersetzung in der Sache, sondern die Diffamierung der Person im Vordergrund steht.” The debate about the matter is no longer in the foreground, and the defamation of the person is. Even exaggerated and abusive criticism is not Schmähkritik for that reason alone. In August 2020 the court overturned the conviction of a man in preventive detention. During a dispute over late pocket money, he had called a social worker at the prison a Trulla, a disparaging word for a woman.
Lawyers Must Keep to the Matter
Section 43a of the Federal Lawyers’ Act says that a lawyer may not behave unsachlich, without regard to the matter, in practicing the profession. The law names two examples in particular. One is the deliberate spreading of untruths. The other is disparaging remarks for which the other parties or the course of the proceedings gave no cause.
The rule does not forbid sharp argument. It forbids attacks that the case itself does not justify.
The Last Trick
Around 1830, Arthur Schopenhauer wrote a short manuscript on the tricks people use to win arguments. It was found among his papers and is known as Die Kunst, Recht zu behalten, The Art of Being Right. The last trick reads: Wenn man merkt, daß der Gegner überlegen ist und man Unrecht behalten wird, so werde man persönlich, beleidigend, grob. When you notice that your opponent is superior and you are going to lose, become personal, insulting and rude. Schopenhauer explains that this means leaving the matter and attacking the person. He calls it an appeal from the powers of the mind to those of the body, or to the animal. His remedy is great composure.