The Bundeswehr’s salute regulation of 23 December 1955 set out how soldiers were to address each other. All superiors and all soldiers of higher rank groups were to be addressed with Herr and their rank, as in Herr Hauptmann. For subordinates, rank and surname were enough. Du was appropriate only where regional or comradely familiarity justified it, for example among enlisted men. A Luftwaffe officer cadet complained. On 25 March 1970 the Federal Administrative Court ruled that the one-sided rule violated the principle of equality in Article 3 of the Basic Law. The court did not object to the use of rank in address as such.
Saying Du to a Police Officer
Saying du to a police officer can be punished as an insult under the Criminal Code. Schon das Duzen eines Polizeibeamten kann mehrere Hundert Euro kosten. Even saying du to a police officer can cost several hundred euros. Courts look at the individual case. According to German Wikipedia, the regional court of Hamburg in 2006 did not punish the music producer Dieter Bohlen for saying du to a police officer. The court saw it as Unhöflichkeit ohne ehrverletzenden Inhalt, rudeness without insulting content, because du was simply his normal manner of speaking.
With Respect, Mr. President
On 18 October 1984 the vice president of the Bundestag, Richard Stücklen, excluded the Green member Joschka Fischer from the session. Fischer said to him: Mit Verlaub, Herr Präsident, Sie sind ein Arschloch! With respect, Mr. President, you are an asshole. Stücklen excluded him for two sitting days. Even as an insult, it keeps every element of formal address: the formula of respect, the title and Sie.
The Vocabulary of Address
duzen — to say du
siezen — to say Sie
ihrzen, erzen — historical: to say Ihr, to say Er
per du sein — to be on du terms
das Du anbieten — to offer the du
der Duzfreund — a friend with whom one uses du
Wo haben wir denn schon zusammen Schweine gehütet? — Since when did we herd pigs together? Duden explains it as: since when are we on du terms?
The Hamburg Sie and the Munich Du
Frank, kommen Sie bitte mal? Frank, could you come here, please? Calling someone by the first name and using Sie is known as the Hamburger Sie, the Hamburg Sie. Its mirror image is du with the surname. Gruber, mach mal bitte das Fenster zu! Gruber, close the window, please! This is known as the Münchner Du, the Munich du, or the Kassiererinnen-Du, the cashier’s du.
From Du to Sie at School
In many primary schools, children say du to their teacher in the first years. The change to Sie often comes in the third or fourth grade, or the du continues. In the east and south of Germany, the formal Sie is much more common. Traditionally, teachers began to say Sie to their pupils when they reached the upper secondary level, often as the Hamburger Sie, with the first name. From then on, the Sie is often mutual.
When Sixteen-Year-Olds Said Sie
Bis in die 60er Jahre hinein siezten sich schon 16- bis 17-Jährige gegenseitig als Zeichen ihres Status als junge Erwachsene. Until the 1960s, even 16- and 17-year-olds said Sie to each other, as a sign of their status as young adults. This is reported in a 2008 article in the magazine bild der wissenschaft. It was the students of the 1960s, the article says, who brought the du out of the family and made it socially acceptable again. According to the linguist Leonhard Kretzenbacher, the age difference between two speakers matters more for the form of address than their absolute age.
Ihr, Er, Sie
Before Sie, German used other polite forms of address. Ihr, the plural you, came into use as a polite form in the 12th century, following French practice. It remained common across the German-speaking area until the 18th century. In the 17th century the highest polite form was the third person singular, Er or Sie, he or she. In the early 18th century the plural Sie replaced it, and Er sank in rank. People of higher social standing and officials used it toward ordinary citizens when they chose to. In Berlin and Brandenburg it survives in colloquial speech as the Berliner Er.
Nobility Becomes a Name
Article 109 of the Weimar Constitution of 1919 says: Adelsbezeichnungen gelten nur als Teil des Namens und dürfen nicht mehr verliehen werden. Noble designations count only as part of the name and may no longer be granted. Titel dürfen nur verliehen werden, wenn sie ein Amt oder einen Beruf bezeichnen. Titles may be granted only if they name an office or a profession. Academic degrees, the article adds, are not affected.
Du Among Comrades
In der SPD wird traditionell geduzt. In the SPD, members traditionally say du to each other. In 2015 the Social Democrat Otto Schily told the Zeit Magazin that even for him, after many years in the party, the party du still took getting used to. A party anecdote tells of a comrade who asked Herbert Wehner whether he should say du to him. Wehner answered: Das können Sie halten wie du willst! You can handle that as you like. His answer uses both Sie and du in one sentence.