Germany has produced many world-class biologists.
What Can Germans Teach Us About Privacy?
Asking delicate questions in Berlin, the capital of personal data protection
In Berlin this week, I’ll be trying to better understand how Germans are thinking about the surveillance debate that has roiled the free world in recent months. Conventional wisdom has it that citizens of this country are particularly attuned to the importance of privacy due to Stasi excesses during Communist rule.
Has the resonance of the issue been overstated, as some observers suggested after the recent parliamentary election, when Chancellor Angela Merkel triumphed even as privacy advocates in the Pirate Party seemed to lose ground?
Wary Germans hate sharing their data. Will they use a Covid-19 tracking app?
LondonCNN Business —
European governments are racing to develop apps that can track the spread of the coronavirus to prevent a second wave of infections when the economy reopens.
Germany is further along than most, and hopes to have an app ready to download within a few weeks. But details are scarce, and if the app is to succeed, Germans will have to overcome a widespread reluctance to share data with authorities that is rooted deep in the country’s history during the Nazi period and under Communist rule in East Germany.
“The skepticism of Germans in terms of data protection is remarkable when it comes to sharing data [with the government],” said University of Mannheim Professor Sebastian Siegloch, who has studied German attitudes toward surveillance and privacy.
What is Bringschuld?
According to German law (§ 269 BGB) the obligation to deliver is one of the three types of obligation that determine the place of performance. In this case, the debtor must render the service at the creditor’s place of residence. This is where performance success also occurs.
Ms. X would like to redecorate her apartment and buys a couch from a furniture store. Due to the nature of the purchase contract, the company owes Mrs. X the delivery of the piece of furniture. The debt is only settled in Ms. X’s apartment, until then the furniture company is liable for the loss of or damage to the goods.
Typical Bavarian
The Bavarians are very proud of their regional heritage. In fact, many, perhaps most, Bavarians see themselves as Bavarians first, then as Germans.
German Theologians
Germany has brought forth many of the most influential Christian theologians.
German Sociologists
Not Karl Marx, but Max Weber is considered to be the founder of modern sociology.
Inside Outside
When it comes to sharing information Germans work from their core team outwards. With each outer organisational concentric circle they become more careful, at times even wary, of sharing valuable internal information.
Role in Teamwork
Germans see knowledge as the team’s primary capital. They are keen to protect and expand their knowledge base. As individual colleagues. As individual teams. Germans are particularly sensitive to how and with whom that capital is shared.
Get vs. Give
Holschuld: Hol from holen, to get + Schuld meaning debt. Holschuld means get-debt or get-obligation. In Germany if a colleague has information important to your work, you are obligated to request that information.