Journalists in Berlin know three numbers. The statute of the Bundespressekonferenz, the association of the journalists who report on federal politics, sets three levels for anything said to its members. Unter eins, under one, means the information may be used freely and the speaker may be named. Unter zwei, under two, means the information may be used, but the source may not be named. Unter drei, under three, means the information is confidential and may not be reported publicly. The speaker chooses the level. If the speaker says nothing, the information is free to use. A member who breaks the rule can be expelled from the association. In 2019 the Federal Administrative Court held that confidential background talks are lawful in principle.
Background Circles
In Berlin, journalists form closed groups called Hintergrundkreise, background circles. A circle invites a politician to talk, and the rule is confidentiality. In 2025 the Stuttgarter Zeitung described them as exclusive clubs that arrange meetings with politicians, which may be reported only in exceptional cases. One of its correspondents could join the circle called Gelbe Karte only after an examining interview with senior members of the profession. In the Kohl years, fifteen correspondents met every Monday for lunch in the rooms of a rowing club on the Rhine with Eduard Ackermann, one of Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s closest confidants. Membership in that circle came only by recommendation.
The Vocabulary of Circles
German describes the people around a person as circles.
der Familienkreis, der Freundeskreis, der Bekanntenkreis, der Kollegenkreis — the family circle, the circle of friends, the circle of acquaintances, the circle of colleagues
im engsten Kreis — in the closest circle, among people you trust
der Kreis der Eingeweihten — the circle of the initiated, the few who know
aus gut unterrichteten Kreisen — from well-informed circles, the phrase journalists use for a source they will not name
Kreise ziehen — to draw circles. An affair draws circles when it spreads to more and more people.
Words for Information That Leaves the Circle
durchstechen — to pierce through. The verb means to pass confidential information secretly to the press or the public. A dictionary example reads: Um Gegner zu schwächen, werden gezielt Interna durchgestochen. “To weaken opponents, internal matters are deliberately leaked.”
der Buschfunk — bush radio. News and rumors that travel by unofficial channels. In April 1990 an East German newspaper wrote that rumors about a prison had for years reached the public only per Buschfunk and through Western media.
der Flurfunk — hallway radio. Unofficial news that travels inside a company or an authority.
der Nestbeschmutzer — the one who fouls the nest. A person who speaks badly of their own family or group to outsiders.
Swiss Cheese
During the pandemic, the chancellor and the heads of the sixteen states met by video to decide on Corona measures. In March 2021 several state leaders complained that nothing stayed inside the meeting. Malu Dreyer, minister-president of Rhineland-Palatinate, said: Im Ergebnis kann man gar nicht mehr offen sprechen, weil zu vieles sofort in den Medien landet. “In the end you can no longer speak openly, because too much ends up in the media at once.” Axel Wintermeyer, head of the Hesse state chancellery, called the meetings so durchlässig wie ein Schweizer Käse, as full of holes as Swiss cheese. According to Bodo Ramelow, minister-president of Thuringia, 61 people had been connected to the last summit.
Need to Know
Germany’s law on security clearance states the rule in one sentence. Von einer Verschlusssache dürfen nur Personen Kenntnis erhalten, die auf Grund ihrer Aufgabenerfüllung Kenntnis haben müssen. “Only persons who must know of a classified matter in order to do their task may learn of it.” The next sentence goes further. No person may be told more fully, or earlier, than the task requires. The federal administrative rules on classified information sum this up as Kenntnis nur, wenn nötig, knowledge only when necessary. The rule also covers the lowest grade, VS – Nur für den Dienstgebrauch, for official use only.
The Works Council’s Circle
Members of a German works council learn things that the company wants to keep secret. Section 79 of the Works Constitution Act forbids them to disclose or use trade secrets that they learned as council members and that the employer has marked as secret. The duty continues after they leave the council. The same section then names the people to whom it does not apply: the other members of the works council, the council bodies at company and group level, the employee representatives on the supervisory board and a few other bodies of employee representation. Within these bodies the information may move. Outside them, the duty continues even after the member leaves the council.
The Doctor’s Practice
A doctor who reveals a patient’s secret commits a crime under Section 203 of the Criminal Code. The same applies to pharmacists, lawyers, notaries and several other professions. The penalty is up to one year in prison or a fine. The law states that it is not a disclosure when the doctor makes the secret accessible to the assistants who work in the practice. The receptionist and the assistant are inside the circle. A private insurer is outside it. Before a doctor may give a private insurer information, the patient must consent, usually by signing a Schweigepflichtentbindung, a release from the duty of confidentiality.
Who Hears About Your Money
Über Geld spricht man nicht. “One does not talk about money.” In May 2026 the polling firm YouGov asked 2,094 people in Germany with whom they talk about nine money topics. The answers form rings. Between 42 and 56 percent talk with their partner, depending on the topic. With close family the share is 22 to 44 percent, with friends 11 to 35 percent, with the wider family 4 to 14 percent, and with colleagues 3 to 14 percent. On their own income, 53 percent talk with their partner and 17 percent with friends.
Colleagues are not entirely outside the circle. In a 2023 survey of 3,000 skilled workers for the job portal meinestadt.de, 53 percent said they did not talk openly about pay with colleagues, which means close to half did.
What Stays in the Cabinet Room
The rules of procedure of the German federal government state that its meetings are confidential. In 2018 the Federal Administrative Court ruled on a journalist’s request for the record of a cabinet meeting held on 29 August 2012. The court refused access to the record of the discussion, to protect the core area of the executive’s own responsibility. It ordered the government to release the list of the people who took part. What was said in the room stayed in the room. Who was in the room did not.