Hitzefrei, heat-free, means that school ends early because it is too hot. There is no national rule, and the head teacher decides. Several states set guide values in advance. In Baden-Württemberg, the value is 25 degrees Celsius in the shade at 11 a.m., and lessons end at the earliest after the fourth period. It does not apply to the upper years of the Gymnasium or to vocational schools. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the value is more than 27 degrees in the classroom, and not if it is below 25 degrees outside. Primary schools must supervise the children even when lessons are canceled. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania states plainly that there is kein Recht auf Hitzefrei, no right to heat-free.
The Living Will
Since 1 September 2009, German law has regulated the Patientenverfügung, the living will. In it, an adult decides in advance about medical treatment for a time when he or she can no longer decide. The law was passed in June 2009, after six years of preparation. It made written form a condition of validity. The directive is binding regardless of the type or stage of the illness.
Hopefully Insured
Hoffentlich Allianz versichert, hopefully insured with Allianz, is a slogan the insurer has used for decades. According to the trade journal Horizont, Allianz advertised with it as early as the 1950s. In 2003, the line was shortened to Hoffentlich Allianz. The word hoffentlich, hopefully, does not promise help after the damage. It hopes that the cover was arranged before.
The Vocabulary of Provision
Vorsorge — care taken in advance.
Altersvorsorge — provision for old age.
Vorsorgeuntersuchung — a preventive medical check-up.
Vorsorgevollmacht — a power of attorney for the case that one can no longer decide.
Notgroschen — the emergency penny, money put aside for bad times.
Etwas auf der hohen Kante haben — to have something on the high ledge, to have savings put by.
Spare in der Zeit, so hast du in der Not — save in good time, and you will have in need.
Für alle Fälle — for all cases, just in case.
The Emergency Laws of 1968
On 30 May 1968, the Bundestag passed the Notstandsgesetze, the emergency laws. On 11 May, more than 40,000 people had marched on Bonn in protest. Critics recalled Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, under which the president could suspend basic rights such as the freedom of assembly. The laws define two cases in advance, the Spannungsfall, a state of tension, and the Verteidigungsfall, a state of defense. They create a joint committee, two thirds from the Bundestag and one third from the Bundesrat, that can act as an emergency parliament. They also ensure that the Bundestag cannot be dissolved in a state of defense and that the Constitutional Court continues to work.
Suspended, Not Abolished
Germany suspended compulsory military service on 1 July 2011, by the Military Law Amendment Act 2011. It did not abolish it. Compulsory service remained in the law for a state of tension or a state of defense. A new military service law took effect on 1 January 2026. Young men, starting with those born in 2008, must again undergo a medical examination. If needed, the Bundestag can reinstate compulsory service by law.
A License for Next Season
Every German professional football club must pass a licensing or admission procedure before each season. In the third division, the procedure checks the club’s economic and technical-organizational capacity. Clubs from the regional leagues and the third division normally file their documents by 1 March. In the third division, a club whose personnel costs for the playing operation reach 80 percent of its total revenue must deposit an additional liquidity reserve of one million euros. On 31 March 2020, because of the pandemic, the German Football League decided to waive the liquidity check for the 2020/21 license. It also cut the penalty for insolvency from nine points to three. The regular procedure was to return for the 2021/22 season.
The Hundred-Year Flood, Plus Fifteen Percent
German flood protection is planned around a defined flood, the HQ100. It is a flood that occurs at a given place statistically once in a hundred years. Under the Water Resources Act, the states must designate by regulation the areas such a flood would cover. In 2004, Bavaria introduced a Klimaänderungszuschlag, a climate change surcharge, for planning flood defenses. It is a flat 15 percent added to the HQ100.
Hamburg After 1962
On the night of 16 to 17 February 1962, a storm surge reached 5.70 meters above standard sea level at the St. Pauli gauge in Hamburg. Dikes broke in more than 60 places, and about a sixth of the city was flooded. In Hamburg, 315 people died. More than 40,000 soldiers of the Bundeswehr were deployed, although the constitution did not provide for the armed forces to act at home. The police senator, Helmut Schmidt, had asked for them. Afterwards, the dikes in the Hamburg area were raised to at least eight meters above sea level. In 1976, the water rose much higher than in 1962. There were losses in the port, but the city itself suffered no significant losses.
One Meal a Day
The German state keeps its own food reserves, managed by the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food. The Bundesreserve Getreide, the federal grain reserve, held 582,000 tonnes of soft wheat, 56,000 tonnes of oats and 67,000 tonnes of rye at the end of 2021. The Zivile Notfallreserve, the civil emergency reserve, held about 126,000 tonnes of rice and pulses and about 5,000 tonnes of condensed milk. In a crisis, the reserves are meant to provide every citizen with at least one meal a day. The current quantities are not published, for reasons of secrecy.