Germany’s Standing Committee on Vaccination, the STIKO, was set up in 1972. It is a volunteer group of experts. In July 2021 Bavaria’s Minister-President Markus Söder pushed for a faster general COVID-19 vaccination recommendation for children from 12. He contrasted the volunteer committee with the “professionals” of the European Medicines Agency. The STIKO answered publicly that the statements of Söder and other politicians were “ungewöhnlich und müssen korrigiert werden”, unusual and in need of correction. It works, it said, independently of the opinions and wishes of politicians and the pharmaceutical industry. On 16 August 2021 the committee recommended vaccination for everyone from 12. It named a careful evaluation of new scientific data as the reason.
The Specialist Superior
The Bundeswehr’s regulation on military superiors dates from 1956. One of the kinds of superior it defines is the Fachvorgesetzter, the specialist superior. A soldier whose position makes him head of a specialist service has the authority to give orders to the soldiers in that service, on duty and for the purposes of that service. His authority covers only those specialist purposes.
Leave the Wiring to the Electrician
In Germany, work on the electrical installation of a home may be done only by the grid operator or by an installation company entered in a grid operator’s register. Maintenance is the exception. A consumer guide on t-online explains what this means at home. Lamps may be hung up and taken down, but connecting them should be left to professionals. The electrical trades association says the same holds for work that seems simple, such as replacing a socket. A person who does it anyway must expect that the insurance will not pay after damage.
The Team Doctor Who Resigned
Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt was the team doctor of FC Bayern Munich for almost four decades. In April 2015 Bayern lost the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final 1–3 in Porto. Afterwards the medical department was blamed as mainly responsible for the defeat. Müller-Wohlfahrt and his colleagues resigned, saying the relationship of trust had been lastingly damaged. He later recalled the accusation that he was to blame for the defeat. “Das ist doch absurd!” That is absurd. “Das konnte ich nicht akzeptieren.” I could not accept that. He returned to the club later and left for good in 2020.
The Yodeling Diploma
In a sketch by Loriot, first broadcast on 7 December 1978, Frau Hoppenstedt attends a yodeling school. She wants her yodeling diploma so that she has was Eigenes, something of her own. The word Jodeldiplom entered the language, and the dictionary DWDS lists it. It is used for a superfluous or worthless qualification. Die Zeit wrote in 2006: “Das ist jetzt, ohne Drachen im Land, kaum mehr wert als ein Jodeldiplom.” Now, with no dragons in the land, that is hardly worth more than a yodeling diploma.
One Ministry for Digital Affairs
In May 2025 the new federal government created the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and State Modernization. It received departments or responsibilities from six existing ministries and offices: the Chancellery and the ministries of the interior, transport and digital affairs, economy, finance and justice. It also received a right of approval over all essential IT spending in the direct federal administration. Security and tax administration are exempt. The aim, according to ZDF, is to speed up digitalization in Germany massively.
The First Phase of Design
In 1977 Gerhard Pahl and Wolfgang Beitz published Konstruktionslehre, a handbook of engineering design. Through many new editions it is still a standard work, and it has been translated into seven languages. Its method begins with Klären der Aufgabenstellung, clarifying the task. The result of this phase is a written requirements list, the Anforderungsliste. The phases of concept, layout and detailed design come after it. The engineering guideline VDI 2221 also begins with clarifying the task. In its 1993 edition, this is the step in which the requirements for the product are defined.
The Exam Verbs
German school exams use Operatoren, operators. These are verbs that tell the student what a task demands. The lists differ from state to state and are based on recommendations of the Standing Conference of Education Ministers. Each verb has a written definition. In a physics list from North Rhine-Westphalia, nennen, to name, means to list objects, facts, terms or data without further explanation. Begründen, to give reasons, means to confirm something in a logically stringent and complete way. Beurteilen, to assess, means to form an independent judgment using subject knowledge and subject methods, and to give reasons for it. A 2019 paper by Eike Thürmann finds that the system is less exact than it looks. The same verb is sometimes defined differently in different subjects.
Everyone Must Help in an Emergency
Under § 323c of the German Criminal Code, anyone who does not help in an accident, a common danger or an emergency commits a crime. This applies when help is necessary and can reasonably be expected. The penalty is up to one year in prison or a fine. As a rule, every applicant for a German driver’s license must take a first-aid course of at least nine lessons of 45 minutes.
Words for the Expert
der Sachverstand — understanding of the matter. The word for expertise is built on Sache, the matter itself.
vom Fach sein — to be of the subject, to work in the field. Er ist vom Fach carries weight in an argument.
der Fachmann, die Fachfrau — the specialist.
Fragen Sie den Fachmann. — Ask the specialist.
Da müssen Sie den Experten fragen. — You will have to ask the expert about that.
Das kann ich nicht beurteilen. — I cannot judge that.
der Fachidiot — the specialist idiot, someone with deep knowledge of a narrow field and no grasp of anything beyond it.