In 1907 the Deutscher Werkbund was founded in Munich at the instigation of Hermann Muthesius. Peter Behrens and Richard Riemerschmid were among its founders. Its motto was Vom Sofakissen zum Städtebau, from the sofa cushion to city building. The Werkbund wanted good design for everyday products. A 2014 exhibition at the Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge in Berlin described the aim. Good design would make Made in Germany a seal of quality and raise the export power of the German Empire.
What the Label Promises
German courts judge the label Made in Germany under the ban on misleading advertising and ask what buyers understand by the label. Since a ruling of the Federal Court of Justice in 1973, the test has been the maßgebliche Herstellungsvorgang, the decisive manufacturing process in which the goods receive their defining qualities. That process must take place in Germany. In 2014 the Higher Regional Court of Hamm ruled on condoms made from blanks produced abroad. They were moistened in some cases, packed, sealed and checked in Arnstadt in Thuringia, and the court ruled that they could not be advertised as made in Germany. In 2011 the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf ruled on knives made in China and only polished in Germany. Die bloße Endbearbeitung reichte dafür nicht aus. Final finishing alone was not enough.
No Word-for-Word Record at Trial
German criminal trials at the regional and higher regional courts are not recorded. The judge takes notes, and the official record is formal. It does not contain what witnesses said word for word. On November 17, 2023, the Bundestag passed a law to record such trials on audio and create automatic transcripts. The law went to the mediation committee of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. In April 2024 it was still there. The states argued that the existing practice had proved itself.
Words for Having It in Writing
etwas schriftlich haben — to have something in writing.
Das hätte ich gern schriftlich. — I would like that in writing.
zu Protokoll geben — to put on record.
aktenkundig — on file, a matter of record.
etwas zu den Akten legen — to put something in the files. Duden: etwas als erledigt betrachten, to consider something settled.
Brief und Siegel geben — to give letter and seal. To guarantee.
lückenlos dokumentiert — documented without gaps.
The Label of 1887
On August 23, 1887, the British Parliament passed the Merchandise Marks Act. Foreign goods sold in Britain and its colonies, German goods above all, had to be marked with their origin. Until then, products from Germany had been considered billig, schlecht und nicht sehr haltbar, cheap, bad and not very durable. As German quality improved, the label soon stopped being a stigma. It became eine Auszeichnung, a mark of distinction.
The Bonus Booklet
Germans with statutory health insurance keep a small booklet for the dentist, the Bonusheft. At each yearly checkup the dentist stamps it. When a patient later needs dentures, the stamps are worth money. Without a bonus, the insurer pays a subsidy of 60 percent. After five years of stamps it pays 70 percent, after ten years 75 percent. What counts is ein Stempel pro Jahr, also ein lückenlos geführtes Bonusheft, one stamp per year, so a booklet kept without gaps.
Serviced by the Book
German used-car advertisements often carry the word scheckheftgepflegt. It means that the car has been serviced as its service booklet prescribes. At the end of each inspection the master mechanic signs the booklet and stamps it. A car with a complete record sells for more. The term itself has no clear legal definition.
The Referee’s Report
In amateur football in the Nienburg district of Lower Saxony, the referee must complete and release the online match report at the latest one hour after the end of the game. Every sending-off requires a special report within 48 hours of the final whistle. A referee who fails to file is penalized without further inquiry. A late report must give the reason for the delay.
A Receipt for Every Roll
Since January 1, 2020, every sale through an electronic cash register in Germany must produce a receipt. Customers do not have to take it. The duty came with a law against the manipulation of cash registers. The bakers’ trade objected. Wir können auch nicht nachvollziehen, wie diese Angaben eine Kassenmanipulation verhindern oder erschweren sollen. We cannot see how these details are supposed to prevent or hinder manipulation. In 2025 the new governing coalition planned to abolish the duty. The tax officials’ union warned that giving up eine bewährte Kontrollmaßnahme, a proven control measure, would send a fatal signal. In July 2026 a Finance Ministry draft kept the duty to issue a receipt. From 2028 it is to be digital, and customers may still ask for paper.
The Logbook
A German employee who also uses a company car privately pays tax on that use. The simple method is a flat rate of one percent of the car’s domestic list price. The alternative is a Fahrtenbuch, a logbook. In 2005 the Federal Fiscal Court ruled that it must be kept zeitnah und in geschlossener Form, promptly and in closed form. Loose notes are not enough. In 2012 the court added that each trip must show the date and the destination, and the business partner visited or the purpose of the trip. Missing details cannot be added later in a separate list. A logbook that fails these tests is rejected, and the flat rate applies.