In 1797 Immanuel Kant published Über ein vermeintes Recht aus Menschenliebe zu lügen, on a supposed right to lie out of love of mankind, in the Berlinische Blätter. He answered Benjamin Constant, who had argued that one may lie to a murderer who asks whether our friend has fled into our house. Kant disagreed. Wahrhaftigkeit in Aussagen, die man nicht umgehen kann, ist formale Pflicht des Menschen gegen jeden. Truthfulness in statements that one cannot avoid is a person’s formal duty toward everyone. A teaching unit for grade 10 ethics classes is built on the case.
Where Is the Positive, Mr. Kästner?
In September 1930 Erich Kästner published the poetry collection Ein Mann gibt Auskunft. One of its poems is titled Und wo bleibt das Positive, Herr Kästner?, and where is the positive, Mr. Kästner? It begins: Und immer wieder schickt ihr mir Briefe, in denen ihr, dick unterstrichen, schreibt: And again and again you send me letters in which you write, heavily underlined. The letters ask him for something positive. Teaching materials list the poem for pupils from grade 11.
Is One Lying in German When One Is Polite?
In the second part of Goethe’s Faust, published in 1832, Mephisto tells a former student: Du weißt wohl nicht, mein Freund, wie grob du bist? You do not seem to know, my friend, how rude you are. The young man, the Baccalaureus, answers: Im Deutschen lügt man, wenn man höflich ist. In German, one lies when one is polite. The line became a common quotation about German bluntness, but the scene mocks the arrogant young man who says it. In 1986 the linguist Harald Weinrich received the Konrad Duden Prize. His speech asked whether one lies in German when one is polite, and he argued that politeness is part of normal language use.
The Matter, Not the Person
German law protects sharp criticism, but not Schmähkritik, abusive criticism. The Federal Constitutional Court defines the line, as German Wikipedia quotes it. A disparaging statement becomes abusive only wenn in ihr nicht mehr die Auseinandersetzung in der Sache, sondern die Diffamierung der Person im Vordergrund steht, when it is no longer about the matter, and the defamation of the person comes to the fore.
The Critic Who Refused the Prize
Marcel Reich-Ranicki hosted the television program Das Literarische Quartett from 1988 to 2001 and was known as the Literaturpapst, the pope of literature. On 11 October 2008 he was to receive the German Television Prize for his life’s work. On stage, he refused it. He cited the Blödsinn, den wir hier heute Abend zu sehen bekommen haben, the nonsense we have seen here this evening.
Plain Speaking on Prime Time
On 13 February 2025, before the federal election, the public broadcaster ZDF aired its election forum Klartext, plain speaking. The chancellor candidates Olaf Scholz, Friedrich Merz, Robert Habeck and Alice Weidel each faced questions from citizens in the studio. During Friedrich Merz’s turn, a question came from Thyssenkrupp, where employees feared mass layoffs: Wie wollen sie uns helfen? How do you want to help us?
Praise as Packaging
The German career site Karrierebibel advises against the sandwich method, in which criticism is placed between two pieces of praise. It warns that the criticism can be missed under so much icing. Der Boss redet keinen Klartext! Was er oder sie sagt ist immer nur Verpackung. The boss does not speak plainly. What he or she says is always just packaging. The site warns that managers who use the method become auf lange Sicht unglaubwürdig, not credible in the long run.
Excuse Me, I Am Not Convinced
On 8 February 2003, at the Munich Security Conference, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer turned directly to the US defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. He said in English: Excuse me, I’m not convinced. The Defense Ministry’s history of the conference notes that the audience fell silent. Eight years later, Fischer used the line as the title of his memoir, „I am not convinced”. Der Irak-Krieg und die rot-grünen Jahre.
A Big Mouth and a Heart in the Right Place
Berlin’s official city website says: Die Hauptstädter sind bekannt für ihre freche Berliner Schnauze … People in the capital are known for their cheeky Berlin mouth. The page also says: Berliner nehmen kein Blatt vor den Mund, doch sagen sie es gerne auch mal durch die Blume. Berliners do not hold a leaf in front of their mouths, which means they say what they think. But they also like to say it through the flower, which means by a hint. A common saying describes the Berliner as a person who hat das Herz am rechten Fleck und eine große Schnauze, has the heart in the right place and a big mouth.
Pure Wine and the Flower
jemandem reinen Wein einschenken — to pour someone pure wine. Duden: to tell someone the full truth, even when it is unpleasant.
etwas durch die Blume sagen — to say something through the flower, to hint at it. Duden lists durch die Blume among the synonyms of andeutungsweise, by way of a hint, next to vage, unklar and verschwommen, vague, unclear and blurred.
unverblümt — without flowers, open and blunt
um den heißen Brei herumreden — to talk around the hot porridge, to avoid the point
schönreden — to talk something pretty, to gloss over it