During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, eight members of the Palestinian terror group Black September attacked the Israeli men’s team. They shot two Israelis and took nine athletes hostage. The hostage-taking began early on 5 September and lasted about 20 hours. A political crisis staff on site worked to end it. Its members included the federal interior minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the Bavarian interior minister Bruno Merk, Munich’s police chief Manfred Schreiber and the head of the organizing committee, Willi Daume. In the night to 6 September, a failed rescue attempt by the Bavarian police ended in disaster. All hostages, one police officer and five Palestinians died. A 2022 article by Eva Oberloskamp, published by the Federal Agency for Civic Education, describes the crisis management. The decision-makers konnten sich auf keine klar definierten Verantwortungs- und Entscheidungsfindungsstrukturen stützen, could rely on no clearly defined structures of responsibility and decision-making. The Bundeswehr had trained snipers, but German law did not allow it to be deployed. The police officers sent to Fürstenfeldbruck had evidently been inadequately trained. The GSG 9, a new police special unit, was founded in direct response to the attack. The legislative process was launched on 26 September 1972. In April 1973 Ulrich Wegener, the officer charged with setting it up, reported the unit ready for action.
Who Secures the Christmas Market
On 20 December 2024, an attacker used a vehicle to strike the Christmas market in Magdeburg. He killed six people and injured about 300 others, some seriously. A committee of inquiry of the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt examined the attack. In May 2026, ZDF reported on its final report. Die Lücke, die der Attentäter mit dem Fahrzeug nutzte, fiel bei der Kontrolle weder Polizei, Veranstalter noch der Stadt Magdeburg auf. Neither the police, nor the organizer, nor the city noticed the gap the attacker used. According to the report, the protection concept against vehicle attacks had been out of date. A ZDF reporter in Magdeburg said that responsibility had been pushed back and forth between the city, the organizer and the police. In November 2025, the next market was not approved for the time being, although setup had begun at the end of October. The state administration office had found defects in the organizer’s security concept, and the city had been instructed not to approve it. The organizer saw the police and the authorities as responsible. On 12 November, ZDF reported an agreement between the city, the state administration office and the police. Für die Umsetzung der vereinbarten Maßnahmen seien die Veranstalter und die Stadt Magdeburg verantwortlich. The organizers and the city of Magdeburg were to be responsible for carrying out the agreed measures.
The Doctor Decides Alone
The German Football League, the DFL, has a protocol for head injuries in the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. The form has signature lines for the club, the head coach, the person responsible for sport and the team doctor. The examination and treatment of a player on the pitch may take up to three minutes. Die Entscheidung obliegt allein dem/der Mannschaftsarzt/-ärztin. The decision rests with the team doctor alone. Trainer/-in, Schiedsrichter/-in und Spieler dürfen die Beurteilung und Entscheidung des Arztes/der Ärztin nicht beeinflussen. The coach, the referee and the player may not influence the doctor’s assessment and decision. The player may go on only if the doctor expressly confirms that he is able to. If a concussion cannot be ruled out, he takes no further part in the match.
The Permit for Rock am Ring
In June 2016, the festival Rock am Ring took place on the airfield at Mendig. On the Friday evening, lightning injured a total of 71 people, according to the Red Cross. The organizers interrupted the festival after a crisis meeting with the interior minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Roger Lewentz. Wir müssen alles dafür tun, dass keine neuen Verletzten hinzukommen, Lewentz said. We must do everything so that no more people are injured. Because another storm was expected for Sunday afternoon, the Verbandsgemeinde, the local association of municipalities, then withdrew the organizers’ permit to continue the festival. About 90,000 visitors had come. The concert promoter Marek Lieberberg spoke of höhere Gewalt, an act of God. He accused Lewentz of having pushed the responsibility for the cancellation onto the municipality. A spokesman for the interior ministry replied that Lewentz had already demanded that the event be stopped the day before.
Who Closes the Pitch
The town of Griesheim has written rules for its grass football pitches, the Richtlinien zur Bespielbarkeit der Rasenplätze, rules on the playability of the grass pitches. The mayor names one town official, the Sportplatzbeauftragter, for all questions of playability. Each club names two contacts. On match days the decision should be made by 11 a.m. if possible, so that the visiting team can be told in time to save its travel costs. Die Entscheidung über die Bespielbarkeit des Platzes wird grundsätzlich abschließend durch den Beauftragten der Stadt Griesheim getroffen. As a rule, the town’s official makes the final decision. Once the match has started, the decision passes to someone else. Während des Spiels obliegt die Entscheidung über die Bespielbarkeit allein dem Schiedsrichter. During the match, the referee alone decides, and he must be aware of his responsibility for possible damage. The town’s official cannot stop a match in progress on his own. From 15 December to 28 February all grass pitches are closed. The official may decide on exceptions.
The referees of the Württemberg football association have guidance for the case where the two disagree. If the owner closes a pitch that the referee thinks is playable, the referee must walk the field and test it in football boots, with sprints, stops and jumps. He must then describe in detail in the match report how he examined the field.
A Matter for the Boss
Die Chefsache, the boss’s matter, is a matter so important that the head takes it on personally, or should. Duden gives the example er hat das Projekt zur Chefsache erklärt, he declared the project a matter for the boss. The dictionary DWDS collects uses from the press.
Klimaschutz muss Chefsache in den Staaten dieser Welt werden. — Climate protection must become a matter for the boss in the states of the world. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2007)
Der Wolf in Deutschland wird Chefsache! — The wolf in Germany becomes a matter for the boss! (Bild, 2019)
The Sign on the Building Site
Eltern haften für ihre Kinder. Parents are liable for their children. According to the insurer ERGO, most German building sites carry this notice. ERGO’s legal portal lists it among common legal errors. Allein durch ein Schild wird keine zusätzliche Haftung der Eltern begründet. A sign alone creates no extra liability for parents. Parents can be held liable only if they failed in their duty of supervision. The law dictionary of the Federal Agency for Civic Education says the familiar notice ist daher so pauschal nicht richtig, is not correct in such general form. Until their seventh birthday, children cannot be held liable for damage they cause at all.
The duty to keep the site safe stays with whoever runs it. ERGO calls this die Pflicht eines Betreibers, z. B. einer Baustelle, seiner Verkehrssicherungspflicht nachzukommen, the operator’s duty to secure the site.
The Captain’s Judgment
On a German merchant ship, the law gives one person the last word. The Maritime Labor Act, das Seearbeitsgesetz, states: Der Kapitän ist der Vorgesetzte aller Besatzungsmitglieder. The captain is the superior of all crew members. He holds the highest power to give orders to the crew and to everyone else on board. The same section protects his judgment against the company that owns the ship. Er darf vom Reeder nicht daran gehindert werden, alle Entscheidungen zu treffen, die nach dem fachlichen Ermessen des Kapitäns für die Sicherheit des Schiffes […] erforderlich sind. The shipowner may not stop him from making any decision that the safety of the ship, its voyage or the people on board requires in his professional judgment. If he cannot use his powers himself, he may hand them to the chief mate or the chief engineer, each within his own department. Every use of these powers must be reported to the captain within 24 hours. The captain must enter the transfer, and any use of force or arrest, in the ship’s log without delay.
Who Leads at a Fire
At a fire in Bavaria, the law names the person in charge before anyone arrives. Under Article 18 of the Bavarian Fire Brigade Act, the Einsatzleiter, the incident commander, is the commander of the local fire brigade. When the town’s professional fire brigade arrives, its leader takes over. When senior fire officers responsible for the area arrive, the highest-ranking of them may take over. The law also settles a tie. Bei gleichem Rang entscheidet die Zuständigkeit für den Schadensort. With equal rank, responsibility for the place of the incident decides. In a company with its own fire brigade, the head of that brigade leads. The incident commander’s power reaches beyond the fire brigade. He may call on people to help for up to three days, when this is absolutely necessary to avert a present danger to the public. He may also require owners to provide vehicles, water and other things needed to fight the fire.
Responsible Under Press Law
V.i.S.d.P. stands for Verantwortlich im Sinne des Presserechts, responsible within the meaning of press law. The abbreviation usually stands in the imprint of a German publication or introduces it. The press laws of the states require periodicals to give the name and address of the verantwortlicher Redakteur, the responsible editor. If there are several, the imprint must show für welchen Teil oder sachlichen Bereich des Druckwerks jeder einzelne verantwortlich ist, for which part or subject area each one is responsible. The person named must be someone who can be prosecuted. A 2013 paper by the Bundestag’s research service states: Als verantwortlicher Redakteur darf grundsätzlich nur tätig sein, wer unbeschränkt strafrechtlich verfolgt werden kann. As a rule, only a person who can be prosecuted without restriction may act as responsible editor. Members of the Bundestag enjoy immunity. As a rule, they therefore cannot be named as the responsible person. In Bavaria, flyers and posters that call for a demonstration must also carry a V.i.S.d.P. note.