Before an operation in Germany, the patient sits down with a doctor for an Aufklärungsgespräch, a talk that explains the procedure. The patient also signs a form and gets a copy. The Civil Code has required this since 2013. The doctor must explain Art, Umfang, Durchführung, zu erwartende Folgen und Risiken der Maßnahme: its nature, scope, performance, expected consequences and risks. The doctor must also cover its necessity, urgency, suitability and chances of success. If several equally suitable methods carry clearly different risks, the doctor must name the alternatives. The talk must be oral. Written papers may only add to it. It must come early enough dass der Patient seine Entscheidung über die Einwilligung wohlüberlegt treffen kann, so that the patient can make a well-considered decision about consent. It must also be für den Patienten verständlich, understandable to the patient.
The Health Card Planned for 2006
A German law of 2003 aimed to introduce the electronic health insurance card on 1 January 2006, with a full security and data protection concept and field tests. At a congress at the time, some participants already called the schedule untenable. Only from 1 January 2015 was the card the sole valid proof of insurance. In November 2015 an opposition group in the Bundestag claimed the project had cost over 1.3 billion euros. That figure comes from the questioners, not from the government.
Words for Rushed Work
etwas zusammenschustern — to cobble something together. Duden marks it as colloquial and disapproving.
etwas hinschludern — to dash something off carelessly
auf die Schnelle — quickly, and so only provisionally. Das habe ich nur auf die Schnelle gemacht, I only did that quickly, is an apology.
Hals über Kopf — neck over head: in a rush, without thinking
für den Fall der Fälle — for the case of cases: just in case
der Ernstfall — the serious case: the emergency one plans for
Baedeker Counts the Steps
Karl Baedeker took over a publishing house in 1832 and built his series of travel guides. He traveled himself every summer and checked sights, prices and distances. The best-known story about him: while climbing Milan Cathedral, he stopped every twenty steps and moved a dried pea from his waistcoat pocket to his trouser pocket. On the way down he counted again to check.
The story has no known primary source. A 2009 article by the Protestant press service tells it as fact but gives no reference.
The Burrow
In Franz Kafka’s late story Der Bau, The Burrow, an animal tells of the underground burrow it has built to protect itself. Even when the burrow is finished, the animal reads every sound as a sign of attack. A program note of the Karlsruhe State Theater describes it: Jedes Geräusch, jede Abweichung und jede Unregelmäßigkeit deutet auf einen drohenden Angriff hin. Every sound, every departure and every irregularity points to a coming attack. Vorsicht und Wachsamkeit mutieren zur Paranoia. Caution and watchfulness turn into paranoia. Kafka never finished the story.
The Auxiliary Opinion
The exam instructions of the criminal law chair at the University of Mainz used to say: Es ist auf alle im Sachverhalt aufgeworfenen Rechtsfragen – ggf. hilfsgutachterlich – einzugehen. All legal questions raised by the facts must be addressed, if necessary in an auxiliary opinion. A student who decides early that a claim fails must still work through the remaining questions, as if the first conclusion were wrong.
In 2024 the chair of Professor Volker Erb struck the sentence. The instructions now say: Hilfsgutachten aller Art müssen in jedem Fall unterbleiben. Auxiliary opinions of any kind must be left out in every case.
Where Foresight Ends
German atomic law requires the precautions against damage that are necessary nach dem Stand von Wissenschaft und Technik, by the state of science and technology. In 1978 the Federal Constitutional Court ruled on the fast breeder reactor at Kalkar and said how far that duty goes. To demand that every risk be ruled out absolutely hieße die Grenzen menschlichen Erkenntnisvermögens verkennen, would misjudge the limits of human knowledge. Uncertainties beyond dieser Schwelle praktischer Vernunft, this threshold of practical reason, must be borne by all citizens.
The German word Restrisiko, residual risk, is often traced to this decision. It does not appear in the text.
Urgency Must Be Proven
The German Basic Law allows police to search a home without a judge’s order only in case of Gefahr im Verzug, danger in delay. In February 2001 the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the term must be read narrowly. A judge’s order is the rule. An order by police or prosecutors is the exception. The urgency must rest on facts of the individual case. Reine Spekulationen, hypothetische Erwägungen and mere everyday police experience are not enough. The decision and its reasons must be written into the investigation file.
Fast Aid, Then Years of Disputes
In spring 2020 the German states paid emergency aid to small firms and the self-employed. The money went out sehr unbürokratisch und oftmals ohne große Vorprüfung, very unbureaucratically and often without much prior checking. In April 2020 North Rhine-Westphalia stopped payments for a time, after fraud attempts with fake application websites. Later the state demanded part of the money back. In March 2023 the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia ruled the repayment notices unlawful. The court found it had remained unclear what the aid was meant to replace: lost sales, payment problems or living costs. The state could also have recalculated about 220,000 further cases, but said it did not plan to.
The Complete Application
The portal deutschland.de explains how to apply for a job in Germany. One typical mistake is fehlende Unterlagen oder Zeugnisse, missing documents or certificates. Gaps in the CV longer than two months must be explained. The CV, like the cover letter, must be signed. On its site for people moving to Germany, the Goethe-Institut writes: Zu einer vollständigen Bewerbung gehören immer ein Anschreiben, ein Lebenslauf und Anlagen in Form von Zeugnissen und Zertifikaten. A complete application always includes a cover letter, a CV, and attachments in the form of references and certificates.