In July 2016 large parts of the audience at the Bayreuth Festival loudly booed Frank Castorf’s staging of Wagner’s Siegfried. On the same evening they cheered the singers frenetically. The conductor, Marek Janowski, received a Jubelsturm, a storm of cheers.
The Right to Hear How One Is Judged
Under Section 82 of the Works Constitution Act, an employee can demand that the employer discuss with him die Beurteilung seiner Leistungen, the assessment of his performance, and his chances of development in the company. He may bring a member of the works council. He may also comment on any measure of the employer that affects him. Section 83 gives him the right to see his personnel file. If he disagrees with something in it, such as a written warning, he can write a reply, the Gegendarstellung. Erklärungen des Arbeitnehmers zum Inhalt der Personalakte sind dieser auf sein Verlangen beizufügen. At his request, the employee’s statements on the file must be added to it.
Our Cover Is Not Good
Germany opened the 2018 World Cup on 17 June with a 0:1 defeat against Mexico. Right after the match, the defender Mats Hummels named the fault in public: Unsere Absicherung steht nicht gut. Oft sind nur Jerome und ich hinten. Our cover is not good. Often only Jérôme Boateng and I are at the back. When seven or eight players attack, he said, the attacking force is greater than the defensive stability. He had already raised the point inside the team: Das, was ich intern oft anspreche, fruchtet anscheinend noch nicht so ganz. What I often raise internally is apparently not quite working yet. Germany lost its last group match 0:2 to South Korea and went out last in the group.
Eggs, We Need Eggs
In November 2003 Bayern Munich lost a league match at Schalke 04. Afterwards the goalkeeper Oliver Kahn said: Eier, wir brauchen Eier. Eggs, we need eggs. Eier is slang for testicles, and here for courage and fight. The line names no one. Kahn said wir, we. The line is probably his most famous saying. In 2016 the broadcaster Sky Sport News HD used it in a promotional spot built on legendary football sayings. In November 2022 Kahn, by then Bayern’s chief executive, alluded to it again before Germany played Spain at the World Cup.
Seniority in the Cockpit
At one airline of the Lufthansa Group, a collective agreement decides who moves from first officer to captain. When several suitable candidates meet the conditions set for a promotion, the posts are filled nach der Seniorität, by seniority. The agreement defines seniority as a special kind of length of service. A first officer sued over his promotion to captain. On 19 December 2024 the Federal Labor Court rejected his appeal. The airline had used the correct seniority list.
Meeting the promotion conditions opens the door to the captain’s seat. Once several candidates have it, time served decides the order.
Words for Being Able to Do It
jemandem nicht das Wasser reichen können — not to be good enough to hand someone the water. Duden: to come nowhere near someone in ability or achievement. In the Middle Ages, water was passed around for washing the hands before meals.
etwas auf dem Kasten haben — to have something in the box: to be intelligent and capable
Der kann was. — He can do something. Plain praise of a person’s ability.
The Rapporteur’s Recommendation
Why do the members of a parliamentary group usually vote the same way? In 2022 Jakob Blankenburg, an SPD member of the Bundestag, answered this question from a citizen on the platform abgeordnetenwatch.de. The members have divided the committees and topics among themselves, he wrote. No single member can study every topic in detail. Dementsprechend geben die sogenannten Berichterstatter:innen … in der Fraktionssitzung eine Empfehlung zur Abstimmung ab. Accordingly, the so-called rapporteurs give a voting recommendation at the group meeting. He also named shared values as a reason.
Chamber Singer, Chamber Musician
In Germany, members of opera ensembles can receive honorary titles: Kammersänger, chamber singer, and Kammermusiker, chamber musician. In Saxony an administrative regulation of 22 June 1998 sets the conditions for the Saxon State Opera in Dresden and the Landesbühnen Sachsen. A singer needs leading artistic achievements and continuous, regular and successful work in the productions. An orchestra musician needs outstanding artistic achievements and at least five years of unbroken membership of the ensemble in Dresden, or eight at the Landesbühnen. To keep the titles from losing their value, at most three a year may be awarded at the Dresden State Opera, and one at the Landesbühnen.
Three Years, Then Three More
A junior professor at the University of Hamburg is first appointed for three years. An interim evaluation follows. If it is successful, the appointment is extended by three more years. On tenure-track posts, a second evaluation follows after six years. A candidate who passes it is appointed to a permanent professorship without a public call for applications and without the usual appointment procedure. A joint federal and state program funds 1,000 additional tenure-track posts of this kind, with one billion euros over 15 years.
Six Months on Trial Before a Promotion
A German federal civil servant who is to be promoted into a higher function must first prove himself in it. Section 22 of the Federal Civil Service Act requires eine mindestens sechsmonatige Erprobungszeit, a trial period of at least six months. Offices that a career normally passes through dürfen nicht übersprungen werden, may not be skipped. As a rule, at least one year must pass between two promotions. The Federal Personnel Committee can allow exceptions.