A man had rented a workshop from a real estate firm. In 2009, after a dispute, the two sides settled on 1,100 euros. The operator of the firm paid only after the man applied for enforcement and reported him to the public prosecutor. Three years later the man described these events on an online platform that rates companies. The operator sued, and two courts in Hamburg ordered the man to stop. On 29 June 2016 the Federal Constitutional Court overturned those rulings. Wahre Tatsachenbehauptungen über Vorgänge aus der Sozialsphäre sind grundsätzlich hinzunehmen. True statements of fact about events in the social sphere must, as a rule, be accepted.
Unless the Seller Concealed It
A seller may agree with the buyer that the buyer has no rights because of defects. Section 444 of the German Civil Code sets a limit. The seller cannot rely on such an agreement soweit er den Mangel arglistig verschwiegen … hat, insofar as he has fraudulently concealed the defect. A seller acts fraudulently when he knows of a defect, or thinks it possible, and deliberately leaves the buyer in the dark. The Regional Court of Potsdam stated the duty plainly. The seller of a used car must reveal an earlier accident ungefragt, without being asked. Only minor damage is exempt, and a replaced fender no longer counts as minor.
A Truth Told in the Wrong Place
In early February 2002, Rolf Breuer, the spokesman of the board of Deutsche Bank, gave an interview to Bloomberg TV. He spoke about the media group of Leo Kirch, which had borrowed from the bank. He said that the financial sector was not ready to provide further loans or equity on an unchanged basis. On 24 January 2006 the Federal Court of Justice ruled that the bank had breached its duties under the loan contract. A bank must not endanger its borrower’s creditworthiness by statements of fact, auch wenn sie wahr sind, even if they are true. In 2014 Deutsche Bank settled with Kirch’s heirs for 775 million euros plus interest. In a later trial Breuer said that he still stood by his words. The presiding judge asked whether a truth spoken in the wrong place could be a slip. Breuer answered: Nein, denn es war ja allgemein bekannt. No, because it was generally known.
Answers That Would Unsettle the Population
On the evening of 17 November 2015, the football match between Germany and the Netherlands in Hanover was canceled at short notice after a terror alert. At a press conference, Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said: Ein Teil dieser Antworten würde die Bevölkerung verunsichern. Part of these answers would unsettle the population. The next day the Green politician Konstantin von Notz said that the minister must make clear statements and darf nicht diffus über Bedrohungen orakeln, must not speak vaguely about threats like an oracle. Dietmar Bartsch of the Left party called it very problematic when a minister unsettles people with hints. De Maizière defended his restraint. Wir können nicht jeden Hinweis dieser Art in der Öffentlichkeit diskutieren. We cannot discuss every tip of this kind in public.
Say What Is
On 11 April 1961 Rudolf Augstein, the founder of Der Spiegel, wrote an editorial addressed Lieber Spiegel-Leser, dear Spiegel reader. In it he named the only way for a journalist to change reality. Er kann sagen, was ist. He can say what is. Today the words Sagen, was ist, to say what is, stand on the wall of the atrium of the Spiegel building at the Ericusspitze in Hamburg. The lettering copies Augstein’s handwriting. The building opened in 2011. Augstein did not invent the phrase. It can be traced back to Rosa Luxemburg.
No Den of Murderers in the Heart
aus seinem Herzen keine Mördergrube machen
To make no den of murderers out of one’s heart. One says openly what one thinks. A blog in the community of the weekly Der Freitag counts it among the phrases that Martin Luther created.
frei von der Leber weg reden
To speak freely from the liver. One says what one thinks, without holding back.
das Herz auf der Zunge tragen
To carry one’s heart on one’s tongue. One says at once what one feels and thinks.
mit offenen Karten spielen
To play with open cards. One hides nothing from the other side.
Lies Have Short Legs
Lügen haben kurze Beine.
Lies have short legs. A lie is soon found out.
Kindermund tut Wahrheit kund.
A child’s mouth makes the truth known. Children often say what adults do not dare to say.
The Non-Word of the Year
Since 1991 a jury has chosen the Unwort des Jahres, the non-word of the year. Horst Dieter Schlosser started it. Until 1994 the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache, the Society for the German Language, made the choice. Today an independent jury of volunteers in Marburg decides. Its permanent members are four linguists and a journalist, and each year a guest member joins them. Anyone can send in a proposal. Among other things, the jury looks for words that are beschönigend, verschleiernd oder irreführend, glossing over, concealing or misleading. On 13 January 2026 it chose Sondervermögen, special assets, for the year 2025. The jury said that the word hides its real meaning, which is taking on debt.
“It Is Serious”
On 18 March 2020, Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to the country on television about the coronavirus. She did not soften the message. Es ist ernst. Nehmen Sie es auch ernst. It is serious. Take it seriously too. She also said: Die nächsten Wochen werden noch schwerer. The next weeks will be even harder. The rhetoric department of the University of Tübingen named it the speech of the year 2020. On 9 December 2020, in the Bundestag, she backed a call by the national academy of sciences, the Leopoldina, for a hard lockdown over the holidays. She said that if there were too many contacts before Christmas und es anschließend das letzte Weihnachten mit den Großeltern war, dann werden wir etwas versäumt haben, and it then turned out to be the last Christmas with the grandparents, we will have failed to do something.
Criticize the Work, Not the Person
Hart in der Sache, weich zum Menschen — hard on the matter, soft on the person. A common German rule for criticism. The SPD’s party school uses the variant Hart in der Sache, fair zu den Menschen, hard on the matter, fair to the people.
sachlich bleiben — to stay factual, to keep to the matter
sachliche Kritik — criticism of the matter
Kritisieren Sie immer die Verhaltensweisen — always criticize the behavior, never the traits, as a management guide for dental practices advises
The first motto is the German form of a principle from the Harvard negotiation method of Roger Fisher and William Ury, published in 1981 as Getting to Yes.