The professional code of the Medical Association of Saxony-Anhalt says: Ärzte haben sich untereinander kollegial zu verhalten. Doctors must behave collegially toward one another. The code then says what this excludes. Unsachliche Kritik an der Behandlungsweise oder dem beruflichen Wissen eines Arztes sowie herabsetzende Äußerungen über dessen Person sind berufswidrig. Unfactual criticism of a doctor’s treatment or professional knowledge, and disparaging remarks about the doctor as a person, violate professional rules. The association’s journal added in 2012 that factual criticism of a colleague’s treatment remains allowed.
The Hospital Meeting About Bad Outcomes
The Morbiditäts- und Mortalitätskonferenz is a regular hospital meeting about complications and deaths. A case that went badly is presented, and the team asks what happened. In 2016 the German Medical Association published a guide for these meetings. It says the discussion should be sach- und nicht personenbezogen, about the matter and not about the person. It should concentrate on facts and processes, not on people. The aim is to work through critical events free of blame. It should be possible to ask “Why?”, and doctors in senior positions must be ready to have their own mistakes discussed. Among the obstacles the guide lists is a discussion that focuses on blame and individual mistakes.
The Dance Judge
Joachim Llambi has been a judge on the RTL dance show Let’s Dance since 2006. He also judges professional and amateur dancesport. In 2014 he published a book subtitled Mut zur ehrlichen Kritik, courage for honest criticism. In 2025 he said: “Ich will bei ‹Let’s Dance› stets ein ehrliches, klares Urteil geben.” I always want to give an honest, clear verdict on Let’s Dance. It annoys him, he added, when criticism becomes insulting for no reason. He looks at timing, footwork, body lines and the work with the partner. “Wir bewerten das, was wir sehen”, he said. We judge what we see.
The Electric Chair
From 1947 to 1967, the writer Hans Werner Richter invited authors to the meetings of the Gruppe 47. Authors read unpublished texts aloud, and the others criticized them on the spot. The reader sat on the free chair next to Richter, which was jokingly called the elektrischer Stuhl, the electric chair. Zur wichtigen Maxime wurde, dass der Vortragende sich nicht verteidigen durfte, sowie dass die Kritik der konkreten Texte im Mittelpunkt stand. It became an important rule that the reader was not allowed to defend himself, and that the criticism focused on the actual texts. In 1958 Günter Grass read the first chapter of his still unpublished novel Die Blechtrommel at a meeting in the Allgäu and won the group’s prize.
The Critic Who Left
From 1988 to 2001, ZDF’s Das Literarische Quartett showed critics arguing about new books, dominated by Marcel Reich-Ranicki and known for his devastating verdicts. In June 2000 the critics discussed Haruki Murakami’s novel Gefährliche Geliebte. Reich-Ranicki accused the critic Sigrid Löffler of always complaining about novels about love, and said she regarded love as something anstößig Unanständiges, offensively indecent. On air, Löffler rejected this as a persönliche Unterstellung, a personal insinuation. After the episode she announced that she would leave the program.
The Tone of the Tagesschau
The Tagesschau is credited with keeping a sober, informative format since 1960. As a rule, its newsreaders read the reports from a teleprompter. The journalist Willi Winkler described the news as delivered “im amtsmännischen Ton der reinen Sachlichkeit,” in an official’s tone of pure objectivity. When the program turned 70 in December 2022, its editor-in-chief, Marcus Bornheim, named what it values most. “Der größte Wert, den wir haben, ist unsere Glaubwürdigkeit.” The greatest asset we have is our credibility.
Hard on the Matter
The president of the Bundestag can call a speaker back to the subject. This is the Sachruf. A speaker called back to the subject three times in one speech can lose the floor. The president can also call a member to order by name when the member violates the order or the dignity of the house. This is the Ordnungsruf. Three calls to order within three sitting weeks bring a fine of 2,000 euros, and 4,000 euros in a repeat case. In November 2025 the Bundestag rejected objections by AfD members to calls to order they had received. Vice President Andrea Lindholz explained the line. Members may “hart in der Sache diskutieren,” argue hard on the substance. They may not give up decency and a dignified manner toward one another.
Criticism of the Matter, Not the Person
German constitutional law protects sharp criticism. It does not protect Schmähkritik, abusive criticism. The Federal Constitutional Court defines this narrowly. A statement is abusive criticism only when “nicht mehr die Auseinandersetzung in der Sache, sondern die Diffamierung der Person im Vordergrund steht.” The debate about the matter is no longer in the foreground, and the defamation of the person is. Even exaggerated and abusive criticism is not Schmähkritik for that reason alone. In August 2020 the court overturned the conviction of a man in preventive detention. During a dispute over late pocket money, he had called a social worker at the prison a Trulla, a disparaging word for a woman.
The Vocabulary of Keeping Quiet
Duckmäuser — the Duden defines him as a person who does not dare to say his opinion or to set it against an opposing one. The word is pejorative.
Jasager — the yes-sayer. In the Duden’s words, he always agrees at once with the plans and views of his superiors or of the stronger side.
Radfahrer — the cyclist, in its second meaning: a person who bows to those above him for his own advantage and bullies those below.
Kadavergehorsam — corpse obedience. The Duden calls it blind obedience.
Untertanengeist — the mind of a subject. The Duden calls it servile devotion.
Words for saying it plainly
Klartext reden — to speak plain text. Klartext is also a message that is not encrypted, so that anyone can read it.
Tacheles reden — to talk tachles, a word that came into German from Yiddish. Duden defines it as saying your opinion openly, without false consideration.
Butter bei die Fische! — butter with the fish! It is a regional call to stop holding back and settle the matter now.
Ross und Reiter nennen — to name the horse and the rider. You say openly whom and what you mean.
Um den heißen Brei herumreden — to talk around the hot porridge. It is a complaint about someone who does not dare to raise the real point.
Das geht gar nicht — that does not work at all. It is the everyday verdict on something that is plainly unacceptable.