Ohne Kontext keine Zustimmung. Literal translation: Without context, no agreement. Meaning: Stresses that agreement is only possible when all relevant information is available.
reluctance
Ich muss das erst prüfen. I need to check that first. Ich kann das noch nicht zusagen. I can’t commit to that yet. Ich bin mir nicht sicher. I’m not sure. Das muss ich mir noch überlegen. I need to think about that.
Holy Roman Empire
Royal Elections in the Holy Roman Empire: The election of kings in the Holy Roman Empire was a highly ritualized and secretive process, emphasizing legitimacy and unanimity. Before the formal act of voting, extensive informal negotiations took place behind the scenes. All relevant issues and possible dissent were addressed in advance, ensuring that when the electors finally gave their “yes,” it was well-considered and fully committed. The ritual and secrecy symbolized the seriousness and binding nature of the agreement, and only after all context was clarified did the decision become public and final.
Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt
Postwar German Collective Guilt and the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt (1945): After World War II, German leaders and intellectuals grappled with the nation’s responsibility for Nazi crimes. The Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt by Protestant church leaders was only issued after deep reflection and extensive discussion about the nation’s past and the context of its actions. This public admission of guilt—and the broader culture of Vergangenheitsbewältigung (coming to terms with the past)—demonstrates the German tendency to seek full understanding and context before making a binding moral or political commitment.
The Wave
Die Welle (The Wave, 2008). Plot: Based on a real-life experiment, a high school teacher demonstrates to his students how easily society can slip into autocracy. The project spirals out of control as students commit to the movement without fully understanding its implications. The film serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of commitment without adequate context. It contrasts the German value of careful deliberation with the risks of impulsive agreement.
Das Boot
Das Boot (1981). Plot: This classic war film follows the crew of a German U-boat during World War II as they face life-and-death decisions in extreme conditions. The submarine’s captain and crew meticulously analyze every situation, weighing risks and gathering all available information before making critical decisions. Their survival depends on only committing to actions they are certain they can carry out.
Gundermann
Gundermann (2018). Plot: The biopic of East German singer-songwriter Gerhard Gundermann explores his double life as both a celebrated musician and a Stasi informant. The film delves into Gundermann’s internal struggle with the commitments he makes, showing how he seeks to understand the full context and consequences before giving his word.
hidden mental processes
German film scholarship, as noted by critics like Siegfried Kracauer and Walter Benjamin, often emphasizes how cinema can reveal the “hidden mental processes” and the importance of context in shaping individual and collective outcomes. Films that neglect or underestimate context frequently use this as a narrative device to explore the consequences—sometimes tragic—of such oversights.
Kollegenschwein
Der Kollege, the colleague, masculine. Die Kollegin, the colleague, feminine. Das Schwein. The pig, neutral. Kollegenschwein, the colleague-pig. That translation doesn’t really work in English. So what is a Kollegenschwein?
Well, in the German work context it’s a colleague who escalates a conflict between two colleagues or within the team too early, too quickly, too hastily up to the next management level, meaning up to the team-lead.
“Wait, what’s wrong with escalating a conflict to the next level so that that level can mediate and resolve the conflict? That’s one of the things that management gets paid for.” An American would ask that question. And perhaps someone from another business culture. But not someone in the German business context. Because Germans only escalate a conflict as a option of last resort. And why is that?
For one, you never know how the next level management will react, will resolve the conflict. It could be an outcome much worse that continuing to attempt to work things out amongst yourselves.
Gehe nicht zu Deinem Fürst, wenn Du nicht gerufen wirst. A well-known German figure of speech. Translation: Do not go to the nobility running your village-town-territory, if you have not been called to do so.
Secondly, escalating a conflict to the next level in Germany is a sign that you and your colleague were not able to resolve your problems among yourselves, at your working level. It’s a sign of failure.
Third, escalation can be seen by next level management’s peers as a sign that that manager does not have their team under control, that they are not managing the team well. In other words, escalation embarrasses the boss.
A Kollegenschwein is seen as a Petzer, as a tattle-tail, a rat. Petzen, to tattle, to snitch, to squeal. Oink, oink!
All Quiet on the Western Front
Im Westen nichts Neues. (All Quiet on the Western Front, 2022). This Oscar-winning adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s novel presents World War I from a German soldier’s perspective. The film meticulously reconstructs the horrors and motivations of war, focusing on the evidence of human suffering, bureaucratic decision-making, and the negotiations leading to the armistice. Its narrative avoids stereotypes and instead seeks to understand the causes and consequences of conflict through detailed, fact-based storytelling.