The reunification of East and West Germany is a landmark case of conflict resolution managed through careful negotiation, legal frameworks, and evidence-based policymaking. The process involved extensive documentation, transparent communication, and step-by-step integration of political, economic, and legal systems. While not mediated by a single agency, the approach relied on traditional German strengths: methodical problem-solving, inclusion of multiple stakeholders, and a commitment to transparency and rule of law.
The Broken Jug
Heinrich von Kleist – Der zerbrochne Krug (The Broken Jug, 1808). This classic play centers on a village court case in which a judge must determine who broke a jug belonging to a local woman. The entire plot revolves around the careful reconstruction of events, examination of evidence, and the search for truth through witness testimony and logical deduction. The play is a brilliant satire of the judicial process, but at its core, it exemplifies the German logic of conflict resolution: reconstructing causes, scrutinizing evidence, and striving for objective truth, even as human flaws complicate the process.
Schlichter
The process of Schlichtung – arbitration, mediation, conciliation – is a bit different in every case. To get a sense for the process it is helpful to take a look at the Mediationsgesetz – mediation law, for there is actually a law in Germany supporting out-of-court arbitration.
The law states clearly that the Schlichter takes a neutral position during the mediation. She or he is to lead the conflict parties to a consensual (both agree freely) resolution of the conflict, so as to avoid the need for a court case.
The Schlichter speaks with each party separately in order to reconstruct the conflict as objectively as possible. But what does “objective” actually mean? The mediation law does not answer that question. It is the job of the Schlichter, typically via a long process, to find the truth.
The one conflict party tries to prove the guilt of the other party. That party, in turn, does their best to prove lack of guilt. The mediator does her best to get as objective a picture of the situation as possible.
Rekonstruktion
Rekonstruktion. Reconstruction. To rebuild; to explain an event, situation, thing as it once was; a work of art, music, literature, a physical thing such as a building or the behavior of people, an historical development.
Sich ein eigenes Bild von etwas machen. Literally to make for oneself a picture of something; to look at something with one‘s own eyes; to inform oneself at the scene.
Wahrheit. Truth; as it is, was; what is true, is lasting; what was truly the case, what is accurate.
Umstand. That which is present, literally standing around; what was present and influenced an event; contextual factors; an important, critical factor or influence.
Einordnen. To put into order, to fit in; to put in place within a system; to judge; to fit into an existing pattern or set-up; to size someone up, to get a read on.
Beweismaterial. Evidence; information relevant to a court case; to gather, secure, proof, destroy, hide evidence.
Rules of Mediation
The first rule is that the conflict resolution process is not the equivalent of a court case. The goal is not to judge either of the conflict parties, but to jointly find a solution to the problem.
Goodwill. It is expected of all parties involved that they act in good faith and are willing to compromise. The mediator should do no more than guide the discussion and help the conflict parties to recognize common ground. The conflict parties are asked to find a solution together. Only when that cannot be achieved, is the moderator expected to make concrete suggestions.
The mediator. Germans expect the moderator to be neutral, to listen patiently to both sides of the conflict, and to support the resolution process in a way which does not damage either party. Neither blame nor guilt should be attributed to either of the conflict parties. Instead, the mediator focuses on reconstructing events and describing the problem.
Heiner Geissler, a former high-ranking member of the Christian Democratic Party, is the most prominent of German mediator. Geißler has been brought in numerous times since 1997 to help resolve conflicts between companies and unions. He was in the national spotlight over the last few years in his attempt to help resolve a major political conflict in the state of Baden-Württemberg concerning a the reconstruction of the Stuttgart main train station.
Detective Shows
The German fascination with investigations and the reconstruction of events is evident in the popularity of crime novels and detective series on television. The story is always about figuring out the facts behind a crime. The show ends with the apprehension of the criminal and a reconstruction of the crime.
The most popular of German detective show is Tatort, literally Crime Scene, which began in 1970, has produced over 800 episodes, and attracts between 7 and 11 million viewers per show.
Soko 5113 began in 1978 and has run 40 sets of episodes. Both series have led to popular spin-offs. On any given evening, on any given channel in Germany, a detective show is being broadcasted. Many are co-productions involving teams from Germany, Great Britain, the U.S. and Skandanavian countries.
Paragraph vs. Case
It is a well known fact that the German and the American legal systems have fundamental differences between them. The modern German legal system is based on ancient Roman law, combined with a bit of French and old Germanic law, but all of it follows the paragraph law structure.
The American system is derived from the English case law tradition, which follows the law as it was laid out by judicial verdicts in actual previous cases. Key cases providing precedence are reviewed to determine how to continue.
Justice (Gerechtigkeit) and judgement are closely connected in the American system. Not just the concrete facts of the case, but also the circumstances are considered to be crucial information for the deliberations and verdict. These then must be interpreted with regard to the complex nature of the human existence.
A task which only persons with sufficient experience with life as well as with people are capable of. This experience – or the wisdom that comes from such experience – is something which only older people can have.
This is why Americans are always astounded when they hear that in Germany relatively young people – in their early 30s – can become judges. Many of the district attorneys that they see on German television look as if they were fresh out of law school.
According to the American understanding of judicial power, paragraph laws play a minor part. Case law is so difficult precisely because it concerns situations which are not found in a German book of federal law.
This is why American judges must be older people who are truly good and wise. Their process too involves stringent scientific methods of analysis, not unlike German paragraph laws. These, from the American perspective, can not deliver more than just the pure facts.
The ability to take these facts and interpret them, to make sense of them, this is what they view as true good judgement. Knowledge of methodology and analytical processes may support one’s good judgement, but can never amount to the equivalent.