Language in the time of »Unsere Demokratie«

I once heard that it is a sign of totalitarian unjust states that citizens develop a linguistic code that conceals the actual truth from censorship and yet is understood.

This sentence is the first paragraph of a post that I recently published on X (@dushanwegner, 30 Jan 2026).

Then I also wrote: “Hmm.”

And finally, as a closing point and punchline: “Bathrobe.”

Well, actually I wrote the German word “Bademantel”. I will explain here, why. Anyhow, my quickly jotted thought received plenty of feedback.

Yes, “bathrobe” (resp. “Bademantel”) is a word that means a lot in the latent totalitarian system “Unsere Demokratie.” (“Unsere Demokratie” itself is a similar code. It is a self-describing talking point used by German politicians, that fight the conservative opposition with very un-democratic methods. It translates to “Our Democracy” and stands for a system, where old elites and networks rule regardless of what voters ask for or would help the nation survive.)

The inspiration for “bathrobe” is presumably the openly undemocratic house search of publisher Jürgen Elsässer, which accompanied the banning of his magazine Compact.

House searches for opinion offenses serve in Germany as “punishment without trial” and are very deliberately meant to deter overly free expression of opinion.

The justice minister was once quoted as saying:

The resolute action of the investigative authorities should give everyone pause before hammering away at the keyboard on Facebook.

– Heiko Maas, quoted after essay from 2018

German authorities are now worldwide known for using house searches and seizures as a means of political education and extra–rule-of-law punishment.

When the punitive house searches hit a prominent political opponent, one gets the feeling that the appointment is sometimes leaked to the media of the propaganda state. And this appointment is usually early in the morning. This also ensures that the propaganda photos of the accused, rung out of bed, are unflattering and humiliating.

Media can headline: “When the police rang the doorbell, Elsässer was standing there in a bathrobe.”

This headline can be read at tagesspiegel.de, 16 July 2024. Including the corresponding photo.

The photo shows Jürgen Elsässer, disheveled from sleep, standing in his front door—indeed in a tasteful bathrobe—and in front of him a dozen police officers who want to search his house because he published something that the interior minister did not want to be said.

Since then, “bathrobe” in German lingo stands for: “What I really want to say about this, the true facts and my real opinion, I cannot say publicly, otherwise the police will come and punish me and my family through a humiliating house search—without indictment or trial.”

I, too, use “bathrobe” more often in my essays (here a quick Google search). And you reliably understand what I want to say, because I use an existing, known meaning.

My above quote found strong resonance on Musk’s platform. Many reposts and some further examples from you.

And of course I asked myself: If a parallel language is again forming in Germany that conceals the evil deeds of the system behind code words, does that make Germany a “totalitarian unjust state”?

Well, all (undamaged) horses have four legs, but not everything that has four legs is therefore a horse.

In all totalitarian unjust states, a coded parallel language develops in which citizens formulate the truth past the system. But not every state with a parallel language is already a totalitarian unjust state.

And yet, and yet: If the politics and press of the German propaganda state had a conscience, this development would move them to restraint and self-reflection. (But it will only move them to accelerate the downward pace. These people are not what you and I would call “good people.”)

I think I agree with this comment under my posting (which was probably formulated from a non-right-wing perspective):

The Western dystopias and propaganda states are not yet totalitarian unjust states. An about-face is still possible. For that, we must overcome our fears and confront the authoritarian state, even when it is currently fighting our political opponent.

– @Robin1TG, 30 Jan 2026