Appendix:GfdS words of the year

The following are recognized words from the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (GfdS) word of the year. The often controversial un-word of the year split off from the GfdS in 1994, and is selected by a separate privately-led jury.

List

Year	Word of the Year	"Unwort"	Notes
1971	aufmüpfig
1977	Szene
1978	konspirative Wohnung (“safehouse”, literally “conspiratory appartment”)		Kidnapping and murder of Hanns Martin Schleyer
1979	Holocaust
1980	Rasterfahndung		computer-aided anti-terror investigations in Germany
1981	Nullösung		“Zero Option” proposed by Ronald Reagan
1982	Ellenbogengesellschaft
1983	heißer Herbst		mass-protests by the Friedensbewegung in Germany against the NATO Double-Track Decision
1984	Umweltauto
1985	Glykol		1985 diethylene glycol wine scandal in Austria
1986	Tschernobyl		Chernobyl disaster
1987	Aids, Kondom
1988	Gesundheitsreform		vote on the German health reform law
1989	Reisefreiheit
1990	die neuen Bundesländer		German reunification
1991	Besserwessi	ausländerfrei	first Unwort of the year
1992	Politikverdrossenheit	ethnische Säuberung
1993	Sozialabbau	Überfremdung
1994	Superwahljahr	Peanuts	Hilmar Kopper § Controversy
1995	Multimedia	Diätenanpassung
1996	Sparpaket	Rentnerschwemme
1997	Reformstau	Wohlstandsmüll
1998	Rot-Grün (literally “Red-Green”)		SPD-Green coalition formed after the 1998 German federal election
1999	Millennium	Kollateralschaden
2000	Schwarzgeldaffäre (“black money affair”)		CDU donations scandal
2001	der elfte September	Gotteskrieger	September 11 attacks
2002	Teuro	Ich-AG	launch of the Euro (notes and coins)
2003	das alte Europa (“old Europe”)	Tätervolk	remarks by Donald Rumsfeld about the Old Europe and New Europe Tätervolkdiskussion
2004	Hartz IV	Humankapital	vote on the Hartz IV reforms in Germany
2005	Bundeskanzlerin	Entlassungsproduktivität	Angela Merkel (chancellor from Nov 2005–Dec 2021)
2006	Fanmeile		2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany
2007	Klimakatastrophe	Herdprämie	2007 Nobel Peace Prize to IPCC and Al Gore, IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Bundeselterngeld- und Elternzeitgesetz
2008	Finanzkrise		2007–2008 financial crisis
2009	Abwrackprämie	betriebsratsverseucht	introduction of the Umweltprämie in Germany
2010	Wutbürger	alternativlos	protests against Stuttgart 21 and Thilo Sarrazin there is no alternative § 2010s austerity
2011	Stresstest	Döner-Morde	2011 European Union bank stress test NSU murders
2012	Rettungsroutine (literally “saving routine”)	Opfer-Abo	European debt crisis Jörg Kachelmann § False rape accusation
2013	GroKo	Sozialtourismus	grand coalition following the 2013 German federal election
2014	Lichtgrenze (literally “light border”)	Lügenpresse	Berlin Wall 25th anniversary
2015	Flüchtlinge	Gutmensch	2015 European migrant crisis
2016	postfaktisch	Volksverräter
2017	Jamaika-Aus	alternative Fakten	failure of the Jamaika-Koalition
2018	Heißzeit		2018 European heat wave, pun on Eiszeit (“ice age”)
2019	Respektrente	Klimahysterie	Grundrente (“basic pension”)
2020	Corona-Pandemie	Corona-Diktatur
2021	Wellenbrecher (“breakwater”, literally “wave breaker”)	Pushback	COVID-19 waves
2022	Zeitenwende	Klimaterroristen	Zeitenwende speech
2023	Krisenmodus	Remigration	Meeting of right-wing extremists at Potsdam in 2023
2024	Ampel-Aus		2024 German government crisis

List

See also