Berlin's New 'Bureaucracy Museum' Puts Germany's Red Tape on Trial

A new exhibition in Berlin is drawing attention to Germany’s complex bureaucracy. The INSM, a business lobby group, has opened a 'Bureaucracy Museum' to highlight what it calls excessive regulations. One of its centrepieces is a symbolic 'Bureaucracy Shredder' used to destroy paperwork representing burdensome rules. The museum was set up to oppose regulations affecting corporations. Friedrich Merz, a founding member of the INSM’s support association, was photographed with the machine during its launch. The shredder was used to tear up documents symbolising red tape.

Examples of Germany’s bureaucratic hurdles are on display. The country has 16 separate building codes, each with different rules. Fax machines remain mandatory for 189 administrative procedures, and Berlin’s Senate alone still operates 5,333 of them. Each federal state also develops its own IT systems, often incompatible with others.

The exhibition also touches on broader regulatory battles. In November 2023, an alliance of lobbyists, far-right politicians, and conservatives weakened the EU’s supply chain law. Meanwhile, the Administrative Procedure Act prevents authorities from arbitrarily cutting funding to unwanted groups. Even binding agreements, like the 44-paragraph state treaty governing public broadcaster MDR, must be followed by any government, including one led by the AfD. The museum puts a spotlight on long-standing administrative quirks. It also shows how political and lobbying efforts have shaped or softened certain rules. Visitors leave with a clearer picture of the systems governing business and public life in Germany.