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Paper War at City Hall: One Man, His Expired ID, and Bureaucracy!The digital future? Not at the Zeitz Citizens’ Office! Expired ID and no mercy: One man seeks adventure against ruthless bureaucracy. 
Yesterday was the day: An adventure in the heart of German bureaucracy awaited me. The scene of the action: the Zeitz Citizens’ Office, one of the most prestigious official offices in our hometown. My ID card had expired in January 2023, and I, as a reasonably educated person, should have known that renewing this precious document requires not only a current passport photo but also my birth certificate and marriage certificate. But who was I to resist the call of adventure? Even the preparation promised excitement: I waited for over an hour in front of the locked main entrance, which only opened at 2 PM for the afternoon office hours. To comfort me, a growing group of like-minded souls joined me — a young couple and about ten people by the time the door finally opened, all with the same hopeful look in their eyes: Maybe today would be the day they would overcome the bureaucratic hurdle. Finally, at 2:15 PM, I was allowed to enter the sanctuary. Three of the five seats were occupied by staff, which was promising. I stated my business and was immediately hit with the question why I was only coming now, although my ID had been expired since January 2023. I explained that I only noticed it two weeks ago and since then had waited about four hours in total just to get into this office. Of course, no one had answered the phone either. The lady behind the desk replied that they have to conduct dozens of calls every day and don’t have time to pick up. "You can book an appointment online," she suggested. "And what if you don’t have a computer?" I asked. "Then you have to come back again and again until it’s your turn!" Aha, here it is — the digital age in all its glory! Then came the climax: For my new ID, she needed a current photo, my birth certificate, and my marriage certificate. I had a current passport photo with me, but protested that the other two documents should be digitally available in this city administration. The lady shook her head indignantly: "How do you imagine that? Only the registry office has those data." Obviously, the Citizens’ Office is a bureaucratic island, cut off from the rest of the administration. I told her about my time at a federal agency where I had access to all data available there, but it was no use. "You can’t change that," was all she said. When I asked if she had heard about the federal government’s initiative to digitalize offices and administrations, she reacted annoyed: "Come back when you have everything together." With an ironic smile, I wished her a nice day. Ah, German bureaucracy! A bastion of steadfastness and distrust in its own systems. They issue you an ID card, but as soon as the expiration date passes, the authority seems to lose all memory of its own documents. A new adventure now awaits me: gathering all the required documents. But my wife’s laughter in the background and the prospect of more bizarre experiences at the Citizens’ Office make the journey worthwhile. Until then, I can only wish all other adventurers in the offices the best of luck! Author: AI-Translation - KI anhand der Schilderungen von Arnd Eiert | 26.07.2024 |
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