01Procurement · 15 December 2025 · especially pp. 5–9
Federal Court of Auditors · Submission to the hearing
5.8 billion masks, €5.9 billion; distribution, destruction and follow-up costs. Inventory figures mainly from August 2025.
THE MASK ARCHIVE
The documents
behind the billions.
Studies. Contracts. Judgments. Political statements. Here are the sources on effectiveness, prices, procurement and the consequences of mask mandates – organised around the questions that matter.
EIGHT WAYS INTO THE SUBJECT
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Each topic takes you straight to the relevant sources. Documents open on their publishers’ websites.
THE SOURCE LIBRARY
The sources
in context.
Study titles, dates, subjects and direct links. Each brief description explains what the source covers.
86 sources
02Procurement · 29 March 2021 · hib 409/2021
Bundestag · Open-house contracts
€4.50 excluding VAT for FFP2/KN95 masks, €0.60 excluding VAT for surgical masks; contracts and delivery volumes.
03Justice · Sentencing announcement · accessed 22 October 2026
Spanish Supreme Court · Ábalos case
24 years and 3 months for José Luis Ábalos. Conviction for multiple offences; the sentence was not determined solely by the amount of commission.
04Justice · 9 March 2026 · Secondary source
Tagesschau · No investigation into Spahn
Berlin’s Public Prosecutor General found insufficient factual grounds to suspect a criminal offence.
05Justice · 5 July 2022 · Press release 107/2022
BGH · Mask brokerage by Nüßlein / Sauter
Brokerage outside parliamentary duties did not fall within the scope of section 108e of the Criminal Code as it then stood.
06Justice · 11 July 2025 · Decision of 29 April 2025
BGH · Trade tax evasion / Tandler
Final prison sentences of three years each for Tandler and her partner. Approximately €48 million in joint commissions.
07Justice · Deutscher Strafverteidiger Verband
BGH announcement on Tandler · Readable reproduction
Full reproduction of the official announcement if access to the BGH website is blocked.
08Pharmacies · 2020 / 2021 programme
BMG · Protective Mask Ordinance
Eligible people, three free masks and two vouchers for six masks each.
09Pharmacies · 15 December 2020 · Sections 5–9
Original ordinance · Remuneration
Initially €6 including VAT per mask supplied against a voucher. This does not establish pharmacies’ profit.
10Pharmacies · 5 February 2021
Amending ordinance · €3.90
Reduction applying, among other things, to the second voucher period, from 16 February to 15 April 2021.
11Evidence · 2023 · CD006207.pub6
Cochrane · Systematic review
Randomised studies of physical interventions against respiratory viruses; limitations concerning adherence, bias and generalisability.
12Evidence · March 2023 · Addition in June 2024
Cochrane · Statement and update
Statement on the 2023 review. Since June 2024, changes to the abstract and plain-language summary are no longer being pursued.
13Evidence · Historical pandemic information
BfArM · Differences between mask types
Cloth masks, surgical masks and FFP masks: product types, standards, filtration properties and fit. This archived information does not establish a current mask requirement.
14Background · 7 April 2020 · Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Balk
Deutsche Welle · Arrival at the airport
Eight million masks in Munich. Söder, Scheuer and Lufthansa CEO Spohr receiving the shipment.
15Background · 22 October 2026 · Commentary / Secondary source
Reitschuster · The starting point for this dossier
Boris Reitschuster’s article of 22 October 2026: the starting point for this dossier and its Madrid–Berlin comparison.
16Background · 11 July 2025 · Secondary source
Tagesspiegel · Tandler and Hohlmeier
Andrea Tandler is Gerold Tandler’s daughter. Monika Hohlmeier, daughter of Franz Josef Strauß, facilitated contacts.
17Evidence · 14 October 2026 · Volumes 1 and 2
Corona-Revision · Local reading versions
Used: Volume 1, 8.125b–c; Volume 2, 54.3. Summary and provenance on a separate reading page.
18Evidence · Online in 2022 / 2023 · J Exp Child Psychol
Bourke et al. · Masks, language and emotions
Experiment involving 74 children aged four to eight: altered emotion recognition; no significant impairment of the basic language processing tested. No evidence of long-term developmental harm.
19Evidence · Historical COVID-19 FAQ · Especially question 25
DGUV · FFP masks and recovery breaks
Plan wearing times and recovery breaks for FFP masks in the risk assessment; prevent skin problems. Distinguishes FFP masks from medical face masks.
20Evidence · 11 September 2021 · Historical information
Unfallkasse Hessen · Masks in everyday school life
Discomfort while wearing masks, removal in specific situations and differences between mask types. At the time, no evidence of breathing impairment posing a health risk from the masks recommended for children. School photograph: Oksana Kuzmina / Adobe Stock.
21Background · 2 April 2020 · News report
Stern · Visible marks after hospital shifts
Documented self-portraits of exhausted healthcare professionals and marks left by masks. Image: Instagram screenshot/covid_nurses. The strain of everyday hospital work cannot be attributed to masks alone.
22Background · May 2025 · Official announcement
BMG · Handover from Lauterbach to Warken
Karl Lauterbach as Nina Warken’s predecessor at the Federal Ministry of Health; official documentation of the 2025 handover.
23Background · 8 September 2022 · Original speech
BMG · Lauterbach’s speech in the Bundestag
Lauterbach claimed that FFP2 masks provided reliable protection against infection with BA.2.75 and BA.5. Used to justify stricter requirements.
24Evidence · FAQ section as of 26 November 2024 · Referring to 30 October 2020
RKI · FFP2 versus surgical masks in everyday life
Additional protection against transmission compared with surgical masks was not established for untrained members of the public in everyday use; higher filtration in the laboratory.
25Background · 17 January 2021 · Original announcement
Bavaria · FFP2 requirement on public transport
Mandatory from 18 January, including at stations and stops, for people aged 15 and over; a one-week grace period before fines.
26Background · 12 January 2021 · Original announcement
Bavaria · FFP2 masks in shops and on local transport
Cabinet decision and Aiwanger’s promise that the risk of infection would be reduced to a minimum.
27Evidence · Online in 2020 / 2021 · Randomised study
Bundgaard et al. · DANMASK-19
6,024 randomised adults; 4,862 completed follow-up. No statistically significant difference in protection for the wearer from a recommendation to wear surgical masks.
28Evidence · Online in 2022 / 2023 · Observational study
Coma et al. · Mask requirements in Catalan schools
599,314 children, 1,907 schools. Comparison across the age threshold of five/six years: no statistically significant reduction in the secondary attack rate.
29Evidence · 21 April 2023 · BMC Public Health
Juutinen et al. · Comparison of Finnish cities
Extending the mask requirement to 10- to 12-year-olds: no discernible additional benefit in a comparison of three cities. Ecological comparison.
30Evidence · 2023 · Journal of Hospital Infection
Knobloch et al. · Respirator fit
29 studies; ear-loop models passed 3.6% of 222 recorded fit tests. Passing a fit test is not an infection rate.
31Evidence · Online in 2023 / 2024 · Search cut-off February 2023
Sandlund et al. · Children’s masks: systematic review
22 observational studies, with no randomised study in children among the included studies. The authors judged the evidence insufficient.
32Evidence · 2024 · BMJ · Randomised study
Solberg et al. · Surgical masks in everyday life in Norway
Fewer self-reported respiratory symptoms over 14 days: 8.9% versus 12.2%. Unblinded study; no established effect on laboratory-confirmed COVID-19.
33Evidence · Online in 2021 / 2022 · Science · Cluster RCT
Abaluck et al. · Mask campaign in Bangladesh
600 villages, 342,183 adults. Reduction in symptomatic seropositivity in the distribution and encouragement programme; aPR 0.91, 95% CI 0.82–1.00.
34Approval · Pandemic testing pathways in 2020 · Official information
BAuA · Identifying compliant respirators
Standard conformity assessment, KN95 and coronavirus pandemic respirators (CPA); the CPA procedure ended on 1 October 2020.
35Approval · 20 March 2020 · Revision 0 · Original PDF
DEKRA / IFA · CPA testing specification
Simplified tests of filter penetration, breathing resistance and donning. Distinction from respiratory protection fully tested to EN 149.
36Approval · 19 October 2022 · Independent product test
Stiftung Warentest · FFP2 masks tested
32 models in total: ten with low breathing comfort; twelve of the 22 models tested for fit did not meet all requirements.
37Evidence · 19 January 2021 · Updated 3 February 2022
DGUV / IFA · Using FFP2 masks correctly
Instruction, a close fit and risk assessment. The recommendation at the time for moderately strenuous work: 75 minutes of wear, followed by a 30-minute recovery break.
38Approval · 2022 · Scientific Reports
Verleysen et al. · Titanium dioxide in mask materials
Twelve masks examined; material and surface content determined. Actual release and inhaled dose were not measured.
39Approval · 3 February 2026 · Scientific Reports
Mehri et al. · Direct particle release
Three mask types under laboratory conditions. No TiO₂ nanoparticles detected in the released particles analysed.
40Approval · 2024 · Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Kisielinski et al. · Substances detected and released
1,003 search results, 24 included studies covering 631 masks. Mainly laboratory studies; comparisons with limit values have substantial methodological limitations.
41Background · PDF page 1716 · Minutes page 10/11
RKI · Original minutes of 30 October 2020
Internal discussion of evidence for FFP2 use outside occupational safety. Additional context and subsequent explanation in source 24.
42Evidence · 5 August 2025 · DOI 10.7326/ANNALS-25-03203
Annals · Expression of Concern about the Loeb study
Editorial expression of concern about the 2022 study comparing N95 respirators with medical masks. Not a formal retraction.
43Evidence · 16 July 2021 · Retraction notice
JAMA Pediatrics · Retraction of the children’s CO₂ paper
The research letter published in 2021 measuring CO₂ under children’s masks was retracted.
44Background · 22 October 2026 · Telegram source collection
Maskenalarm · Supplied archive package
Historical Telegram source collection with 1,103 entries, 756 media files and indexes of studies, schools, quotations and external sources.
45Evidence · 18 May 2023 · PLOS Medicine · Observational study
Banholzer et al. · Aerosols and transmission in Bern schools
90 adolescents, two schools, seven weeks; lower aerosol concentrations under a mask requirement. Small, non-randomised investigation incorporating modelling.
46Evidence · Published August 2025 · Conducted in 2020
India · Cluster RCT of cloth mask distribution
20 villages, 32,019 adults. COVID-19 incidence aRR 0.96 (95% CI 0.57–1.63); few events, no firm conclusion.
47Evidence · 27 February 2025 · BMJ · State-of-the-art review
MacIntyre et al. · Masks and respiratory protection
Broad review assesses the benefits positively depending on use, exposure and adherence; not a single new randomised trial.
48Evidence · 20 October 2025 · Systematic review · Search cut-off June 2023
Crespo et al. · Real-world studies of masks
79 heterogeneous studies, 61 with positive findings. Counting study results does not establish a pooled effectiveness of 77%.
49Evidence · 2026 · Methodological analysis · Studies through September 2025
Greenhalgh et al. · Why mask reviews differ
Analysis of 66 reviews and approximately 300 primary studies. Addresses differing results, study designs and problems with evidence synthesis.
50Pharmacies · 2021 activity report · Final figures as of 18 May 2022
BAS · Final accounting for the protective mask programme
Approximately €2.12 billion for mask distribution and health insurers’ administrative costs; a further approximately €12 million for producing and mailing the vouchers.
51Pharmacies · Year-end figures for 2020 and 2021
ABDA · Changes in the number of pharmacies
18,753 community pharmacies, including branches, at the end of 2020; 18,461 at the end of 2021. Denominator used to calculate the sector average.
52Pharmacies · 2 March 2021 · Parliamentary paper 19/27179 · Especially pp. 2–7
Federal Government · Vouchers, prices and the December flat-rate payment
35.3 million printed voucher sheets; €491.4 million December flat-rate payment. Observed wholesale prices for FFP2 masks had fallen to 40–80 cents by the end of February 2021; the tax basis is not specified there.
53Pharmacies · 27 May 2021 · Published interim figures
APOTHEKE ADHOC · BAS accounting figures
28.5 million first and 25.4 million second vouchers for six masks; just under 2.5 million sets of ten for ALG II benefit recipients. Rounded figures, not precise final volume statistics.
54Prices · Valid from 1 February 2019 · PDF pp. 16 and 12
3M · Original occupational safety price list, 2019
VFlex 9152/9152S FFP2: €0.67 excluding VAT, minimum order 400. Other models: 8810, €1.86; Aura 9320+, €2.30 excluding VAT. Non-binding list prices.
55Prices · January 2019 · Printed p. 4/78 · Catalogue reproduction
Jesamed · 2019 catalogue, medical face masks
Type IIR surgical masks: 50 for €6 excluding VAT, equivalent to 12 cents excluding VAT each. Historical offer price.
56Prices · Price checked 22 October 2026 · JIFA · Bulk carton
Siegmund Care · 1,080 FFP2 masks
€540 including VAT for 1,080 masks: 50 cents per mask; standard DPD shipping within Germany is free at this order value.
57Prices · Price checked 22 October 2026 · JIFA
Siegmund Care · 20 FFP2 masks
20 for €12 including VAT: product price of 60 cents per mask; shipping may cost extra.
58Prices · Price checked 22 October 2026 · Meditrade
Siegmund Care · 50 Type IIR surgical masks
50 for €3.50 including VAT: 7 cents per mask excluding shipping. An individual DPD order incurs an additional €3.95 shipping charge.
59Prices · Accessed 22 October 2026 · Germany
Siegmund Care · Shipping terms
DPD shipping costs €3.95 for orders under €50; free for orders of €50 or more. Basis for calculating the delivered price per mask.
60Prices · 18 March 2021 · Press release 136
Destatis · Imports of protective face masks
January 2021: 1.1 billion filtering half masks with an import value of €166.7 million. A figure at the import stage, not a record of pharmacies’ purchase costs or additional private expenditure.
61Private expenditure · SEA 2021 · Item 0612 209
Destatis · Classification of income and expenditure
Masks are classified together with other health protection products. This category alone does not provide a separately identified total for private spending on masks.
62Private expenditure · Consumer Market Outlook · Model estimate
Statista · Estimated consumption, 2020–2022
An estimated 17 billion masks used by consumers. No breakdown by self-funding, employers and publicly funded spending; does not establish a national total for private expenditure.
63Pharmacies · 6 February 2025 · V R 24/23
BFH · VAT on the protective mask flat-rate payment
The flat-rate payment is consideration for taxable supplies. VAT is not a pharmacy’s profit.
64Prices · Price checked 22 October 2026 · Meditrade
Siegmund Care · 2,000 Type IIR surgical masks
€109.98 including VAT for 2,000 masks: approximately 5.5 cents per mask; DPD shipping to Germany is free at this order value.
65Prices · Price checked 22 October 2026
dm · Mivolis FFP2 two-pack
Two for €1.95 including VAT: 97.5 cents each. Product price excluding shipping.
66Protest & humour · 2022/23 campaign · Accessed 22 October 2026
Maskenfrei.express · Historical campaign
The service’s own description at the time, offering a hearing test, self-assessment and privately issued card for €14.99. No new registrations today.
67Law · 16 September 2022 · Federal Law Gazette I p. 1454 · Especially p. 1463
Federal Law Gazette · 2022 amendment to the Infection Protection Act
Section 28b(1), sentence 3, no. 3: exemption for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, their communication partners and accompanying persons; measures applied from 1 October 2022 to 7 April 2023.
68Law · 30 September 2022 · Bavarian Ministerial Gazette no. 557 · Section 2(3)
Bavaria · 17th Infection Protection Measures Ordinance
Distinguishes the exempt group of people from removing a mask in specific situations to communicate with people with hearing impairments.
69Evidence · Fact sheet · Accessed 22 October 2026
WHO · Deafness and hearing loss
Hearing loss is assessed using hearing thresholds. This does not mean that every adult has clinical hearing loss.
70Protest & humour · Supplied collection · 51 JPG designs
Maskenfrei.express · Original campaign designs
Historical satire, opinion and campaign communication. October 2026 dates in filenames are upload dates, not established creation dates.
71Proceedings against doctors · Documentation portal run by MWGFD e.V.
Ärzte mit Gewissen · Case directory
Accounts by those affected, describing proceedings and professional and personal consequences. The individual court decisions are linked separately.
72Proceedings against doctors · 10 September 2025 · 5 StR 335/25
BGH · Walter Weber proceedings
52 instances of issuing incorrect health certificates; aggregate suspended sentence of one year and ten months upheld. Original decision.
73Proceedings against doctors · Ärzte mit Gewissen · Accessed 22 October 2026
Walter Weber · His own account
His own account of the proceedings and their consequences; more than €130,000 in legal and procedural costs according to his account.
74Proceedings against doctors · Judgment of 16 July 2024 · Paragraph 7 on the background
Mannheim Regional Court · Court text on the Jiang proceedings
Published judgment against a recipient of a certificate refers to Jiang’s appeal judgment of 20 February 2024: 4,374 cases, two-year suspended sentence.
75Proceedings against doctors · 25 April 2025 · News report
WNOZ · Appeal on points of law in the Jiang proceedings
Reports that Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court dismissed the appeal on points of law against the two-year suspended sentence.
76Proceedings against doctors · Ärzte mit Gewissen · Accessed 22 October 2026
Monika Jiang · Her own account
Her own account of the proceedings and financial consequences; approximately €113,000 in legal fees according to her account.
77Proceedings against doctors · 23 September 2025 · Press release 175/2025 · Decision of 27 August 2025
BGH · Bianca Witzschel proceedings
Final sentence of two years and eight months in prison and a three-year ban on practising; incorrect health certificates and other offences. Aggregate sentence.
78Proceedings against doctors · 24 July 2026 · News report
Ostdeutsche Allgemeine · Witzschel released from prison
Reports Bianca Witzschel’s release in July 2026. Does not establish that she was still imprisoned at the source cut-off date for this page.
79Proceedings against doctors · Ärzte mit Gewissen · Historical account
Bianca Witzschel · Account by the person affected
Personal and professional consequences from her perspective. The separate sources are authoritative for the judgment date and current custody status.
80Proceedings against doctors · 29 June 2023 · 12 KLs 6/23 · Full court judgment
Bochum Regional Court · First partial judgment in the Habig case
Two years and ten months for 207 incorrect vaccination records, 190 of which also constituted incorrect health certificates. Reproduction of the anonymised full court judgment; vaccination certificates, not a mask exemption certificate case.
81Proceedings against doctors · 11 September 2024 · 4 StR 75/24 · Full text at HRR
BGH · Appeal on points of law in the first Habig proceedings
The Federal Court of Justice dismissed the appeal on points of law against the first partial judgment from Bochum. Its confirmation concerns these proceedings; other judgments must be considered separately.
82Proceedings against doctors · September 2026 · Personal account
Heinrich Habig · Account by the person affected
His own account states that he actually served 26 months in custody and was released in May 2026. The portal’s headline on the sentence does not match the court judgments; time served and sentence imposed must be distinguished.
83Proceedings against doctors · 5 February 2024 · Contemporary trial report
Deutsches Ärzteblatt / dpa · Javid-Kistel proceedings
Duderstadt Local Court: 14-month suspended sentence for incorrect mask exemption certificates, incitement to hatred and insults. No substantiated conviction resulting in a three-and-a-half-year sentence.
84Proceedings against doctors · March 2026 · Personal account
Carola Javid-Kistel · Account by the person affected
Her own account of her suspended sentence, closure of her practice, suspension of her licence to practise, legal fees and life in Mexico. Personal consequences from her perspective.
85Evidence · 30 June 2022 · Especially pp. 15 and 91
2022 coronavirus evaluation · Expert Committee report
Masks can be an effective tool; their effect depends on fit and use. The data available at the time did not support a general FFP2 recommendation; effects in schools could not be conclusively assessed.
Justice · 29 July 2026 · Parliamentary report
German Bundestag · Change in CDU/CSU parliamentary leadership ↗
Jens Spahn led the CDU/CSU parliamentary group from May 2025 to July 2026. The Bundestag documents the election of his successor.
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HISTORICAL SOURCE COLLECTION
Material from the pandemic years.
The additional archive package contains historic posts, images and documents from 2021 to 2026. It can be downloaded as a complete collection. The sources listed above link directly to individual studies, official documents and decisions.
Open the historical archive package ↗ · Maskenfrei.express: all 51 images ↗