The heads of the 380 health authorities in Germany have developed into the most important crisis managers in the fight against the corona pandemic this year. In doing so, they are faced with management tasks that are hardly solvable, they are fighting with outdated technology and inflexible structures - against a virus whose spread would overwhelm even modern, more agile organizations. The offices and their managers are at the same time the bureaucratic weak point in combating the crisis. They don't just fail because of the structures - the problems lie much deeper. And they are serious.