"The duty of the press is to inform the public."
This quote appears in the beginning of the movie, soon after Katharina was taken into custody by the police. While she was being taken out of her apartment building, handcuffed and surrounded by police officers, a group of journalists also surround her. In that moment, Kommissar Beizmenne and another policeman near him grab Katharina by the hair and force her to look starlight into the camera, revealing her face to the whole world and naming her a terrorist. This scene appears in the beginning of the film and it is important because it sets the stage for how the police will continue to behave and how they will continue to abuse Katharina and everyone who may have had contact with Ludwig at one point or another.
"Shouldn't we lock her up for her own safety?"
After two days of interrogations, the inspector decided to let Katharina go home, hoping Ludwig will try to make contact with her. Upon hearing this, Moeding asked the inspector if it was safe for Katharina, knowing there will be people from the general public who may be tempted to harm her because of what was written in the press about her. The inspector decided to ignore Moeding's fears, deciding that putting Katharina's life in danger some worth risking if it meant catching the man they were after. This quote proved just how little the police cared about the safety of their people, as long as they were going to get what they wanted in return.
"Is the state unable to protect you against this garbage"?
After the first interrogation, Katharina's life changed completely for the worse both for herself and for her uncle and aunt to whom she was close with. After countless trips to the police station and trying to control the press and what they wrote about her, Katharina uttered the quote from above in the bathroom of a police station. Katharina felt betrayed by her own country, feeling as if she was being attacked by those who were supposed to protect her. This caused Katharina to slowly degrade and lose all her hope, eventually feeling she had no other choice but to kill the man who ruined her life.
