The article describes how the idea that offenders should make reparation to their victims figures within the German criminal justice system, differentiating between the procedural and material aspects of reparation. It describes the structure, function, and practical role of the procedure that allows the victim to participate at trial yet shies away from giving the victim a voice in sentence-finding. The article deplores the lack of an overall conceptual foundation for a more fundamental and systematic integration of the concept of reparation into the criminal justice system. With regard to material reparation, the article proposes a revised system of criminal sanctions which would feature measures of reparation next to measures of punishment as a major and regular track of the state's response to crime. The article concludes that changes in this area should not be one-sided. The criminal justice system must strive to realize the rights of both victim and offender to a true chance for a new beginning, a "new life" in the community. Notes, table, references