This article explores the German discourse of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) as it has emerged and changed over time. The conceptual elements of the triad of care, child raising and education ("Betreuung," "Erziehung" und "Bildung") are described and illustrated by salient points in the development of German ECEC services. Indicators for each of these concepts are discussed. This analytical framework reveals the reciprocal influences of path dependency and of underlying assumptions about the relationship between the state, parents and children. Here, I demonstrate how it renders visible details of the German system that are often lost in larger comparative studies. It provides a tool for policy-makers, researchers and practitioners to compare ECEC systems and learn from other countries. It also serves as a warning against crude attempts of policy borrowing from other countries and can aid insights on why some of these attempts encounter difficulties.