I wrote:
"Previously, there were three types of unemployment assistance. Arbeitslosengeld, for the recently unemployed, calculated as a percentage of one's previous wage, and payed for a duration depending upon how long one had worked. Then, Arbeitslosenhilfe, for the long-term unemployed, also calculated as a percentage of one's former wage, but a lower percentage, and payed long-term after one had fallen off Arbeitslosengeld. Finally, Sozialhilfe, mainly limited to those who had never worked and offering a baseline of social security, and often association with socially stigmatized groups (the disabled, drug addicts, etc.)."
I left out the most important part: The Hartz IV reform consisted in elimination Arbeitslosenhilfe, or more specifically, in merging Arbeitslosenhilfe and Sozialhilfe. Thus, after a maximum of 18 months of Arbeitslosengeld (now known as ALG I) one is condemned to Hartz IV (officially known as ALG II).