Annealing processes in germanium irradiated with a heavy dose of 1 MeV electrons at 85°K and the effect of ionization background upon annealing have been studied in the temperature range 85 to 350°K for samples doped with various concentrations of impurities. A general similarity between the annealing behaviour of initially n‐ and p‐type germanium samples has been noticed. The results are considered to be consistent with the previously proposed models of an electron trapping centre in germanium assuming the centre has the form of a widely spaced Frenkel pair. On the basis of this model the observed processes are interpreted as a release of vacancies due to the dissociation of Frenkel pairs and their subsequent migration and formation of complexes with impurities and other defects.