Mn 5 Ge 3 (001) thin films grown on Ge (111) were studied by angle-and spin-resolved photoemission using synchrotron radiation in the 17 – 40 eV photon energy range. The photoelectron spectra were simulated starting from a first-principles band-structure calculation for the ground state , using the free-electron approximation for the final states , taking into account photohole lifetime effects and k ⊥ broadening plus correlation effects , but ignoring transition matrix elements. The measured spin polarizations for the various k points investigated in the MLA plane of the Brillouin zone are found to be in fair enough agreement with the simulated ones , providing a strong support to the ground-state band-structure calculations. Possible origins for the departures between either simulations and experiments or previous and present experiments are discussed .