diff --git a/backend/src/main/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/user/UserDataInitializer.java b/backend/src/main/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/user/UserDataInitializer.java
index 590ee8ae..8bec121d 100644
--- a/backend/src/main/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/user/UserDataInitializer.java
+++ b/backend/src/main/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/user/UserDataInitializer.java
@@ -67,11 +67,16 @@ public class UserDataInitializer {
                 }
                 log.info("Kein Admin-User '{}' gefunden. Erstelle Default-Admin...", adminEmail);
 
-                UserGroup adminGroup = UserGroup.builder()
-                        .name("Administrators")
-                        .permissions(Set.of("ADMIN", "READ_ALL", "WRITE_ALL", "ANNOTATE_ALL", "ADMIN_USER", "ADMIN_TAG", "ADMIN_PERMISSION"))
-                        .build();
-                groupRepository.save(adminGroup);
+                // Reuse the Administrators group if it already exists (e.g. a
+                // previous boot seeded the group but failed before creating
+                // the admin user, or the operator deleted just the user row
+                // to retry the seed with a new email). Blind-INSERTing would
+                // violate user_groups_name_key and abort the context. See #518.
+                UserGroup adminGroup = groupRepository.findByName("Administrators")
+                        .orElseGet(() -> groupRepository.save(UserGroup.builder()
+                                .name("Administrators")
+                                .permissions(Set.of("ADMIN", "READ_ALL", "WRITE_ALL", "ANNOTATE_ALL", "ADMIN_USER", "ADMIN_TAG", "ADMIN_PERMISSION"))
+                                .build()));
 
                 AppUser admin = AppUser.builder()
                         .email(adminEmail)
diff --git a/backend/src/test/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/user/AdminSeedFailClosedTest.java b/backend/src/test/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/user/AdminSeedFailClosedTest.java
index 16471496..a0f1666e 100644
--- a/backend/src/test/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/user/AdminSeedFailClosedTest.java
+++ b/backend/src/test/java/org/raddatz/familienarchiv/user/AdminSeedFailClosedTest.java
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@ import java.util.Optional;
 
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThatThrownBy;
+import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
 import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.anyString;
+import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.eq;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.never;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
 import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
@@ -78,6 +80,8 @@ class AdminSeedFailClosedTest {
     @Test
     void allows_seed_when_both_values_are_set_and_profile_is_not_dev() throws Exception {
         when(userRepository.findByEmail(anyString())).thenReturn(Optional.empty());
+        when(groupRepository.findByName("Administrators")).thenReturn(Optional.empty());
+        when(groupRepository.save(any(UserGroup.class))).thenAnswer(inv -> inv.getArgument(0));
         when(environment.matchesProfiles("dev", "test", "e2e")).thenReturn(false);
         when(passwordEncoder.encode(anyString())).thenReturn("$2a$10$stub");
         ReflectionTestUtils.setField(initializer, "adminEmail", "admin@archiv.raddatz.cloud");
@@ -86,12 +90,14 @@ class AdminSeedFailClosedTest {
         CommandLineRunner runner = initializer.initAdminUser(passwordEncoder);
         runner.run();
 
-        verify(userRepository).save(org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any(AppUser.class));
+        verify(userRepository).save(any(AppUser.class));
     }
 
     @Test
     void allows_seed_with_defaults_when_profile_is_dev() throws Exception {
         when(userRepository.findByEmail(anyString())).thenReturn(Optional.empty());
+        when(groupRepository.findByName("Administrators")).thenReturn(Optional.empty());
+        when(groupRepository.save(any(UserGroup.class))).thenAnswer(inv -> inv.getArgument(0));
         when(environment.matchesProfiles("dev", "test", "e2e")).thenReturn(true);
         when(passwordEncoder.encode(anyString())).thenReturn("$2a$10$stub");
         ReflectionTestUtils.setField(initializer, "adminEmail", UserDataInitializer.DEFAULT_ADMIN_EMAIL);
@@ -100,7 +106,7 @@ class AdminSeedFailClosedTest {
         CommandLineRunner runner = initializer.initAdminUser(passwordEncoder);
         runner.run();
 
-        verify(userRepository).save(org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any(AppUser.class));
+        verify(userRepository).save(any(AppUser.class));
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -120,4 +126,49 @@ class AdminSeedFailClosedTest {
         // Importantly, no IllegalStateException — re-deploys must not panic over
         // historical default-seeded data they cannot retroactively fix.
     }
+
+    @Test
+    void reuses_existing_Administrators_group_when_seeding_a_new_admin() throws Exception {
+        // Setup: admin user does not exist, but the Administrators group does
+        // (e.g. previous boot seeded the group then failed; operator deleted
+        // the bad user row to retry with a corrected APP_ADMIN_USERNAME). The
+        // re-seed must reuse the group, not blind-INSERT a duplicate. See #518.
+        UserGroup existingGroup = UserGroup.builder()
+            .name("Administrators")
+            .build();
+        when(userRepository.findByEmail(anyString())).thenReturn(Optional.empty());
+        when(groupRepository.findByName("Administrators")).thenReturn(Optional.of(existingGroup));
+        when(environment.matchesProfiles("dev", "test", "e2e")).thenReturn(false);
+        when(passwordEncoder.encode(anyString())).thenReturn("$2a$10$stub");
+        ReflectionTestUtils.setField(initializer, "adminEmail", "admin@archiv.raddatz.cloud");
+        ReflectionTestUtils.setField(initializer, "adminPassword", "a-real-strong-password");
+
+        CommandLineRunner runner = initializer.initAdminUser(passwordEncoder);
+        runner.run();
+
+        // Group must not be re-inserted — that would violate user_groups_name_key.
+        verify(groupRepository, never()).save(any(UserGroup.class));
+        // But the admin user IS created, with the existing group attached.
+        org.mockito.ArgumentCaptor<AppUser> captor = org.mockito.ArgumentCaptor.forClass(AppUser.class);
+        verify(userRepository).save(captor.capture());
+        assertThat(captor.getValue().getGroups()).containsExactly(existingGroup);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void creates_Administrators_group_when_seeding_admin_on_a_fresh_database() throws Exception {
+        when(userRepository.findByEmail(anyString())).thenReturn(Optional.empty());
+        when(groupRepository.findByName("Administrators")).thenReturn(Optional.empty());
+        when(groupRepository.save(any(UserGroup.class))).thenAnswer(inv -> inv.getArgument(0));
+        when(environment.matchesProfiles("dev", "test", "e2e")).thenReturn(false);
+        when(passwordEncoder.encode(anyString())).thenReturn("$2a$10$stub");
+        ReflectionTestUtils.setField(initializer, "adminEmail", "admin@archiv.raddatz.cloud");
+        ReflectionTestUtils.setField(initializer, "adminPassword", "a-real-strong-password");
+
+        CommandLineRunner runner = initializer.initAdminUser(passwordEncoder);
+        runner.run();
+
+        // Group should be inserted exactly once.
+        verify(groupRepository).save(any(UserGroup.class));
+        verify(userRepository).save(any(AppUser.class));
+    }
 }