FYI: To all those affected by the bug. Be aware that articles that are only assigned to a top category are not available in the online shop, even if they are active, as the system finds fault with a missing category assignment and does not publish the article.
In my case, this affects hundreds of items, which now all have to be individually assigned to a category so that they are online and can be sold.
Wherever you are, take care and have a wonderful Easter.