Unfair stereotypes of Germans

I have heard a billion times about:

Germans being cheap
Germans being unfriendly
Germans hating fresh air

and have found most of these generalizations to be unsubstantiated.

so here are some generalizations to counter those generalizations:

• Germans will pay twice the market price for anything as long as it is Bio or fair trade (even my man who is cheap beyond belief) so you can't call em cheap
  
• Germans know the life stories of everyone in their building, at their local spätie and and their local pub and are always shaking hands and guffawing and gossiping like there's no tomorrow so you can't call them unfriendly
  
• Germans love air!!! Why are people always yelling about them yelling about the draft? Seriously, someone enlighten me... I have never had so much air in my life.
  

What other German stereotypes baffle you?

Punctuality, I have not experienced this supposed german trait - although maybe I deal with too many young ones..

yup and here I am freezing every day at my 22nd floor desk coz there's ALWAYS a German who wants the windows open. Seriously, SOMEBODY (else) from TT tell them how to behave like 'good Germans'

I guess Germans are willing to spend for themselves. Like to show off. The problem arises when they ignore the give-and-take transactions in social groups, the ones I know tend to interpret it as take-and-take Then we start calling them cheap!

You wouldn't call them generous, would you?

Germans don't have a sense of humour. Our German friends from Munich definitely do. We've had some excellent nights with them.

Germans definitely love fresh air, they are the first to complain if there is an A/C in the room and the windows can't be opened.

That it's a well-educated "Land of Goethe and Schiller" as the result of a world-class egalitarian need-blind educational system. One soon learns that it's actually a pretty low-brow, lower-middle class society where children are sorted out Brave New World style, down to the wardrobe.


That's pretty much the local economy, Oktoberfest and TT described in one fell swoop. There's nothing like Have I Got News For You on TV, just a lot of blooper reel shows and fart jokes.

German efficiency. It takes about a week to discover that this is without a doubt the world's biggest oxymoron.

German stoicimsm/toughness. They're all a bunch of wimps who get two-week doctor's notes for hangnails and think you'll get bubonic plague if you run out to the mailbox for 30 seconds without dressing as if you're going on a polar expedition ... in June.

They may love fresh air, but would rather swelter inside the U-bahn with nobody bothering to open the windows.

I agree with this one, too. My sons father cracked me up all the damn time. Even his parents gets all my corny jokes. My german friends loved that I have a sense of humor.

Another one is that they do not like small-talk. But I found that some do. I've had conversations with germans in lines, at the park, etc.

..to be put down to plain laziness?

another one i can't get (thank God!) is their so-called indifference in public places. Standing at the train station on my first week in Germany, I spilt coffee all over my suit. Seconds into scrambling for a tissue, I hear a Schuldigung Schuldigung (which I couldn't translate yet ) and a young man reaching over with a packet of tissues. Aw, i thought, dem sweet German boys! Not an isolated incident, i might add - have seen numerous helpful samaritans in my few months here.

Expat': that's one of the best posts i've read in ages, I don't necessarily agree with your point of view, but you make a pretty convincing argument..

10/10

@ lilplatinum: we don't even want to start on how many Germans I have found myself waiting on...


well, I guess like people from anywhere, it depends on how well they know you. In general I would say no, generosity is not one of their outstanding national traits but I have definitely been treated very decently and dare I say even showered with gifts, food and money by German people who love me and/or know me well.


HA. All one has to do is ask one question not on the cheat-sheet at an Amt to see the level of efficiency maintained here. Most of class/educational stuff you said was too smurt for me to follow , but it did break my heart one time to see a 15-year-old boy bragging about his döner cutting skills. He said he was a professional and when we, thinking he was joking, laughed, he even got up to show us how he puts a bit of wrist action into the knife. It was 4 in the morning and he was finished with school. Comepletely agree with the doctor's notes and dressing warmly... you wouldn't believe how many people thought I was nuts for wearing flip-flops in autumn here. That was in 2006, I can't take the tsk-tsking anymore so my feet just have to boil.


well, but U-Bahn air isn't really all that fresh now is it? cooler, but probably more toxic than the air in the train.


WOW. I've seen people nearly stabbed at Schöneweide and no one wanted to step in and tell those guys to cut it out... but to be sure, if there is anyone within a five-block radius of where you've fallen off your bike, they will all help you up and ask if you're OK.

Not toxic compared to smelling other people's body odour.

@ hams: i was on a bus once in my hometown of Seattle and the buses don't smell nice there in the summertime, even when ALL the windows are open. But one guy in particular was noticeably offensive. He was a bear, very proud of his hair and his masculinity and was wearing a wifebeater. At the time I must have been only 19 or so and actually opened my mouth and said "You need a shower," and gave him my best disgusted face. He raised his arm over his head and sniffed deeply, then bragged, "I LOVE it." I was fit. to. puke.

In retrospect, I realize that I:

1. was an asshole and an idiot that day, who got pwned by a bear in a beater reeking of armpit and rightfully so

2. am grateful that people here are at least only inadvertently stinky

Ummm, lets see:
Germans are gullible.
Germans are gossipy.
Germans believe in old wives tales about bad air.

Yeah, I guess you are right.

you actually baffle me

Germans might love being outside, but heaven forbid there is a bit of a draft (which only they can notice) in a room/train/bus on a superhot day! They seriously think you will get a nasty pneumonia or muscle stiffness from the draft!

They love fresh air so much, they have to light their ciggies as they are walking out the door- like they couldn't wait 20 sec til they are a few meters away from the door!

What is a wifebeater?

Oh, and by the way, what you said was bloody cheeky - but good for you. Too bad you did not continue with something like: "Pity, few could possibly appreciate it... "

those tank-top type-ribbed t-shirts seen on men who live in trailor parks.

and i agree, german's are not punctual. at least not at work they are not.

They are around here but then I deal with mostly Bayerns. Maybe there is an Auslander standard they have.

Yuck, I know what you mean. But, why are they called wifebeaters?

I was reminded of offering someone in my bridge club, who had won a golfer's hat, an Irish hat in exchange for it. (meaning the knotted handkerchief kind). I just googled a picture and found this - I think he is wearing a "wifebeater" (will holes do instead of rib?)


Oh and I am punctual - probably too much so, I am always waiting for people

I have a drawer full of wifebeaters. Lazy comfort.

@ carm: I baffle you? that is just about the nicest thing anybody has said to me all day and here I thought I was one of the simpler people on TT.

@ orla: a beater's got to have the ribs, holes won't do!

From A-shirt (Wikipedia):

This thing with the draughts. I've never, in over 20 years of living in Germany come across this! The first thing people do in every office I've worked in is open the windows and let in the fresh air. In fact sometimes I complain that it's too cold with the windows open!
Another stereotype that just isn't true is that the Germans are too serious. I've lived in several countries and this is the one that will use any excuse to have a party! It's the anniversary of something or other?, get the tables and the beer barrel out and let's enjoy ourselves.
I've also never noticed the staring thing, I sometimes wonder if it's you lot that are doing the staring!

To many Auslanders maskerading as Germans.

Thanks for the explanations re wifebeaters.


Sometimes I find myself having a longer look at someone and then think: "I hope nobody from TT sees me". (Maybe a plus for not living in Munich .) Most of what is [s]complained[/s] written about The Germans is bull; I have always thought.

Well I think they usually are more reserved when it come to something outside of their circle of influence. Yet acclimate just as good as the rest of us in most occasions. Now I must say though that Germans I meet while traveling* are more adept at this than Germans that stay locally when vacationing.

As for the staring try being non-german and you will see. I mean this also in the context with addition to Germans of Turkish decent. I get stared at by both. Although this staring thing has already been discussed... too much.

[sub]* The one thing that I do hate though is the germifcation of items. Sour cream in guacamloe, those horrible impersonation of Spanish songs etc Majorca has been off my travel list for quite some time sadly. Not a decent plate of Paella on the island unless you stay in the main city and avoid the beach.[/sub]

my boyfriend wants the window open 12 months a year, 24 hours a day. If this place didn't have mosquitoes the size of a baby's fist I might not mind, but the windows have to be closed in the summer nights... I know, stupid, right? But I'm the one who becomes skeeter food, not him.

fo sho the germans throw a party for any damn thing. And they are all experts at it! Beer, food, music, dancing. I should share the video I have of some older people line dancing at Alex, celebrating God knows what but there was beer food and music so the dancing naturally came with it.

and as for the last bit, hahahahahahahaha you're nuts!!! NO WAY DUDE THE KRAUTS STARE END OF STORY for reals. LOL!!! I mean it. I won't give up on this one!!! they stare like it's going out of style, they stare like they breathe, they stare in their sleep, they stare when they're dead. German staring is real, more real than aliens or bigfoot or 9/11 conspiracies and I believe in all of those too

"they stare in their sleep"

aren't you getting just a wee little bit paranoid? Maybe they just look at your carefully enclosed reizvollen Busen. There is no charge for it?

Woah what is this Schöneweide? Sounds like an interesting backstory.

- That Germans are ultra hard working, efficient machines?

Maybe it's because I effectively work with civil servants, but they are all into work/life balance and usually leave at 5 on the dot, if not hours earlier. Lucky for me I suppose, was worried about being overworked or something.

Dudette seriously! I can't wear pink or wife beaters cause of various stigmata. I look good in pink and wife beaters are damn comfy. Hell, give me a pink wife beater and I would be Brad Pitt crossed with Johnny Depp!


Yeah, arbeit macht frei.

I went out with the walking group last Sunday. That day, it was in the high 20s and very, very, very humid.

So.. we go into the pizzeria and the balcony outside is full up so we get a few tables inside.

"Open the windows," I call out to one woman sitting next to them.

"What? And let all the heat in?" was the response.

Why do they bother with windows? In winter, there's a draught and in the summer there's the heat.

Germans and punctuality... not with all. Especially not the younger ones. If my Nachhilfeschuelerin is only ten minutes late, I keel over with shock. Week after week. And always an excuse.

No way. They only pretend.

You will be amazed at how many people, non Germans included, who don't understand that the windows need to be kept shut if the air con is to work properly.

There was no air-con in the restaurant and the door to the balcony was wide open. And we were next to that.

i thought we could get a nice... ah... draught going. A breeze wafting through to cool us down.

Strangely, some of us ended up in the shady back garden of one of the walker's home and we had some cake and no-one complained about the heat. Just how nice and shady it was.

Weird.

Oh thought of another one, that Germans have a terrible sense of style, the old sock-n-sandal look.

It's probably because I'm in Düss the 'fashion capital', but I find most people here, especially younger women really well dressed! I suppose it's not overly feminine, as noted by others, but there's a clean sort of aesthetic I really like about it.

I guessed there was no aircon hence the smiley.

I have the opposite problem and people insist on opening the windows despite us spending a couple of thousand euros to get an HVAC system fitted.

No fear of draughts here but lack of understanding abounds

Talking about style - what is it with mullets, women with dyed red hair, nasty leather jackets, and the denim tuxedo look that all went out many many many years ago...

and you're in Munich... when I visited Munich I thought people were well dressed and all... at least compare to Berlin

We've got different factions e.g. those stuck in the past as per my previous post, the schickies i.e. pearl earring and chino wearing, collared shirt and v-neck cashmere sweater, the funky trendy lot who would be 'normal' in NYC, Paris or London but overall, individual style is not prevelent, more a 'group look' to fit in with the clique.

Germans (esp. Bavarians) : They're a lot better than the ungrateful foreigners they let in here which complain excessively about them.

hams, I have witnessed the strange cherry red hair as well, even on some teenagers. Why THAT shade exactly? And what's the point if it's so common?

And for the fact that they're all supposed to formal and cold towards you, well my office are all on first name terms with each other, and I've been invited to
colleagues' homes and going to visit a farm one of them grew up in this weekend, so I guess I was lucky to have met some lovely hospitable Germans

This post belongs on this thread. The pull quote from the article is Stereotype City.

Speaking a a person of 100% German decent, perhaps the explanation is that anyone with any "get up and go" got up and went ... to the US, leaving nothing but Jammerlappen behind.

I´m sure your knowledge regarding Jammerlappen is outstanding, expaticus.

There are several stereotypes which in reality do not exist, in my view.

1.Germans are dull.
Far from it. Most of the German people I have met while on holiday or on business in Germany, have been polite and humourous people.

2.Germans work harder than other nationalities.
I disagree with this. I work for a German company based here in Ireland. Our staff work as hard, if not harder than their German counterparts.

no. obviously I meant that they literally stare in their sleep. and when they're dead. or blind. you know how it is.

i dont have any busen for them to stare at... at least not any that are particularly on display


Schöneweide is a semi-scary S-Bahn and regional train station in Treptow-Köpenick (or rather, in Schöneweide kiez), East Berlin. Evidently there are a fair number of Nazis still hanging around, the NDP has their headquarters there, lots of people with tattooed faces, jail tats, etc. This in itself is no big deal, but the number of fist-fights and car crashes I've seen there make it a pretty volatile place. Packed at rush hour, dead at night. The incident in particular that I'm talking about involved two guys, one at least 6'4" and the other no taller than 5'6". During the fist fight the little guy had broken a bottle and was coming at the big guy with it, during rush hour. A gaggle of school girls was seated nearby, sipping McDonalds coke and enjoying the spectacle, and grownups just averted their eyes and kept on their business. I was on the other other side of the street, with four lanes and a tram line between us, but i couldn't believe no one stepped in and yelled "cut it the fuck out!!! what are you, animals?" Another time, I saw a pack of apparent Nazis, the ringleader of whom had busted an old fella in the face so hard that he looked like something out of a horror movie, blood was everywhere. Luckily this guy got detained by security. His little Nazi homies were upset, a 15-year-old kid I took to be his brother was even crying. Cops vans are always at this place... it's something to see.

I read in a "welcome to germany" type of book that Germans consider leaving on time a sign of efficiency and maybe of a professional aloofness... not everyone is married to their jobs like we are back in the states. It's pretty refreshing, actually.


they all look like shit in Berlin. One of the greatest things about being here... just like your mama told you, it's certainly no "fashion show" here


YES. I am so glad I'm not the only one who noticed that fire-engine red hair!!!

berliners have about as much fashion sense as a pack of blind clowns. this much is true.

Awesome story. Fascinating!

I read about the leaving on time = efficient thing too actually. I agree with them. In London people waste so many hours after 5 just pretending to be busy. Well, and I grew up in Rome where everyone takes 3 hour lunches, is delayed by an hour because of 'rain' and where everyone avoids work like the plague so I guess I only have the hardcore workaholic culture to experience.

Wow, all of this hammering down on the Germans is hysterical. Thought the topic was "Unfair stereotypes of Germans".

I could more easily hammer down on the Brits with a lot more fun. Much easier target as there is much more to rip apart.

And, as for my country, the linguistically-challeneged USA <SARCASM> WE'RE NUMBER ONE!!! </SARCASM

You see, we ALL have our foibles.

As for Germans being serious... In the work place (I work in a landesbank), I find my colleagues incredibly focused and serious during work time. They like lunch time as well as a couple of coffee breaks each day. I never hear about work during this time. If we all go out after, I find my colleagues hysterical and up for a good drinking night. (I still can't figure what all the hype is about this hideous Altbier here in Düsseldorf, btw, much prefer a Kölsch) I love the Germans work/ life balance. when work is done, it's done. Unlike my country where everyone is so career "ladder" obsessed. Or unlike London, where everyone is so "property ladder" obsessed... let's build a castle we can't afford to live an and pretend we're royal! Yeah! It is not so important to Germans as a whole. They want their free time to be free. I like this ideal.

There is plenty to bitch about here, but there is much to love and admire about the Germans as well. Nowhere and nobody is going to be 100% perfect, except, of course, if your from NYC. lol

They sure are a hot natured people, I mean I am dying of heat everywhere I go, Winter and Summer. Why no AC in this country? I hate not having AC and I am from Chicago.