Curiosities about Germany http://germancuriosities.posterous.com Most recent posts at Curiosities about Germany posterous.com Sat, 30 Jul 2011 06:51:00 -0700 Getting rid of German Stereotypes (or maybe not?) http://germancuriosities.posterous.com/getting-rid-of-german-stereotypes-or-maybe-no http://germancuriosities.posterous.com/getting-rid-of-german-stereotypes-or-maybe-no

 

 

 

     This is how German men are typically depicted abroad: beer-loving, lederhosen- and hat-wearing, tall, fat and of course with a huge beard. German women are tall as well, strongly built with huge breasts, have blue eyes, blond hair and wear pig tails. Do Germans really look like this? Are all of them heavy beer drinkers, sauerkraut and bratwurst eaters, strict, unfriendly and rude people? 

 

    Before we tackle these questions, here is an introductory video about some common German stereotypes:

 

 

 

 

    Now let's take a closer look at the stereotypes and look for some truth.

 

1. Germans are tall, fat, blonde and have blue eyes. They wear lederhosen and dirndls all the time.

    In contrast to South European, South American, Asian and other countries where people are rather short, Germans seem to be generally tall. However, there are exceptions and of course, you can find short Germans as well.

   Obesity has increased, but that's a problem a lot of countries have to deal with lately. And, of course, not everybody is fat.

   There are blonde, blue-eyed people in Germany, but less than you will find in Northern Europe and more Germans actually rather have brown (in all kinds of shades) than blond hair. Eye colors range from green over blue and grey to brown.

   Lederhosen (leather pants) and dirndls (a traditional dress) will most likely be found in Bavaria, a state in the south of Germany, and in Austria. But even there, people don't dress in lederhosen and dirndls every day. It is most common to see it at the Oktoberfest.

 

 

2. Germans drink beer like water and love the Oktoberfest.

    Germans do drink a lot of beer. In 2010, the average German drank 101,8 liters of beer, actually reaching a low during that year, with most of the beer being drunken by Bavarians and North Rhine Westphalians (NRW is a state in the west of Germany). But the fact that a lot of Germans like to drink beer does not mean that we drink beer like water. Germans love to drink coffee as well (in the morning, after lunch, in the afternoon...), a lot of water, juice, "Schorlen" (juice mixed with sparkling water), soda, etc. Germans most likely only have beer sometimes after work or on the weekends, unless they are alcoholics. We are said to be able to drink a lot and I guess that, in general, that's true.

    The Oktoberfest takes place every fall in Munich, Bavaria, and is known world-wide. It attracts tourists from all over the world, but also Germans (70% of them being Bavarians, just to let you know).

 

 

3. Germans love sauerkraut, bratwurst and pretzels.

   I would like to know where the sauerkraut myth comes from as I don't know anybody who is crazy about sauerkraut. It is eaten in Germany, yes, but when I encountered this here on the Chicagoer "Christkindlsmarket" last year, I was seriously shocked:

 

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   We would never even think of eating bratwurst or leberkäse with sauerkraut!   

   As for bratwurst, I guess the stereotype is partly true. Pretty much every region in Germany has their own style of bratwurst, so there is an endless variety of bratwurst. But again, there are Germans who don't even like bratwurst and it is not eaten that frequently by most families.

   Pretzels are typical for Bavaria (once again), but known in other parts of Germany as well.

 

 

4. The good old German punctuality and efficiency

    The term German punctuality exists in several non-German countries. Of course not every German is always on time, but in general, you can say that this stereotype is a true one.

    It is very important for Germans to arrive on time and we will rather arrive 5 minutes early than 5 minutes too late. An exception is if you are invited to a party and know that a lot of people will be arriving. In this case it is usually okay to arrive a little late.

   Public transportation should always be on time and Germans can get really angry if it isn't. "Time is money!" In many cities, there are also "tickers" indicating in how many minutes the bus/train/whatever will be arrriving.

   The stereotype of Germans being depicted as efficient, hard-working and industrious is based on the Wirtschaftswunder after the Second World War when Germany quickly revived economically.

 

 

5. The land of poets, thinkers... scientists and engineers

    Germany is known as "das Land der Dichter und Denker" (country of poets and thinkers). Ever heard of Goethe and Schiller? A great deal of Germany's literature of the 19th century was written by them and they remain important German figures.

    Well-known German scientists and engineers are, amongst others, Albert Einstein, Konrad Röntgen (discovered x-rays), Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz (invented the automobile), Karl-Heinz Brandenburg (developed mp3), Johannes Gutenberg (invented printing with moveable letters), Otto Lilienthal (constructed airplanes)...

    Well-known German brands include Adidas, Aldi, Audi, Beyer, Beiersdorf, Bosch, BMW, Lufthansa, Mercedes Benz, Puma, Siemens, Volkswagen and Porsche.

 

 

6. Germans stick to rules and fear the unknown

    We do have a lot of rules, be it in the class rooms, traffic, in any kind of public institution or public transportation. It is required to stick to these rules and otherwise you get punished. You don't have a ticket for the public transportation? - You have to pay 40€. You drove too fast and got caught? - Depending on how fast you were and how much above the limit, there are fees, seminars or they will even take your license away (for some time or longer). We might seem stricter than people in other cultures, but rules do give us a sense of security.

    Germans have rules for everything. And that's just how we grow up. It's also linked with the fear of the unknown. "I've always done it this way and it's always worked perfectly. Why should I change a thing?"  There is just a specific way things ought to be done and that's it.

 

 

Of course this was only a small insight into stereotypes about Germans and there is a lot more to talk about. As with stereotypes of every culture, there is usually some truth to it, but even if so, there can only be generalizations made.

 

I will be tackling other interesting topics in the future as well, so stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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