Myths About The German People
June 15th, 2007 by Olga VictorovnaSo what are the first associations that come to your head when you think about Germany? Beer, order, punctuality? The text in italica comes from our German experts – people who live there.
The German are very punctual
“It used to be the case but there are still some people to whom this applies. I try to be one of them.”
“Punctuality is something that changes a lot. I think I’m very German in Germany, in other countries I get used to the difference. When you live in an environment where time needs to be organised every working day it is much easier to get around when you can rely on punctuality. Unpunctual people “steel” my time when they make me wait for them.”
Heaven is a place where the police are English; the chefs are Italian; the car mechanics are German; the lovers are French and it’s all organized by the Swiss.
The German love order and hate chaos
“TRUE”
“I think most Germans are as chaotic as others – at least – Europeans. I like order too, but when I have a good book or the sun is shining, I don?t care about cleaning up.”
“This one is SO RIGHT! I experience this all over again every day.”
Germans love Order. Little children are taught to keep diaries to schedule all events and things to happen or to buy. There are lots of rules that they never break. Tourists from other countries are shocked to see a German waiting for the green light to cross the empty street.
There is a person that is considered to be the father of order establishment. It was Fridrih Wilhelm 1 (1740 – 1888). He grew up in officers’ quarters and by the time he took the throne Fridrih became a real martinet. He loved the army regulations and did everything in his power to habituate the whole nation to it. The soldier’s values became most important. A soldier mustn’t waste money. Fridrih’s crowning ceremony cost 2547 thalers (his father spent 6 million thalers!). A soldier must obey the regulations. And Wilhelm issued lots of them that every subject had to obey. The punishment was severe. His own son tried to take the flight to England but was caught. The man who helped the boy was hung right the opposite the window of the boy’s room. A soldier must not be very learned. Fridrih Wilhelm drove out of the country Gotfrid Laybnits, a great scientist, saying: “We do not need a scholar that can not stand guard.” But all this led to the flourishing of the country. They say judge the flock by its priest. The people had nothing to do but to obey and got accustomed to the new life style. Sure Fridrih Wilhelm 1 is not alone responsible for what the German are now but he contributed his mite.
The German are not emotional
The comments I got to this were: “False”, “Absolute nonsense”, “A sheer stereotype”. Sounds convincing?
“We are not as direct as Italians, Greeks or Spanish people – but not as buttoned up as the English. But – I know English people who are very open, direct and emotional, and closed up Greeks… it all changes, and that’s good…”
How about Cologne Carnival – Fastnacht? Over 2 million people have great fun in carnival processions. There are hilarious performances here and there. Everybody wears carnival clothes. Women cut the neck ties from men and rule the whole city that time. This enchanting sight of so many joyful people kills the idea of emotional lack in German people.
The German are sober-minded
“Germans are people as well and all people are different and same at the same time.”
“Yes, we are sober-minded. That includes the German who knows everything better than others, but also Germans who organise quickly and effectively to help. German women are usually better in reflecting how they act against other people, men are often mindless and even like to be the “ugly” German.”
Probably that trait of character makes the Germans produce thing of highest quality, that other nations are glad to use. For example, 90% of all hard cash in the world (including American dollars and Russian rubles) is typed on German printing-presses produced by Koening & Bauer company.
The German can’t live without beer
“I know a lot of German men who like to drink beer (so do German woman as well sometimes), but definitely are able to live without it. You grow up with it, it’s quite cheap and when you drink your first you start to “count”. And by the way it’s practical this usually small bottle.”
“That’s really hard to tell. Almost all German men like beer, but it’s not that all of them couldn’t live without it. My boyfriend drinks one glass of beer maybe once a week, at the most. So, generally, I wouldn’t agree with this one.”
The statistics say that an average German drinks 146 litres of beer per year. During the beer festival Oktoberfest they drink 7 000 000 litres of beer in less than 3 weeks! To tell the truth a few millions of tourists help them in that;) Every year lots of lost things are found after the festival. There are some weird thing among them like a quail in the coop, a wedding ring (the bride lost it next day after the wedding;), and a set of false teeth.
Special thanks to our German experts:
Carola Eschrich