WEBVTT

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What generalizations does the rest

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of the world make about Germany?

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I've picked out five German stereotypes,

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how much truth is in them,

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and where did they come from.

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But first of all,

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which ones annoy Germans the most?

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[FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

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[FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

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[FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

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[FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

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[FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

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Romanticized images of Germany often

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include a woman dressed like this.

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This is a dirndl, and the male equivalent

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is lederhosen, literally, leather trousers.

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These types of folk clothing are very

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specifically linked to the southern

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state of Bavaria and neighboring Austria.

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You might come across people wearing them

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day-to-day in Bavaria,

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but it's most common on special occasions

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and during festivals like Oktoberfest.

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The dirndl is just one example

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of folk costume in Germany.

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Most traditional dress, known as Tracht,

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started out as work clothes for peasants.

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Various aspects of traditional idealized

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German culture, including Tracht,

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were later used in Nazi propaganda.

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The dirndl even got a bit of a makeover

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under the Nazi regime, a lower neckline,

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a slightly shorter skirt,

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and a tighter waist.

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The designs seen today vary

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from very traditional to very modern.

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And apparently,

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the position of the apron's bow

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can indicate relationship status.

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For example, tied on the right means

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married or engaged,

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and on the left means single.

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The stereotypical image of a German also

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tends to include a beer in the hand,

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usually in one of these enormous glasses.

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In fact, the mass is another element

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of Bavarian culture that has somehow come

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to dominate the image of Germans abroad.

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Germany actually has an impressive range

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of glassware, sometimes with a specific

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glass to go with a specific type of beer,

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like this kölsch glass from Cologne.

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Of course, not all Germans like beer,

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but it is an important part of the culture

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overall, with different beers also

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connected to regional identities.

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Traditional brews which follow the rules

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of the Beer Purity Law still dominate,

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but the country has seen

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a boom in craft varieties too.

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And the popularity of non-alcoholic beer

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shows that the Germans' taste for beer

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is more than just a thirst for alcohol.

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Cheers to that.

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[FOREIGN LANGUAGE] so goes the German saying

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which means that punctuality in Germany

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means arriving five minutes early.

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Well, whoever decided this

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forgot to tell the trains.

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It's practically a national sport

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here to moan about train delays.

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And after four years of commuting,

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I'm well and truly on board, so to speak.

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But a lot of German people do pride

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themselves on being on time,

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and punctuality is a characteristic you

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see again and again

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attributed to the Germans.

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So, where did this punctual

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reputation come from?

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Let's talk to a time expert.

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[FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

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[FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

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[FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

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That brings us on to the next stereotype,

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German efficiency, which gets

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a big thumbs down from me.

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A dictionary definition of efficient is

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working or operating quickly

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and effectively in an organized way.

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Okay, so the Germans might have

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the organization part down,

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but speed and effectiveness, not so much.

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Did you know it took 632 years to finish

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building the Cologne Cathedral?

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A more modern case study that brought

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global visions of German efficiency

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crashing down was the new BER Airport

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in Berlin, a project plagued

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with problems from the get-go.

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It finally opened in 2020,

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billions of euros over budget and 10 years

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behind schedule,

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just in time for the coronavirus to hit,

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bringing most air traffic to a standstill.

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Interestingly,

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it often seems that the Germans' love

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of precision and planning

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actually gets in their way.

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If Germany ever wants to live up to its

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efficient reputation, it's gonna

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have to break up with bureaucracy.

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What was it Mark Twain apparently said?

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"A German joke is no laughing matter."

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Bit harsh, Mark.

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Personally, I know plenty of funny

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Germans, and I think most people

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appreciate good comedy, right? [APPLAUSE]

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However, what is sometimes missing

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from the comedic toolbox here is

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the ability to take things a little less

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seriously and have a good

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old laugh at yourself.

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But don't take my word for it.

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Let's talk to someone who knows a lot

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about the German relationship with humor.

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Gayle Tufts is a comedian

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from the United States who's been

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in Germany for more than 30 years.

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This country is the size of Texas,

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but it is incredibly regional,

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and not just with accents,

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but also with what they eat,

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what they drink, and when they laugh.

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The people who live,

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come from the Rhineland,

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they're, they're ready to laugh.

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They're ready to have a good time.

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They're the party people of this country.

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And then the Berliners have seen

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everything because it is

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the cultural capital of this country.

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So, they'll all sit back and say,

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"Well, tell me about it.

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Hmm?"

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And the North Germans

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are incredibly dry, but really smart.

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And in the South,

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there's a warmheartedness.

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In Stuttgart,

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for example, talk about food.

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You can do a 20-minute

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monolog about bread.

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They will be rolling

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in the aisles in Stuttgart.

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So, where does the no sense

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of humor reputation come from?

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You have to kind of go back

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to the Second World War.

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In those glorious

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the golden '20s where there was so much

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entertainment and so much theater,

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a lot of the Germans that were

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involved in that were Jewish.

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And they were either exterminated

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and murdered, or they fled to the States.

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And after the war, of course,

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things weren't that funny because

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where does comedy come from?

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It comes from my experience,

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my storytelling.

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And I think there was an entire generation

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that it was very difficult

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to find the humor in anything.

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Although once the '50s, '60s started,

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there were some great,

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great German comedians.

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Loriot, for example.

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In the '90s and the 2000s,

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all of a sudden,

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comedy clubs started popping up,

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and mic shows where there would be

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four different comedians a night.

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And now you've got a,

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a comedian for every taste.

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Germans do have a sense of humor,

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and thankfully, it's thriving because in

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these times, we all need a sense of humor. [APPLAUSE]

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I'd love to know how many of these things

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are part of your image of Germany

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and which stereotypes from your

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country get on your nerves the most.

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Leave us a comment.