So German? Was Ausländer über Deutsche denken | Meet the Germans

What generalizations does the rest

of the world make about Germany?

I've picked out five German stereotypes,

how much truth is in them,

and where did they come from.

But first of all,

which ones annoy Germans the most?

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Romanticized images of Germany often

include a woman dressed like this.

This is a dirndl, and the male equivalent

is lederhosen, literally, leather trousers.

These types of folk clothing are very

specifically linked to the southern

state of Bavaria and neighboring Austria.

You might come across people wearing them

day-to-day in Bavaria,

but it's most common on special occasions

and during festivals like Oktoberfest.

The dirndl is just one example

of folk costume in Germany.

Most traditional dress, known as Tracht,

started out as work clothes for peasants.

Various aspects of traditional idealized

German culture, including Tracht,

were later used in Nazi propaganda.

The dirndl even got a bit of a makeover

under the Nazi regime, a lower neckline,

a slightly shorter skirt,

and a tighter waist.

The designs seen today vary

from very traditional to very modern.

And apparently,

the position of the apron's bow

can indicate relationship status.

For example, tied on the right means

married or engaged,

and on the left means single.

The stereotypical image of a German also

tends to include a beer in the hand,

usually in one of these enormous glasses.

In fact, the mass is another element

of Bavarian culture that has somehow come

to dominate the image of Germans abroad.

Germany actually has an impressive range

of glassware, sometimes with a specific

glass to go with a specific type of beer,

like this kölsch glass from Cologne.

Of course, not all Germans like beer,

but it is an important part of the culture

overall, with different beers also

connected to regional identities.

Traditional brews which follow the rules

of the Beer Purity Law still dominate,

but the country has seen

a boom in craft varieties too.

And the popularity of non-alcoholic beer

shows that the Germans' taste for beer

is more than just a thirst for alcohol.

Cheers to that.

[FOREIGN LANGUAGE] so goes the German saying

which means that punctuality in Germany

means arriving five minutes early.

Well, whoever decided this

forgot to tell the trains.

It's practically a national sport

here to moan about train delays.

And after four years of commuting,

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

But a lot of German people do pride

themselves on being on time,

and punctuality is a characteristic you

see again and again

attributed to the Germans.

So, where did this punctual

reputation come from?

Let's talk to a time expert.

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That brings us on to the next stereotype,

German efficiency, which gets

a big thumbs down from me.

A dictionary definition of efficient is

working or operating quickly

and effectively in an organized way.

Okay, so the Germans might have

the organization part down,

but speed and effectiveness, not so much.

Did you know it took 632 years to finish

building the Cologne Cathedral?

A more modern case study that brought

global visions of German efficiency

crashing down was the new BER Airport

in Berlin, a project plagued

with problems from the get-go.

It finally opened in 2020,

billions of euros over budget and 10 years

behind schedule,

just in time for the coronavirus to hit,

bringing most air traffic to a standstill.

Interestingly,

it often seems that the Germans' love

of precision and planning

actually gets in their way.

If Germany ever wants to live up to its

efficient reputation, it's gonna

have to break up with bureaucracy.

What was it Mark Twain apparently said?

"A German joke is no laughing matter."

Bit harsh, Mark.

Personally, I know plenty of funny

Germans, and I think most people

appreciate good comedy, right? [APPLAUSE]

However, what is sometimes missing

from the comedic toolbox here is

the ability to take things a little less

seriously and have a good

old laugh at yourself.

But don't take my word for it.

Let's talk to someone who knows a lot

about the German relationship with humor.

Gayle Tufts is a comedian

from the United States who's been

in Germany for more than 30 years.

This country is the size of Texas,

but it is incredibly regional,

and not just with accents,

but also with what they eat,

what they drink, and when they laugh.

The people who live,

come from the Rhineland,

they're, they're ready to laugh.

They're ready to have a good time.

They're the party people of this country.

And then the Berliners have seen

everything because it is

the cultural capital of this country.

So, they'll all sit back and say,

"Well, tell me about it.

Hmm?"

And the North Germans

are incredibly dry, but really smart.

And in the South,

there's a warmheartedness.

In Stuttgart,

for example, talk about food.

You can do a 20-minute

monolog about bread.

They will be rolling

in the aisles in Stuttgart.

So, where does the no sense

of humor reputation come from?

You have to kind of go back

to the Second World War.

In those glorious

the golden '20s where there was so much

entertainment and so much theater,

a lot of the Germans that were

involved in that were Jewish.

And they were either exterminated

and murdered, or they fled to the States.

And after the war, of course,

things weren't that funny because

where does comedy come from?

It comes from my experience,

my storytelling.

And I think there was an entire generation

that it was very difficult

to find the humor in anything.

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

there were some great,

great German comedians.

Loriot, for example.

In the '90s and the 2000s,

all of a sudden,

comedy clubs started popping up,

and mic shows where there would be

four different comedians a night.

And now you've got a,

a comedian for every taste.

Germans do have a sense of humor,

and thankfully, it's thriving because in

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

I'd love to know how many of these things

are part of your image of Germany

and which stereotypes from your

country get on your nerves the most.

Leave us a comment.