Sat 20 Jan 2007
(Oberlehrer = Chief Teacher (Upper teacher? – I have a problem with correct translation), „oberlehrerhaft“ means somthing close to „knowing everything better then others“)
Where does this prejudice come from? At least we even had it as a comment according this blog. So some deep truth in it?
Germany has had a long tradition of „better not tell what you think – the Authority (Lord, King, Führer) will know it better and might punish you for your opinion”. In the same time there is a big tradition of scientists, writers, philosophers who where born, raised and worked in Germany and its predecessors. For a long time our Country was called „The country of the poets and philosopher“. So maybe people had to tell something.
But „oberlehrerhaft“ doesn’t describe, that you have to tell something. It describes the way you are telling it: To lift the finger and to announce the only truth! So it means, that Germans do not respect others opinions, because they „own“ the only truth? What if we do? Maybe we are better educated, maybe we are ahead in discussion, maybe we know the best way?
Pointing on german historie, you’ll find a 1000 years period (from 1933-1945), while Germany knew the truth, but didn’t argue. A bit later Germany got new rules and laws from people who knew better.
In Germany „Lehrer“ (teacher) are civil servants. Germans own prejudice against those officials: They duck and hide themselves, as soon as an authority apears - or simply someone argues better - or just louder … just do not leave them the last word. We should have done it this way more often …
April 10th, 2007 at 12:43 am
germans are not all rude my family is german and they are not rude at all
May 10th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Germans are rude, period. They are self serving, superficial and have no idea what is going on around them. clueless little trolls who whine and bitch, but dont have the gumption to do anything about it.
May 19th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
NO THERE R NOT RUDE
May 21st, 2007 at 3:15 am
the man is an idiot he shouldn’t be bitching on how Germans are rude Germans aren’t rude at all and i think out of the three of the posters he has the the least sense.
June 21st, 2007 at 2:06 pm
i am german. i suppose “oberlehrerhaft” would be “bossy”. in think that germans are more direct in their behavior. if a german family eats dinner and somebody is asked wether he likes it, he would (in a nice way) say that it not really his favorite meal. i think english would alway lie and say that the meal is lovely. so in a way the germans are more honest andsometimes prefer the truth to harmony. in other culture people think that’s very rude…
June 26th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
Rude? Are you crazy?! The Germans are cool, smarts, and cultural rich. They are polite. And know about the world… very different of americans, that lieves looking to their own belly!
June 27th, 2007 at 1:37 am
“the man” is a complete idiot.And how dare he say such nonscence.if any one is rude and bitchy i’d say its him. my parents both came from germany to the u.s. and neather of them is rude in any way except the time me and my dad had a burping contast but that only happend one time.to tell the truth I’m happy this blog was put up because i’ve had to listen and deal continuslly to german steriotypes.like tell me do you think germans are scary,or strict beond all consent,or just skinny because it’s in our genes.when we were learning about the world wars the whole class including the teacher turned and looked at me after almost every sentance.and there were many more.
August 9th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
I just met a VERY nice German man here in the U.S. When we met he had only been in the states for a week. He has been extremely polite and forward with me. He is also very knowledgeable of other cultures and what is going on in the world. He has been teaching me and even though his English is not great it is amazing how when I piece together his words I find that what he is communicating is extremely intelligent and well thought out.. I now WISH to meet more German Men.. It doesn’t hurt that he is gorgeous too!! I can’t wait to go to Germany now..
October 5th, 2007 at 9:43 am
I think in Germany it’s the same than in every country. Some people are very nice, polite and open-minded, others are rude, bossy etc. You just can’t stereotype an entire nation..
By the way I’m german and I’ve lived in the US before.
November 3rd, 2007 at 5:59 am
i have known and worked with various germans over the years. while i don’t find them to be rude, i have noticed that they can be quite loud and opinionated at times.
some of you might not like to hear it but many people consider germans to be the americans of europe.
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Hello I am German and I lived in America for half a year with an American hostfamily. I rather figured out American girls can be mean and rude, but not Germans! ;)
December 24th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Germans are very rude, especially when in a group and with English speaking people, they always revert to German. VERY RUDE PEOPLE.
December 26th, 2007 at 2:55 am
I’ve lived in Germany for a long time now. I’ve had a lot of time to experience many different people. My overall opinion of Germans is that they are very blunt and for some reason can not help but to point out when someone does something wrong. Even for the smallest infraction you will always at least get a dirty look. Additionally, when working with Germans, they will always tell you that you are doing something the wrong way if they think that their way is better.
To the German people, this all seems quite normal, but to the outsider, who may be used to a more polite environment, it can definitely seem quite rude.
Most Germans I know are aware of this particular personality trait, and even poke fun at themselves, but, continue to do it anyway. Such is life.
January 10th, 2008 at 1:50 am
Like people everywhere… some Germans are rude, some are not. In the US its the same way… some regions there may be a higher tendency towards rudeness than others (such as the Northeast or California versus perhaps the Midwest) but overall it will be a mixed bag everywhere.
I think if there are any perceived gaps its mainly cultural norms, not genuine rudeness. I know many Germans that find Americans tendency to greet someone by asking them how they are as shallow b/c they really aren’t asking the question, its just courtesy. In Germany by contrast, if the question is asked it is truly meant, but if a German doesn’t care how you are you won’t hear anything at all. Again, its not necessarily rudeness, just a cultural norm.
I enjoyed traveling in Germany very much and found Germans to be accommodating of my (near total) inability to speak German. Germans I know in America are slow to open up, but a friend for life once they do.
Frankly, its just 2 different ways of handling people.
April 20th, 2008 at 5:59 am
I’ve only been to Germany once. If Germans like the blunt truth, then here it is:
they were all, indeed, overweight and grouchy. A lot of Americans are also overweight, so I can’t point fingers, but the grouchiness factor was unpleasant. Everyone looked miserable. Maybe I was in a depressed area. I don’t know. They weren’t obnoxious so much as appearing bitter.
April 30th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Well Well well, very abysmal discussion.
But.. ehehe very interessting
Iam German-Austrian and live in Vienna and as far as i can say the Vienese people are very rude i mean very rude. there is no dirt on the streets nearly no poverty but ..
In an cafe (coffebar) you probably will get your coffee thrown on your table. Evil faces and anger are underneath a big group of Austrians. We have one of the best health care systems in the world are one of the socialy richest countries in the world but you will get beaten up by a fucking business man if you behave stupid and of course everyone is going to tell you that youre absolutely incompetent and even if youre one of the best in your field somebody is gonna tell you how fucking bad you are.
Well yes all that might produce a very high standard and quality in everything Austria (exept politics :D) creates but coldness as well.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I’m an American who has lived in Germany 10 years. The majority of Germans will help their friends and family to lengths a majority of Americans won’t. This I really do admire. BUT in everyday life, Germans are unfriendly to people they don’t know and are unwilling to help even their fellow countryman. It’s one of the few countries I know where you can be fined if you don’t help someone in an emergency. Why have such a law, because most will keep on walking or driving by if you are lying in a ditch. It’s the “not my job” syndrome. Even in the neighbouring Netherlands people there will stop to ask if you need help. Here, forget it!
Over time I had to develop a very thick skin and have had to turn a bit cold hearted just to keep my blood pressure from raising and flipping out daily. If you are kind and give someone the right away in front of you, you can be sure someone behind you willing be screaming obscenities at you for slowing them down. I know Germans like to say they have very deep friendships, true, probably because they aren’t very good and making new ones. Go to a bar here alone, and you can be sure you’ll spend the day by yourself, as no one will talk to you. Germans have a saying, they call it “Typisch Deutsch” and it means being ridged, cold, rude, not helping, unfriendly, uncompromising. Any German who post here and says how friendly they are, is full of crap, they know they way it is here and why so many people are leaving. A lot of Germans themselves can’t deal with the mentality anymore and leave for either Switzerland or the USA. It’s a shame really. But there are nice people and rude people in every country. What sets Germany apart is the daily interaction with a larger number of people who exhibit unfriendly behaviour.
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:59 am
Germans need to be managed. Lithuanians are maangers of Germans, historically. We held off the Teutonic Knights, probably screwed them later, because we realize we had met an admirable contestant.
Germans are like blenders. You just have to know which buttons to push to get the performance you want. Frappe, blend, mince…
They are some of the highest performers on earth. They deliver, as long as you know the right buttons to push.
I consider their standards the highest, their devotion can be the best, their dedication based on super human stamina -
but they still need to be managed to be human.
As a American-Lithuanian woman married to a German man, I manage one every day. Some days require more strength than others, but the return is worth it. They are ultimately concerned with performance - a quality I wish many more cultures could claim.
T Becker
May 18th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
I am often asked this by Germans and I always give the diplomatic answer: “No, of course, Germans aren’t rude. How can you generalize? I have had good experiences here. Really.”.
This isn’t the truth though. This is my “nice” answer. The answer I give to appear friendly, positive and not a complete idiot for working here.
The truth is that the Germans I have encountered and life in Germany is not so nice. People here are rude, slam doors in your face, ignore you when you greet them, have no concept of customer service and are authoritarian to no end. When I first visited Germany I would sometimes be puzzled how WWII could ever have happened and how so many people could have supported such a corrupt leader. Reported their neighbours. Watched while their neigbours were shipped off and persecuted. After spending some time here(years), I have become able to understand how and why (well, to some extent).
I am eager to return home to the US soon, where people know how to treat other people. Culture aside, I think there are some basic human courtesies that we cannot ever think are too much to expect and sadly, I think the Germans have a lot to learn about how to treat your fellow human being. Sure, theirs is a different culture, but it isn’t a welcoming, friendly culture and as an American with a Canadian husband living in Germany, we have been disappointed here a lot.
May 20th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I just received a call from my husband-who is in Germany for business-to tell me how rude people are over there. I am not saying they are all like that, he also found very nice people, but he was upset by the lack of common courtesy shown especially because he is in a well known city for their trade expo and fair exhibitions. Tourists and business people are around a lot.
While trying to figure out how to take public transport, the man started to yell at him like a maniac because he put the coins in the wrong slot. He knows german so he apologize as he was not from there but that didnt stop the man. So he decided to turn his back, ignore his screams and take a cab, he could have definately punch him for such an ignorant attitude towards a foreign. No need for the drama and all the insults my poor hubby received. There is no excuse, even if he is sick to deal with foreigns all the time.
Also, there is no English or any other language guide around the city signs so it is very hard when no one wants to help you find your way. I was pissed I could not go with him but now I am just relieved.
To the rest of Germans, just accept it, unless you all one by one start to make some attitude changes, be ready take the “rude stereotype” It wouldn’t be true if it wasnt perceived for more than one.
June 5th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I am shocked at all these negative comments. I am a German, and I lived the last five years in the United Kingdom. Contrary to prevailing stereotypes, the British are rude and ignorant. They think they are polite, but being constantly ignored and ignoring the people around you isn’t polite. Queuing is a great thing, it doesn’t exist in Germany, but at least German people don’t pretend to be something they aren’t. German people don’t walk around with a fake posh accent. German people don’t try to trick fellow citizen and sell them rubbish all the time. To give an example, in Germany, a plumber will be on time, do his or her work, and charge an appropriate price. In England, a plumber will pretend to have no availability for the next two weeks, arrive six hours too late on the agreed date, not apologise, but still charge triple the price.
Although I can understand that Germans are perceived as being rude, nobody on this ridulous form actually tries to understand the cultural differences before making these superficial, negative comments.
German people are like cats. You have to earn their respect, but once you did, you have reliable friends for life who would risk their lives for you. If you prefer superficial “see you around” sort of wannabe-friends, search somewhere else. But don’t just make judgements if you have no idea what’s going on. Always playing the WWII card won’t improve relationsships between countries. Germany, like no other country on the planet, is self-critical with regard to its history. In fact, we still feel guilty 65 years later, and rightly so. So don’t call us Nazis because we actually try to learn from history.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:54 am
I think that it is ridiculous that someone could say such things. I have lived in the USA for 4 years now. I moved here from Germany when I was 17. I go to college here, and I nearly lost my accent. I am sure that I know the main differences between Germans and Americans, since I have very good friends on both sides. I think that the average German is not rude at all, but an American could consider statement made by a German as offensive or rood, because Germans are more direct and clear in what they say. For example, The average German will tell you whether he likes your ’shoes’ or not (if you ask him). The average American will tell you ‘I love your shoes’ without you even asking (even if they don’t like them). If an American would ask a German that question, and the German would answers with ‘I don’t like them’, the American would most likely consider that rude, maybe even take it personal. On the other side, a German might think that the American answer sounds ‘fake’. Overall, I have met really nice and friendly people in Germany and the United States, but you will find rude people in EVERY country. Many people have only met a hand full of natives from a certain country. You can’t just base your opinion on a whole nation on that. I think that you have to live in a country to understand the people and their culture, and to build a reasonable opinion.
July 15th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I am married to a German native. When we traveled to his very small hometown 2 years ago, I was brought to tears by how rude the people were! I speak some German, so it wasn’t lack of knowledge of the language. I seemed to be the only redhead in town, and this caused people to rudely stare as if I had just landed from the Moon. I have never had more people frown at me in response to a smile. If I never go there again, it will be too soon!
July 15th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Cheryl is right - Germans never have seen red haired people before. We have heard legends about some red haired warriors somewhere in the north, coming over the ocean on boats like dragons. So I guess, the people she met where not unfriendly but just scared like hell because of the invasion, asking themselves if they have to change their church to a palace of Odin or so.
July 20th, 2008 at 4:09 am
I have concluded that the chief difference between Germans from Germany and French folks from France is that the French will treat you rudely when you visit France, while Germans will treat you rudely when they visit America.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Germans just don’t like to lie.
What is more rude, say the truth or fake someone and lie? Lies are seen almost like betraying someone in Germany
August 8th, 2008 at 6:02 am
everyone was blond headed or had blue eyes or was both i was walking down the street in harislee with my cousin who is the perfect aryan and stands 6′5″ me my self am 6′6″ but have moderatlt tan skin and am green-hazel eyed and everyone stared we werent much taller than most people but it was as if darker people arent suposed to be that tall and as if they where makein comparison while in the states i barely draw attention
August 24th, 2008 at 10:10 am
I live in Germany and I agree 90% of Germans are not only rude but also boring people. German people don’t like foreigners, they especially don’t like British people who they blame for bombing their cities 60 years ago. They never ask themselves why this happened. The East of Germany is poor and full of neo nazi thugs who are mostly ignored by the police. The service in shops is generally terrible, the atmosphere in every German town apart from Berlin and maybe Frankfurt is provincial, gossipy, stuffy and uptight and newcomers and outsiders are treated with suspicion and socially shunned, especially foreign newcomers. The only nice Germans I have ever met are the ones who have been civilized by spending time abroad and by travelling outside Germany and this isn’t many because most Germans.
August 24th, 2008 at 10:12 am
I live in Germany and I agree 90% of Germans are not only rude but also boring people. German people don’t like foreigners, they especially don’t like British people who they blame for bombing their cities 60 years ago. They never ask themselves why this happened. The East of Germany is poor and full of neo nazi thugs who are mostly ignored by the police. The service in shops is generally terrible, the atmosphere in every German town apart from Berlin and maybe Frankfurt is provincial, gossipy, stuffy and uptight and newcomers and outsiders are treated with suspicion and socially shunned, especially foreign newcomers. Most German people treat others like they have no feelings. The only nice Germans I have ever met are the ones who have been civilized by spending time abroad and by travelling outside Germany - which since most of them hate travelling and foreigners, isn’t many Germans.
August 30th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Well I’m an unabashed Germanophile and proud of it! I find Germans for the most part to be very polite and friendly. Sure they are some rude ones but for the most part they are good people!
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:51 am
@Matt Says
Its true what you say, i live in germany for 10 years, and what you say is correct.
September 14th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Again most people count superficial chit chat to be kindness. A majority of Americans could care less about you or your feelings. They simply follow protocol.
We like things orderly and rules followed. What is galling is people travel and live in foreign countries and scream loudly when a lifestyle is different and does not conform to theirs.
Perhaps you should take more time to observe and assimilate instead of trying to strike a moral pose. Ignorance is most apparent in people who do not travel much outside of their country. America is indeed a great country but the world is made up of many cultures and they look at you much the same way you look at them.
We are all people and if someone seems rude perhaps you should look inward instead of outward all of the time.
September 15th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Germans have a complex. They dont mind rule-breaking as long as their the ones that get to break it. If anyone else does…well that person should run for their life. They are consumer robots whose goal in life is to buy a great big mercedes so they can hate on everyone who doesnt have one. Oh yea…and why be nice at the supermarket if there is no rule telling them that they have to be nice to other human beings? They can be cool, but it seems the majority of them need to take a major chill-pill and try to enjoy life a little bit. They take themselves too seriously
September 20th, 2008 at 1:37 am
You obviously have not met many German people. We need order and stability not a Mercedes which is inane. Your corner of the world is not the only one.
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:33 am
I’ve been to Germany and I found the people to be very nice there. Sure there are a few rude ones but that happens in all countries.
I’m quite proud to say that I’m a unabashed Germanophile too!:-)
October 21st, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I find that while Germans set great store by superficial, formal manners, there is little real warmth and kindness. They are keen to see everyone else obey the rules, but are opportunistic themselves (see Germany’s recent behaviour in the EU). In the end, despite their love of order and rules, they are untrustworthy friends and allies.
October 23rd, 2008 at 6:16 pm
I agreed with the above saying, I lived in Germany for ten years and I agreed 95% of Germans are indeed rude, boring, mechanized barbarism, overused logics above common sense and angry people. Not only they don’t like foreigners they also don’t like themselves, they are fake for being friendly in between conversation to each other. Customer services are definitely the worst I have even seen, terrible yet horrible, Agreed with Matt, the only nice Germans are those who have been civilized by spending time abroad and by traveling outside Germany. Most Europeans hates them, Germans think they are infinitely superior to all foreigners, regardless of the IQ of the German concerned. America and Asia got rich utilizing the skills and intelligence. Current Germany on the contrary drives out every skilled foreigner, preferring only to keep those willing to work as waiters, cleaners or street sweepers.
Germans become consumed with envy and jealousy if they see a foreigner with more skills or assets than themselves.
They drive out foreigners not with laws but with coldness, mercilessness, hardheartedness and prejudice.
My advice to all foreigners in Germany: leave for a friendlier emigration country; last one out lock the door and leave the Germans to destroy each other with their petty jealousies and cold hearted hatred. (Its in their DNA)
October 24th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
i may be just a a teenager but i sure do have a view on the germans …. after reading all the posts i took a survey and noticed that the there were more people who said that the germans are not rude (11) and people who said the germans were rude were a number of 7….and people who were not quite sure a number of 10.. i think it all depends on the person … majority of the people on here say that germans rather tell the truth than lie and many people(even people i know) find that rude …. its beacuase they would rather have nice things said about them or other things than what is really true…. i hate people who lie soo i guess i would love to meet some german people …
again it depends on the person …eg: a foreigner goes up to a local and asks for help on where to go to or something like that … they either say they busy and walk off or they would gladly help and show/tell you what you want to know …. i like german people and hope i learn in the future what they are really like … … i would also like to point out their history (WWll) ALOT of the germans then were either brainwashed or forced or had to support hitler because if not they would of been killed or sent to concentration camps…you dont know their backgrounds . my overall is expereince it for your self.you are going to find rude people all over the globe ….they are not only in germany , but also in usa and africa….germans ay also be rude to some foreigners because of where the foreigners come from considering the countries who fought in WWll :usa,london,japan,france,russia,italy,poland,yugoslavia and so on ….. they take things like that seriously….your being rude yourself by saying germans are rude …. you speaking of yourself then … i dont know germans my self , im saying wat i think … dont rash on me because of this ….
November 20th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
I totally agree with you. Enough about World War II. The Germans have paid for what they did so lets try to be fair with them.
Lets have an end to German bashing!
November 21st, 2008 at 11:58 pm
I have lived in Germany for 7 months now, and every day, I wonder why I have come here.
They are rude. Sure, there are rude people all of the globe, but the ratio and sheer density of rude people (Berlin) is astonishing to me. (No I am not American).
I have just came back from Paris, and was shocked at how warm and lovely the people were there. So much so, I didn’t want to return to Germany.
German behaviour is alike to kindergarten children seen the world over.
Push in front of others to get a sweet (or in an adult Germans case a shop queue)..Don’t ever hold the door open for anyone, and make sure you race ahead if anyone is going to get on the bus through the door before you .. the cold hard bewildered stares they give to foreigners on the train.. One woman even stood right in front of me in an art gallery her shoulder about 0.5cm away from my chin. (And yes she saw me standing in front of the painting but to her my presence was not worth acknowledging).I was so embarasssed for her. Children get away with this kind of behaviour in other countries, but for Germans, it seems it is okay to continue on that way into adulthood.
All I can feel is deep embarassment for them.
90% of Germans.. not all, some are lovely.. but in general…
Opportunists? Yes.
Greedy? For sure.
Happiness and creativity? - they have never heard of it.
Cringe-worthy nation of sheer walking-talking embarrasment - for sure.
December 8th, 2008 at 10:56 am
I definitely agree with the sentiments above hating Germans for being rude especially at customer service. I have personally experienced it myself. They suck. It’s like they don’t want to help you at all. I was just asking for a tourist map and then this bigot at the tourist information counter (Cologne Haufbanhof) just slammed the map on his desk right infront of me. He’s such a grouchy stinky old German. Germans suck!
January 1st, 2009 at 8:30 am
Guess what! SO weird, I could have just imagined it, but this German dude SMILED and even said ‘Guten Morgen’ AND I didn’t even know him?! Almost fainted. True story. I was going to ask him to do it again so i can film it for proof.
January 7th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I dont think German people are rude at all, one of my best buddies is German who comes to the UK often, i feel the war a taboo subject and he mentions it more than I do in conversation and says “it should never be forgotten”, you can find rude people in anyplace you go, i remember Athens taxi drivers having to attend courses when they held the olympic games as they were stereotyped as being rude.I think German people just like their own space and I dont blame them.
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Well I’m german, but I live in belgium and work in the netherlands and was with a british girl for years.
I remember that some of her friends and familiy thought that i’m rude as well, while I found the constant british need for avoiding anything that might cause an embarassing situation quite ridiculus, and tiring because I always had to read the bodylanguage more than listening to the words spoken in order to understand what was really said a.s.o.
I’d call that intercultural missunderstanding and it requires an effort from both sides.
Many germans are not that confident about their english skills (younger generation) or do not speak english at all(older gen). So if the person you’re trying to speak to is passing by it might be that they do not understand you or are simply afraid to talk english, or both.
You can call this rude from the german for not talking to you at all, or blunt from the anglo saxon for exspecting everybody round the world to speak his language.
Finally I would say, that also in germany like any other country it sometimes depends on the region as well. In Berlin i find the people somekind of arrogant as well, still I like the city. In Hamburg the people are somewhat reserved and overly polite which gives a somewaht stiff impression. However if you have a night out in St. Pauli, not only Reeperbahn, you’ll have lots of fun.
Frankfurt I always feel uncomfortable as well, it seems that money always atracts crime no matter where you go.
Stuttgart: swabian thoroughness that produces world class cars from Porsche and Mercedes. Also very stylish bars. People can be rude sometimes yes… nice also if they know you better.
My fav city is cologne, which is very lifely and warm, great nightlife and definitely friendliest people. If your new in town and need a flat best ask a taxidriver, he/she’ll probably drive you directly to a place that is for rent.
I think germany and the germans are as good as any other place in the world, in their own way of course.
March 1st, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Oh my god this is a nice forum cause it gives me the opportunity to tell you few of the fairy tales i have experienced living in this terrible mesh that is called Deutschland!!! Where should i start from then? should i refer to the people that are so fucked up that they do not like even their ownselves? should i remember the countless times that irrogant german bastards came to correct me even for the most ridiculous little crappy thing cause they falsely thought we were still in the Nazi era? I have experienced so much crap in this shithole that is called germany and i am glad i am gonna leave it soon!
peoples are rude, irrogant, real psychos that have nothing better to do with their fucking free time apart from trying constantly to pick on their neighbours/unknown peoples because e.g. they parked their car the wrong way, they did not clean the pavement sufficiently because….because basically they do NOT have anything better to do with their fucking pathetic miserable life!!!!
so fucked up people i have never met before in my life! they are so irrogant and the try to control each other’s lifes here!!!!
no friendly smiles, only hypocritical supposed-to-be politeness…till the moment they come to you and bast your balls because you did not do the thing the way the believe was correct. no wonder that they comitted those freaky crimes against humanity!!!
as for the rest that was already mentioned…custom service….it is simply inexistent and will never exist! the best thing is that when they go abroad they play the nice civilized ones!!! hahahahahaha! it makes me lough their pathetic hypocritisism!! if people new what sort of annoying bastards they were, they would sput on their miserable moody face! pessimistic annoying moaning and always negative peoples!!! this country needs rehabilitation for good! and ofcourse psychiatric help!
you see it as well when you speak with germans that left the country. they perfectly agree with my comments. so…..
March 5th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Germans are notorious for being the rudest exchange students at the high school I just graduated from. My high school was like an international school with an ESL program and many exchange programs (including short term and long term exchanges from England, China, Japan, Germany, Indonesia, Belgium, France ect.) My school has a really difficult time finding host family’s for German exchange students because of their manners.
Fitting the stereotype was an exchange student my family hosted from Germany. In two days we took her to the markets, swimming, to the shopping centre, for walks, and for a drive around the city. We bought soda water, German bread, more of the less tropical fruit ect because she said she was feeling homesick. We arranged for her German friend, who’d also come on the exchange, to come and visit her. She said she wanted to do dancing, so we arranged tango classes for her to do because she was interested in that. She lasted only two days.
She kept complaining to her German mother that we were doing nothing with her, that she was bored and that no one was talking with her. In truth, she had taken over our computer, our home phone and had used up $150 in credit on her mobile phone. Whilst everyone in my family was trying really hard to talk to her, she completely ignored everyone but me (and I don’t even speak German). She would stay up most of the night hitting the furniture and yelling on her mobile phone. She insisted on going for walks not only in the day time, but late at night despite the fact we explained that my street is very dangerous to walk about at night (people have been raped and murdered quite recently on my street). This put my family in danger, because my mum was worried so someone had to accompany the exchange students on her stupid walks.
Apparently this behaviour is really common with German exchange students. All of my friends who have hosted a German exchange student have had the same kind of problems (bar one- his exchange student was very positive, polite and well mannered…which is why my family thought it would be okay to host a German exchange student in the first place…but his is sadly the only success story). The teacher who picked the exchange student up from our house said that they have trouble finding host families for German exchange students because no one wants to host a German exchange student.
On the other hand, my family hosted two Japanese exchange students who were extremely polite, well mannered and lovely. My family adored them and our house is open to them if they ever decide to come here on holiday!!!
March 13th, 2009 at 12:30 am
I’m from Germany and i have to say that some of us are real Retards which don’t want to learn a thing from others and like to get drunk every weekend or something like that… And some of them are kind, happy, intelligent and nice but also very very Shy.
I was in a little exchange program in the summer holidays. I’ve been sent to GB for 2 weeks. I lived with 4 other Kids in a very small room. The 1. Week was the best week we had. We missed nothing, we all had have fun but then in the 2. week, i was just disappointed. Our guest Family got so rude on us. Me and one of my friends came from the Disco. We were 15 minutes late for Dinner. And then, they told us we can’t get Dinner because we were late. So we didn’t get anything to eat and had have to go to bed.
Every Country has some People who are really rude and stuff. But also have some Nice Guys in there. No Country is perfect.
Greets
John(14)
March 18th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
That hurts a lot to read all this stuff. I move to the US six month ago, and now i know that all the friendly words i hear from the people about me and my family are all FAKE. Now i know that the english speaking people hate us germans. Thanx for open my eyes. I will never ever trust the people over here.
March 20th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
I’m an Australian who recently went on an exchange to Germany. Yes, there were definitely some rude Germans, but most of the people I met were kind and welcoming. It’s very different to Australia though :)
The only bad things I would say about Germans is that:
1) You always think I’m American and
2) You’re not very nice about my bad German :D
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
to houhou:
Even complete retards like you enjoy German technology and know-how in some way. I am sure you have no idea what I am talking about, but try to Google some technical advances in the last two hundred years, be amazed how many of these are German and then shut the fuck up.
I take the insults back, if you are American. Becuase then, of course, you can not know it better.
Oh. I nearly forgot. Concerning crimes against humanity. If you are American, French, Belgian, Rwandan, Congloese, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Russian, Turkish or nearly any other nationality around, then shut the fuck up and get yourself some history lessons before making yourself look stupid.
Greetings from Brazil - yeah you heard me, we are fucking rude as well!
April 24th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Heather Says:
August 9th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
I just met a VERY nice German man here in the U.S. When we met he had only been in the states for a week. He has been extremely polite and forward with me. He is also very knowledgeable of other cultures and what is going on in the world. He has been teaching me and even though his English is not great it is amazing how when I piece together his words I find that what he is communicating is extremely intelligent and well thought out.. I now WISH to meet more German Men.. It doesn’t hurt that he is gorgeous too!! I can’t wait to go to Germany now..
***********************
Heather, with all due respect, you are an idiot! Germans will always behave when in other countries, some exceptions that I know exist of course like the guy who worked in an agricultural project and gave me a ride. When he stopped, he didn´t say good bye, he just got out of the car, slammed the door and went to get the newspaper!
Germans are bitchy in nature.
April 24th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
German Guy Says:
June 20th, 2008 at 6:54 am
I think that it is ridiculous that someone could say such things. I have lived in the USA for 4 years now. I moved here from Germany when I was 17. I go to college here, and I nearly lost my accent. I am sure that I know the main differences between Germans and Americans, since I have very good friends on both sides. I think that the average German is not rude at all,
*********************
German guy, you are tepid. First of all you must understand THAT YOU ARE GERMAN. You´ve grown up in such environment, therefore you are judge and part of this dilemma. It is usually against “dark” foreigners that this attitude is most prevalent. A friend of mine, whose parents are both Germans, is blue eyed, and he went for a scholarship in Germany. He, my friend, being a latinamerican culturally speaking found it strange that Germans behaved rudely towards them and not towards him.
¿Guess why?
April 24th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
German Guy Says:
“German people are like cats. You have to earn their respect, but once you did, you have reliable friends for life who would risk their lives for you. If you prefer superficial “see you around” sort of wannabe-friends, search somewhere else.”
**************************************
¿Why should a German regard Germans as better than others? You obviously are doing it! ¿Why shouldn´t it be the other way around? Is it because the other person, the NON-German is less than the German, that´s why he or she should strive to EARN the respect of a German. No wonder Germans are considered rude!
May 29th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
One thing is sure - Germans are allergic to criticism! They will always turn it around so that YOU are the one with the problem.
I have lived in Germany now for 20 years. I find that Germans in general are not honest at all. They are blunt and rude, but they are not honest - there is a difference. It`s no use explaining it to them, because they ARE the superior race.
It`s interesting that they travel all over the world, but always complain about the inferiority of others. Why don´t they just stay home and stuff themselves with Vollkornbrot (da hätten wir ALLE mehr von!)?
Only a German could be proud of his own arrogance and find good reasons for it.
Oberlehrerhaft connotes a sort of morally superior position of somebody who loves to point the finger. Which is typcial German again - they don`t look for the good, just for what`s wrong. Why be happy, when you can be stubborn, bitter and hold a grudge forever (nachtragend).
May 29th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
I’ve lived and worked in Germany for a few years now and am counting down the time until I can move away from this place. The people here think they’re on a higher level than everyone else. I was always good at my work before I moved here. It seems that everything I do here, whether it is at work or elsewhere, is done incorrectly. Most of the Germans I’ve met think they’re the highest intelligence on earth and constantly crack jokes about foreigners. The Germans are the first to correct everyone, but they’re never wrong! It must be nice to be a perfect German! After several years of living here, I’ve never been invited by colleagues to an after-work event and none of my neighbors have even smiled at me. All of the friends I’ve met in Germany are foreigners in the same situation. When you look around, on the train or in public, everyone looks like they’re in a bad mood. All in all, I guess living a while in Germany is a good experience, but you better have thick skin to take all the jokes and arrogance which are directed towards you.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
So it looks like allways the loosers from other countries want to go to Germany - people who are not able to go their way at home and think, they can hide better here. Shame on you! Stay at home, if you are not useful. We do not need you, if you cannt do something for our country.
Sure: Maybe you did things right in whereever you are from - but its only good for the crappy country you are from - and not good for a high quality country like Germany. Sure we want the best and not the crap - a pitty, that some of this third level educated guys has a differnt picture from themselves. Our Porsches or Mercedes you all are looking for are not build by thumb jobbers but qualified workers (often from abroad, btw ;-)), the quality in engeneering, which is copied and stolen allover the world, is not made by stoned HillBillys from the edge of the world.
I am sure, living and working in Germany is good for the good, tough, and hardworking guys - but not for loosers from abroad, just looking for someone to feed them.
May 29th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
This guy is a real idiot and is a typical example of a German, thinks everything German is the best. My personal opinion is that every country has brilliant people and idiots. But most Germans think they are more intelligent than everyone on the planet and all of their products are the best in quality, not true. I certainly didn’t come to Germany looking for a handout; I had a good job before and earned good money. I came here simply for the experience. And my university where I studied is ranked above every university in Germany; many Germans in my university struggled. As far as quality, I’ve spent the last ten years fixing German designed crap. I’ve owned both a Volkswagen and Mercedes, and they were both extremely overpriced and in the shop every other weekend for electrical problems. So don’t tell me about quality, just have a look for yourself at the ratings on the internet. There are also a lot of “drunken” Germans building cars here and they can’t be fired because of all the stupid labor unions. The only Porsche that is affordable by most people is the Boxter, and this car is a real piece of crap and is outperformed by every American and Japanese sports car for a much cheaper price. Just have a look at the Nuernberg-Ring results you bozo. To get a “real” Porsche, you have to fork out over 100k which most people don’t have. The statement “tough” and “hardworking” Germans is a joke! It seems like Germans are always on “holiday”, sick or standing around the office drinking coffee. Of all the countries I’ve traveled to and worked, the Germans are the laziest. Hell, there’s no reason to work hard in Germany, it’s impossible to be fired because of the labor unions and the taxes are so damn high. It’s too bad the world helped Germany out so much and rebuilt Germany after WWII. They should’ve just bombed the hell out of the place and left! Oh, and I forgot, a typical example of German quality… It’s seems that a while back the Germans tried to repair the subway in Cologne and the city block collapse. Real workmanship, huh…
May 29th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
One more example… I went to a party a while back with my Mexican friend and all the Germans covered their mouths and stayed away. This is a true example of German arrogance, ignorance, intolerance and racism. I guess things really haven’t changed much the last seventy years… The Germans love their “fake” Mexican restaurants here with shitty food and overpriced watered-down cocktails but the exposure to real Mexican culture is too much to handle…
May 29th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
Complaining is usualy the weapon of the people with the poor brain. They do not know better. They can not do better.
You point on an accident in Cologne? You forget the thousands of well known Buildings all over the world, build by experienced german architects. look into the Factory close to your home - you’ll find the tools Germans have constructed. Who are you to think, that you could teach something better? And if you have the feeling after beeing here, that noone is working in Germany - well - who did build up this great country? You, while compaining and crying? Nope, its the guys and girls who just do their job.
Who cares about a reputation of an unvesity, if its result is someone not able to do his job? I give a shit on reputation, I’d love to see results. Well - that might be “German”, we’re quite practical there.
I know enough good guys and girls from abroad who go their way in Germany. They are welcome. Posh loosers with “high reputation” are nothing until they prooved their abilities. Guess, you’ve just not been good enough, Theodore. I hope for you, your abilities are enough for your native country. Beloved Theodore - go back where you come from and earn your good money again - and stay jealous. I wish you luck over there.
June 4th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I am truly a German-American I have lived in both countires, studied in both countries and worked in both countries, but am German born and raised.
I have to agree that most Germans (not all, and not me) are very stubborn and rude. Whenever I am in the U.S. and an American meets a German they say something positive about like how beautiful Germany is or that they had a wonderful time at the Oktoberfest. Whenever I am in Germany and a German meets with an American the German will jump right to complaining about the American President or say something insulting about Americans. I am often ashamed of the German behavior.
Germans also travel quite a bit and in the U.S. they always fail to tip the waitress or the cab driver. They say, why should I, they are getting paid. German need to learn when in Rome do as the Romans do.
If you are an American, please know that there are Germans who are kind and do not agree with the rudeness. Yes, we are technically proficient, but that is no excuse to insult others or make Americans feel unwelcome.
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:05 am
All of the Germans I have met have given me great impressions. I don’t like to sterotype people but I do think Germans are somewhat negative,whiny,extremly judgemental and critical.And they do seem to exhibit some kind of superior complex. But at the same time I thought they were honest, straight forward and quite considerate.Well, nobody is perfect. Most Germans think Americans are unsophisticated,lazy,rude and stupid. Quite to the contrary, how arrogant can a group of people to invade a country with no evidence of weapons of massive destruction. Americans are the most arrogant of all.I enjoyed their company and I have nothing against Germans.
June 30th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
It’s good to know I’m not alone who has to struggle with Germans. This post made my day.
July 15th, 2009 at 1:57 am
What happens if you are as rude as them? I have been talking to a German man from Berlin for nearly 3 years…via computer. I love his honesty and he is intelligent and very open-minded. He has insulted me from time to time and I insult him right back, and with my temper, I would do the same to Germans in Germany. When or if I go to Berlin, I think I will demand things instead of ask for them…and if somebody talks to me and asks my opinion, I’m going to give it good or bad. I think the German word “bitte”…”please” in English is ironic because it sounds like bitter. One last thing, I love my Helmi and he is my best friend in the world.
July 17th, 2009 at 4:28 am
i am an american who lived in germany for several years, and i can tell you the excuses of being genuine versus superficial do not hold water. for example, one german blogger here commented that if you ask a german if he likes your shoes, he will tell you whatever he thinks. ok, that is not the kind of thing that has earned you the reputation as being rude. how about sitting down next to people at bus stops and lighting up a cigarette because das Gesetz doesn’t forbid it, how about sneaking in front of people in lines, how about four people walking side by side down a sidewalk and not making room for a single person to walk in the opposite direction, how about standing in front of the doors on a bus and trying to get on before the people have gotten out, how about leaving grocery carts sideways taking up the entire width of an aisle, how about making sure to point out very small mistakes as though germans don’t make several big ones a day, how about not returning a greeting or a smile…? the list could go on much farther and these are things that happen daily to anyone who interacts with people in the city. as to american superficiality, yes that is often the case, and i find it distasteful, but often the simple courtesies that are extended are genuine, and even if not, yes, i would prefer someone be polite and superficial versus a genuine jerk…and in conclusion, the actions of the bush administration do not constitute a free pass for germans to treat americans like poo-poo and say anything they want to individuals they do not know in the least.
July 17th, 2009 at 4:42 am
i should have qualified that blog though with the fact that i have many good german friends who are very nice and direct. i do not mind directness and honesty in the least. one doesn’t have to be rude to be direct and honest. but it is as an earlier blogger wrote, you will find an unusually high occurrence of rude people and behavior in germany. and i do think that we americans should be aware of how other people see us and consider what could be improved in our general mentality and culture.
July 17th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Here’s a nice little list of German misbehavior:
- Command Complex: as mentioned in many posts, Germans in general enjoy telling other people what to do. Whether crossing a street on a red light or commiting mistakes at work, some German will know it better and will not be shy to let you know you’re breaking the law or doing something wrong. There is a general “know it better”-mentality in Germany. Positive reinforcement is rare in this country.
- Autority Complex: Germans believe in hierarchy and authority. This doesn’t only apply to obeying anyone wearing a uniform, it also goes for the social pecking order as well as workplace hierachies.
- Negativity Complex: Germans are a moody people. Everyone has their emotional ups and downs, but Germans will display and project their negative emotional state onto anyone crossing their path.
- Stress Complex: Germans cannot relax. Getting on a train, they will cut in front of you. Walking down the street, they will be in a hurry. Driving a car, they will honk at you if you go too slow (not surprisingly, there are no speed limits on parts of the Autobahn) Lots of them will not be afraid to bump into other people while in public, emphasizing the lack of understanding the concept of personal space.
- Racism / Superiority Complex: Germans still believe they are superior to everyone else. This trait is best illuminated when viewing how Turkish immigrants are treated in Germany. Making fun of their accent is a common joke here, even popular with Germanys terrible comedians on TV. They are viewed as uneducated and only good for the crap-jobs. Also, Germans like to follow any sport in which a German does well. That is why they follow odd sports as long as German will be superior. A good example is Tennis. When we had Boris Becker and Steffi Graf, everyone was into it. Now, since all Germans suck, no one follows it any more.
- Rudeness: all of the above complexes make up the generally rude behaviour of Germans. It is displayed in many ways with each complex adding another dimension to it.
I am German myself and KNOW what i’m talking about. However, this is a specific American/British view on Germany. If you go visit way other places in the world, like Africa, China, Russia or the Middle East, Germany will seem like paradise concerning the above mentioned traits.
PS: Cologne is by far the nicest place in Germany. There are only few grumpy, anal-minded Germans in that city. Most of those are out of towners, too. Kölsche Junge like to party, make friends and be cool with everyone. If you hate the rest of Germany, get a cold Kölsch or Pilsner and drink away the pain inflicted on you.
I, for myself, am trying to leave Germany asap. The weather has to do with people’s negativity, too. It simply sucks.
July 20th, 2009 at 12:26 am
yeah, sorry, you can’t blame the weather for treating other people like …
July 29th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Like what they said (and I said), the good Germans are the ones who got away! They are absolutely rude (and the stingiest…don`t date German men!). They don´t queue up, they think their time is more valuable than yours, they push you without saying excuse me, run you over, they stare, they have no customer service, they have NO TACT at all ( call that honest, alright), they think they are always right. They copy all concepts from USA and they act like they invented it all. Sometimes, they hate USA, but quietly they follow what Americans do because they´re envious. They are cold people. Women get pregnant just so she can be taken off work and be supported by the government…who cares if the father is ther or not…what kind of shit thinking is that…so selfish. But then again, German men are just as selfish bastards. So it must run in the genes. I live in Munich for a little bit over a year now from SF, and it didn´t take me long to figure this out! Like most expats say, Germany is beautiful WITHOUT the Germans!
August 1st, 2009 at 6:24 pm
I am shocked how foreign people think about us. There are a lot of rude German people but there are really nice people either.
One thing that is true is - most Germans aren’t hospitably at all and sometimes it seems as they are unfriendly.
I guess the reason why they are like they are is that they are scared somehow. There are a lot of reasons:
The first point is our special social security system. In fact, it is overused and due to the fact everyone is welcome here more or less many German people think that they - the people who immigrate here - are accelerate the process of overusing so that the whole system will crash.
Many people will answer you like that if you ask them why they particulary don’t like immigrates. Moreover, there are a lot of immigrates who get social aid but working besides that without paying taxes. I think you call that “to moonlight”.
The second point is, that the medias are pretending as foreigners are bad. Generally they just show foreigners doing bad things like robbing and it is clear that a lot of people will think that they are all the same - even though you know that isn’t true, in your mind you think it’s true.
It’s the same with the lot of oppinions like all germans are rude. That just isn’t true.
The third point is, that due to the rude people it seems as the people who aren’t rude - are - rude. There are people shouting at you or doing worse in Germany and that’s just cause you looked at him. So if you push someone, you want to get away as fast as possible but a conversation could mean way worse. And generally that are foreign immigrates who are like that and I guess that’s the reason why there is such a dislike and that’s why many people seem to be rude even though they aren’t.
But there is a big difference between German people and American - you are very hospitable and if you are standing alone somewhere most American would you invite to do something with you even if it is just a smalltalk. German wouldn’t do that and I guess the reason is most often that they are scared due to things presented in the medias and by the present rude people. They would do the same if they aren’t…
I’m a 15-year young German who does know that there are German people who are rude, but there are German people who are else but they aren’t able to show that due to the fact that they are scared. Moreover, a lot of my relatives are living in the US and all of my cousins(6) grew up there and most who don’t know them don’t even know that they have German roots.
Hope my point of view won’t be seen as a typical German who don’t care about others. I just wanted to clear you up why Germans are as they are - two words: “shy, scared” - and I hope you did understand my English
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:14 am
again, shy and scared are not excuses to be unkind to people. and no one said all germans are rude. read objectively.as the young lady said: thinking their time is more valuable, pushing you aside, etc. etc. these are not the result of shyness or fear. these are simple selfish behaviors, and they act that way towards americans and british also who don’t come and steal and who like myself, paid a heck of a lot more in taxes to the german system than i think are fair or right, because they take advantage of english teachers by making them “self-employed” in status without benefits, but needing to pay high taxes. stop defending arrogant and rude behavior.
August 4th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Well since you’re not important, I guess your opinion isn’t very important :P
Congrats, your English is horrible. I’d be horrified if you were said English teacher. It was nearly impossible to read…
So anyways, being shy or fearful of others is very much an excuse for being ‘rude’. If you are suspicious of these people, how can you be nice to them?
Furthermore, YOU are completely arrogant and rude. You didn’t even take the time to write a proper response.
August 4th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
@ Andreas S
“scared and shy“??? You mean “insecure“? A long time American partner at Boston Consulting Group once said to me, “Oh those Germans, they are the most insecure people!“, and I couldn´t even begin to understand that until I lived in Munich. Makes perfect sense, I mean they think so dreadful as to give a smile to a stranger! To them, that is a threat!
@ Not so important
Thanks! =)
August 5th, 2009 at 1:20 am
@ monica: no problem.
@ very important: you just gave a perfect example of what we are all saying by insulting me throughout the whole blog instead of saying something objective. suspicion is different than shyness and fear. so, please decide on which excuse you want to use. however, either way, the types of behavior that i described were directed to me by people who didn’t even know that i was a foreigner. i have a german name, look like i could pass for a german, and didn’t say anything. and you also add evidence of what other people have mentioned about germans always thinking they are right…you feel you are in a position to even judge the caliber of my english. well, if you didn’t understand it clearly, then it must be horrible (lmao). maybe you noticed that i wrote about negative behaviors that i have encountered, and i admitted that i have many nice german friends if you have read all my blogs. you, on the other hand, simply lash out with groundless and biting words. thank you for helping us convince readers that what we say is true.
August 7th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
@ Very important
Once again, you demonstrate the German superiority complex syndrome—which really translates to “I am highly insecure, I had to attack someone´s English so that I can feel better about myself“. If I were you, I wouldn´t put my foot in my mouth.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
@Not important
I can’t excuse the way German people behave.
The thing is that there have to be reasons why Germans are as they are and I was trying to explain it to myself and I wanted to present you my thoughts.
And I agree, there are a lot of bad habits of a lot of German people which are just rude. And there are NO excuses why these people are like that. But these people unsecure people who want to be polite.
Personally, I can’t smile to anyone due to the fact I don’t know how the person is going to react. And as you know, people can be very rude.
August 8th, 2009 at 2:54 am
@ Andreas
yes, i agree. and, i know that we have our weaknesses too as a nationality and i as a person too. so, i think we should take responsibility for ourselves as individuals and put forth strong effort to make positive changes.
August 15th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
I am still in Germany and looking forward to leave soon actually.
Mr. Santos….It is not your concern where i do come from you morron! and not i am not from any of those countries you mentioned earlier. why don’t you ask your grandmother to tell you some nice stories about the “achievements” of your ancestors during WWII, du arsch!
As for the dislike towards Germans…it is not us who do not have the slightest idea or concept how we should behave to other people..it is your people, you retard! get over it looser!
August 15th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
@houhou
Your wording tells enough about your personality. Guess you’ll find friendly people nowhere in the world and you’ll be unhappy everywhere. As we say in Germany: “Wie du in den Wald rufst - so schallt es heraus.” Germany will be a better place without you. We do not need such unhappy and unfriendly guys from abroad here, peeps like you are no positiv adition for Germany.
Asking the most alive german Grandmothers about WW2 will most probably bring answers about what they felt while beeing refugees. They will tell stories from their mothers, how it was to try to raise a child in times of war while knowing, that the father/husband was soldier, wounded or died somewhere in a senseless war. Comparing Germans from today with the acting people 70 years ago shows not only a lack of historcal knowlegde. It shows your ignorance. While your prejudices seem to stay forever, mankind has changed - an even Germans have changed. Since 40 years more people imigrate to Germany then left the country. They are positiv additions for Germany.
August 22nd, 2009 at 1:30 am
@germanbasterd
are you playing with statistics to win an argument? the majority of people immigrating to Germany are from countries where many people live in poverty such as Turkey, Russia, Africa, and countries of the Middle East. that’s not something to show how wonderful Germany is. Many of the German people that I knew would move to a country of similiar economic standing in a heartbeat, because they were unhappy with Germany. and in defense of houhou, look at the original comment that houhou was responding to, and you might understand his/her choice of words.
September 7th, 2009 at 12:27 am
I’m an Asian- Peranakan girl who has studied and worked in Germany for over 10 years. Due to my work I’ve also lived and worked in 8 different countries. I think in every country there are good and bad, nice and mean people. However I do find that there are certain peculiarities i think one will most likely find in Germany. :))
In the first place… i think it’s different if you are German or look like one. The treatment you probably get from people in general is different from some of us who do not look German and are not German. We also cannot compare the Germans who live outside of Germany with those who choose to remain in Germany. After all, there ARE reasons why people leave, those who leave, leave for a reason…. It’s like saying Chinese in China and overseas Asians of Chinese heritage are the same. We’re not the same. The mentality is different. The heart and the mind are different.
Coming back to the Germany…It is not always like this ( like I said there are some nice people but the mean ones are really mean) but my first experience as a student was being pushed against a wall and being screamed at by a German man that I was a stinking Asian coming to take someone’s job away. I think u can imagine that being 20, and having this happen to u is rather scary. This happened in a big city and not some little village in Germany. It was a very scary experience especially when no one stepped in to help. Perhaps that’s normal that no one wants to help…. it could happen in other countries as well. The problem was I had not encountered it anywhere else.
Something that I’ve never understood is the mittagspause. How many “official” breaks can a worker take per day? And the most amazing part is when they see a long queue waiting at the counter in the bank directly staring at them, they can actually continue to sit there enjoying their 20 minutes of coffee and newspaper directly after a 1 hour lunch, while ignoring all the customers staring at them? I think u must have some kind of superthick skin to be able to do this. Isn’t lunch time and the usual quick snack break enough??
You’re not to wash your own car in your garage at your own house. I don’t know if I should believe that it’s due to the environment. I mean seriously… are they for real???
I lived in a small apartment and I sometimes hung my duvet out the window to air. And someone across the street actually came to tell me that I was not allowed to do that… because it was bad for the environment??? Hmmm…. :)) Let’s not use the poor environment as an excuse for all human eccentricities and personal analities.
Most of my foreign colleagues and I have also have experiences where when we ask for help in a trainstation or in any public place, nobody wants to help. They just walk by you as if you were a ghost. I will usually in the end find somebody who will be kind enough to help me but I first need to go through 3 or 4 or 5 different people who just walk by ignoring my “excuse me, can you help me, please?”
Just last week, a couple of newly arrived foreign colleagues and I were at a typical German sit out restaurant when a German lady fainted and had an epilepsy. She was a large woman and her husband had difficulty holding her. Her husband called for help and my colleagues and I rushed in to help to hold her head… but because she was quite heavy… we asked if someone could help us hold her legs… all the Germans just stared and actually continued eating. That’s something I can’t understand. There must have been about 100 people at the restuarant and no one offered to help. We called the ambulance and the emergency helicopter. My new colleagues were shocked and asked how the people could continue to eat? Especially when we were physically calling out for help….So no German wanted to help their own fellow citizen? What was happening?
After school in Germany, I went to grad school in Canada and in the US for 8 years. Moving over was a breath of fresh air…. not because everyone became “angels” but because at least people didn’t refuse to help or ignore you when you asked for it as politely as you could. Even the way the registrar was at the University office was so much more helpful and supportive than we ever experienced back in Germany.
I’m not sure if this only happens to us because we don’t look German… have other Germans asked for help and experienced this too?
As foreign students and now colleagues, we sometimes wish the Germans that we had the misfortune to meet would not always reply to a question we had by saying, “No you cannot do that. No we cannot do that. Why? Oh because it’s always been like that. That’s why.”
— “It’s always been like that?” What does that mean? They don’t want to think? They want to do less work? They can’t be bothered? We are not worth the work?
September 7th, 2009 at 12:28 am
I’m an Asian- Peranakan girl who has studied and worked in Germany for over 10 years. Due to my work I’ve also lived and worked in 8 different countries. I think in every country there are good and bad, nice and mean people. However I do find that there are certain peculiarities i think one will most likely find in Germany. :))
In the first place… i think it’s different if you are German or look like one. The treatment you probably get from people in general is different from some of us who do not look German and are not German. We also cannot compare the Germans who live outside of Germany with those who choose to remain in Germany. After all, there ARE reasons why people leave, those who leave, leave for a reason…. It’s like saying Chinese in China and overseas Asians of Chinese heritage are the same. We’re not the same. The mentality is different. The heart and the mind are different.
Coming back to the Germany…It is not always like this ( like I said there are some nice people but the mean ones are really mean) but my first experience as a student was being pushed against a wall and being screamed at by a German man that I was a stinking Asian coming to take someone’s job away. I think u can imagine that being 20, and having this happen to u is rather scary. This happened in a big city and not some little village in Germany. It was a very scary experience especially when no one stepped in to help. Perhaps that’s normal that no one wants to help…. it could happen in other countries as well. The problem was I had not encountered it anywhere else.
Something that I’ve never understood is the mittagspause. How many “official” breaks can a worker take per day? And the most amazing part is when they see a long queue waiting at the counter in the bank directly staring at them, they can actually continue to sit there enjoying their 20 minutes of coffee and newspaper directly after a 1 hour lunch, while ignoring all the customers staring at them? I think u must have some kind of superthick skin to be able to do this. Isn’t lunch time and the usual quick snack break enough??
You’re not to wash your own car in your garage at your own house. I don’t know if I should believe that it’s due to the environment. I mean seriously… are they for real???
I lived in a small apartment and I sometimes hung my duvet out the window to air. And someone across the street actually came to tell me that I was not allowed to do that… because it was bad for the environment??? Hmmm…. :)) Let’s not use the poor environment as an excuse for all human eccentricities and personal analities.
Most of my foreign colleagues and I have also have experiences where when we ask for help in a trainstation or in any public place, nobody wants to help. They just walk by you as if you were a ghost. I will usually in the end find somebody who will be kind enough to help me but I first need to go through 3 or 4 or 5 different people who just walk by ignoring my “excuse me, can you help me, please?”
Just last week, a couple of newly arrived foreign colleagues and I were at a typical German sit out restaurant when a German lady fainted and had an epilepsy. She was a large woman and her husband had difficulty holding her. Her husband called for help and my colleagues and I rushed in to help to hold her head… but because she was quite heavy… we asked if someone could help us hold her legs… all the Germans just stared and actually continued eating. That’s something I can’t understand. There must have been about 100 people at the restuarant and no one offered to help. We called the ambulance and the emergency helicopter. My new colleagues were shocked and asked how the people could continue to eat? Especially when we were physically calling out for help….So no German wanted to help their own fellow citizen? What was happening?
After school in Germany, I went to grad school in Canada and in the US for 8 years. Moving over was a breath of fresh air…. not because everyone became “angels” but because at least people didn’t refuse to help or ignore you when you asked for it as politely as you could. Even the way the registrar was at the University office was so much more helpful and supportive than we ever experienced back in Germany.
I’m not sure if this only happens to us because we don’t look German… have other Germans asked for help and experienced this too?
As foreign students and now colleagues, we sometimes wish the Germans that we had the misfortune to meet would not always reply to a question we had by saying, “No you cannot do that. No we cannot do that. Why? Oh because it’s always been like that. That’s why.”
— “It’s always been like that?” What does that mean? They don’t want to think? They want to do less work? They can’t be bothered? We are not worth the work?
September 7th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
On the issue of people treating us like ghosts…. when we ask for help, I only started to ask in English because I found it to be more effective than asking in German. I was advised to do this by German colleagues… because it seems if you ask in German, they may think you are going to beg for money or something like this…. so now that I ask in English I do still get ignored but eventually someone helps.
I’ve learnt that when asking for help, stand a distance away first… like 2-3 arms length ( yes..) is good… then they somehow don’t feel so threatened… and I don’t get pushed away for nothing.
Like I mentioned earlier, those Germans who have a lot of international friends and have lived elsewhere can be very different from the typcial Germans who stay stuck fast here in Germany. I have a couple of very good German friends… like really good ones… that would help me out in every situation. But that’s not always easy to come by… like everywhere else.
I agree that the German towns which I’ve lived in seem to be filled with very gossipy people. I think people everywhere in the world gossip… but the ones we experienced here were one-of-a-kind. They actually gossiped about what we “foreigners” did on weekends, what we bbqed on our pits ( they probably saw this peeking out of their windows), what we wore, how we dressed, what time we came home, how we spent our spare time and what time we bathed and the temperature of the water which we used. I actually learnt of all this from neighbours who enjoyed dropping by to talk to us and asking even more questions.
YUP……. these were the people in the 3 different small villagers that we lived in. One of them even went onto the Internet and tried to find out what we did by hacking my account and trying to befriend us on Facebook. WE found out too late when our computer guy located the IP address of the hacker. And we had allowed this person in onto our Facebook acct. because we thought he wanted to be friendly. We kicked him out of course. It came to a point where our kids cried when they had to go to school because they said other kids “talked” about us being “foreign” and “stinking stupid Asians” all the time. Of course we are different, we are not German!! We even got eggs thrown on our windows by other kids and we don’t even know them. I often wonder what their parents told them. We had to eventually always put down our shutters because we never knew what was going to happen. Needless to say, we moved out in a few months and now we live in a big city here in Germany. It’s better. But for us it was a very painful and frightening experience & we actually sorry that our kids had to live through it. But after the contract is finished we are leaving.
But yeah…. super gossipy. They have so much time on their hands that they likely spend it on gossip parties and they can actually gossip about how other people spend their time. Perhaps it’s time to look at the Man in the Mirror.
September 12th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
I’ve just come back from a week in Lake Garda (Italy)that was crawling with middle-aged/elderly Germans. Their rudeness was breathtaking and really quite appalling. I’m ashamed to say that I gave a few of them quite a mouthful (in English of course - I’ve no desire to learn what to my francophone ears is a particularly ugly, grating language) and ended up actually feeling glad that my wife’s father dropped several tons of high explosive on the b*stards during the second world war (he was a wireless operator who flew in Lancasters in the RAF). I’m not proud of gloating about that either - but I felt provoked to have the thought. If they don’t like the English because of the war - well the simple response is “you started it”, twice actually. Get over it. Bizzarely though, I spent a few days in Berlin last year and experienced none of this ignorant ill-mannered behaviour. So perhaps it’s only certain age-groups and certain parts of Germany that generate these obnoxious character traits.
September 15th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
@terry thomas
a person can spend a few days in any country and find the people to be friendly. so, i don’t think your stay in berlin proves much. people in berlin are notorious for being rougher around the edges than in other parts of the country. i lived in northern germany for several years and found rudeness to be quite commonplace. it takes an extended time to really see how people are. however, i’m not gonna backup your comment on high explosive dropping being a suitable fate for rudeness…you’re on your own with that one.
September 18th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
@terry thomas
“…that my wife’s father dropped several tons of high explosive on the b*stards during the second world war (he was a wireless operator who flew in Lancasters in the RAF). I’m not proud of gloating about that either - but I felt provoked to have the thought.”
Yes, there are still quite a few people, who think like this, please stay away from Germany!!!
September 26th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Hey Terry,
I understand that if the experience you had in Italy was really unpleasant it “might” have induced such thoughts. But I think today, such actions are very likely no longer constructive. :))
My country was also attacked by another country during the World War, an ally of Germany. All my life, I witnessed my own grandfather struggle with the trauma that would haunt him all his life till he died. As a young man, my grandfather was tied to a tree by soldiers so that he could watch them torture his mother ( my great-grandma) and his sisters and then systematically kill them after that. I can well understand why forgetting is so difficult, especially when you can’t stop seeing the images and hearing the screams in the sea of your mind.
However… i guess what makes Germany so special is that compared to many other perpetrators, Germany was able to slaughter almost 17 million people in a period of less than 5 years. That in itself is already a World Record. So for those who talked about German “performance” and German quality, it is ironic to think that this attitude of performance was also displayed here. To put this in perspective, my homeland country has 7 million people. It would mean we are all killed 2.2 times over.
Some of the other writers have mentioned about superficiality. I think every culture has superficial people in it. And I definitely disagree that the Germans aren’t. From our experiences, how people dress when they outside is very very important in Germany. The notion of looking “proper” and “well-respected” is important. We’ve been often told by my German colleagues that if we continue to go out in our jogging trousers, people will continue to ignore us if we ask for help because it seems jogging trousers signify the “lower classes” of people. If we go shopping we get the same reaction, go in shorts, bermidas,or casual sports wear and the treatment u’ll get is very different from what you would get if you dressed “properly.” If that’s not superficial, i don’t what it is. :))
Why should it matter if I wear jogging trousers? Am I less of a person if I do? My trousers cost me over 75 Euros per pair, so just because I wear jog. trousers doesn’t mean I’m going to beg for money. And if they don’t know that… too bad for them. :))
I am part of a traditional German choir and certain people who cannot sing and never learn their music properly always argue & insist on standing in front, even though they are tall so the block the shorter singers behind, because they think they are “priviledged” and therefore have to stand in the front row to “present” themselves to the audience. In the end, they are supported by voices from the trained singers and people who can actually read the music behind. I think it is hilarious and when I first heard about it, I found it most interesting - and if that’s not superficiality & perhaps some “priviledged mentality” here, I don’t what it is again.
Perhaps it is because they act like this, therefore it is difficult today to find lots of young people who would be willing to join a chore/choir. I find it very unfortunate (schade) because the chore is so much a part of German tradition.
Are Germans honest? I think there are as many honest people as there are dishonest people in Germany. I wouldn’t go so far to say that because they are German therefore they should be given more benefit of doubt because they are “born honest.” For sure not.
I think it’s unfair to say that compared to the Germans, the Americans or whoever else, are not honest and are superficial. I’ve lived and worked in Germany long enough to see that there are more than enough German news reports and documentaries about German families who have been cheated by very dishonest German contractors and building firms. There are also German firms who have been caught secretly illegally spying on their workers etc. etc. So……..
I think someone said that perhaps it is only the “not so good workers” or people that come to Germany. Perhaps that was meant as a sarcastic comment? I certainly hope so! :))
Because our work here, at least for mine and my colleagues is to answer the requests for work application for those who want to leave Germany. Yes, due to the increasing number of highly educated and very well-trained Germans who are leaving for our country and for others of course, our country has decided to set up office here to help to recruit the best of the German brains and personality to us. Germany is just one of the many places we recruit from and one of the newer offices.
So….. no it is not always the “loosers” who come to Germany. Likewise, it is also not only the “loosers” who leave Germany. I personally would not call the likes of Einstein, Muensterberg & Charles M. Schulz,”loosers.”
Then, there are also those of us here to bring the creme de la creme of German blood out of the country and offer them a good life elsewhere, should they apply and fit our bill, and want to come to us, many bring their families along.
We are only too happy to welcome enthusiastic, friendly, kind, helpful, open-hearted, talented, educated with a willingness to learn, well-trained, hardworking, high-performing, tolerant, young or old Germans into our country. And this applies to every other applicant from other countries. :)
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:14 pm
The author forgot something. Germans are not only rude, fat and grouchy, they are stupid too. And they stink from their Leaderhosen.
October 3rd, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I have a uncle thats german and he want everything done his way . One time I put the dishes in wrong he says ” they are not put in right ” . I said ” oh , you want it done your way ” and he said ” yes ” . I said ” if thats the case you can do all the dishes and I left ” . Just beign around him makes my skin crawl . He does not even clean the house . I told him why doesnt he clean the house and he said ” I dont get paid to ” .
He is rude , he never knocks on the door .
October 8th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
@ Tom
Hi, I find it frightening that this kind of characteristic mentality still exists. This “we are better” and “we know better” mentality still exists in Germany.
It definitely exists in other parts of the world as well but appears to be quite apparent and general here in Germany. It’s almost characteristic of the culture! I don’t know why. Sad.
It seems some people haven’t learnt that it is exactly this mentality that opened the flood doors to allow so many innocent lives to be taken that many years ago.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:37 am
I’m a Scot, so we’re usually pretty neutral on things. Germans are fine. I’ve never had an issue with them. Granted there’s a few who have been a bit cold or rude, but for the most part they’ve been grand. Americans are mostly the same, mostly kind and very generous, albeit a few who are worrisome in terms of being overly religious.
Stereotypes are a terrible, terrible thing. Its a shame too many people have bought into them.
October 12th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
@Andrew
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Due to work, we’ve had to move all over the world and we’ve lived in Germany as foreign expats for a long time ( 12 years) that we’ve experienced sufficient “stereotypical” comments and hurtful things from the people here. :))
We haven’t been as lucky as some other foreigners who’ve only experienced “stereotypes.” We’ve actually been hit out by them.
So, if it’s only a stereotype that’s happening here then that’s just the easiest part of the entire equation.
October 13th, 2009 at 2:11 am
hey Wai Yen, they are not calling u stinking asian! they are calling stinking Chinese! even asian people call it stinking to Chinese people! why did u want to cover this up?
October 13th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Yes there are many good and sometimes not so good aspects of German society/culture. Ignoring some of the childish posts of some, there have been many insightful posts, such as Wai Yen and Hans Pansen.
Having the good fortune to have married a kind and beautiful German girl, I have experienced the good and bad of Germany. Still if one removes their own nationalistic blinders, all of humanity has faults. I have experienced oberlehrerhaft first hand, and for the most part enjoy laughing at these self appointed keepers of order.
Now I have not yet lived in Germany full time, nor do I have an issue not looking physically like one of der volk. I am sure that is much harder if you are Asian, middle eastern, etc…. So that might color my own perspective and experiences.
There are the LOUD Americans who you can hear talking with one another from a kilometer away. The Chinese that cut in line. Or whatever aspect of another society that one disagrees with. I have often spoke with my wife and German friends about just this characteristic that disturbs them too. For most it can be laughed off, but there are some circumstances where such self centered behavior can cause great pain to others, especially if the recipient is a child.
We must ALL learn to THINK before we SPEAK. Be mindful not only of differences between ourselves and others, but also consider the words chosen, context, and tone of voice when delivering our opinions. Consider what is the point you are trying to make and how effective is you style of delivery when commenting to others. If your insights are just negative and not constructive, you are just expressing in order to make your self feel better even if you falsely claim you are trying to help the recipient by pointing out the error of their ways. So let’s put this in perspective, acknowledge our differences, while at the same time work together to be a better people on this tiny planet.
October 14th, 2009 at 12:21 am
@noname:
Erm… cover what up? Like your name you mean? ;))
There are many people that cannot tell the differences between the Asian races or the different dialects and heritage our names carry. We can’t change that. “Asian” is a word used today to describe people of Asiatic descent, whatever that means. The word “Asian” is officially used today to describe anyone who “looks” Asian.
Personally, I would be very proud to be Chinese, a “descendent of the dragon” as they say, . :))) One of the most ancient, intelligent, versatile, lucrative and creative races on Earth, that’s currently swallowing up foreign industries all over the globe. :))
Unfortunately,
I’m not pure Chinese, only 1/4. In my earliest posts, I’ve already mentioned, I’m Asian Peranakan, not the ethnic Chinese type. I don’t even look Chinese, I have light gray eyes. :))) Maybe that’s why they call my kids “Stinking asians,” because these people who call children names, don’t know any better. :))
Well anyway, “stinking” or not, that’s their opinion, we can’t really change that. Perhaps some people should smell themselves carefully before calling people the wrong names and stereotyping all of us who look even a tad bit Asian :)))) We all shower and keep our kids and homes clean. I don’t know why then there these local kids here with nits?
Our kids’ school was closed for 2 weeks because there were 12 local kids with nits. We were shocked. What happened to the purported hygiene and cleanliness?
This site is a forum for discussion on our experiences as foreigners or Germans in Germany, based on “rude & Oberlehrerhaft.”
We can all have positive + negative experiences, some painful, some hurtful, some funny, some hilarious. We can all talk about whatever stereotypes or whatever.
However, when we have hurtful experiences, it’s nice to be able to share it with others who understand. Other people can criticise or make nasty comments or joke, but no one can pretend that they fully comprehend another’s experience.
My own frightening experience after spending my first 10 days in Germany as an 18 year old girl, was being grabbed and slammed hard against a wall by 3 men on the road who accused my classmate and I of being the “auslander” who are taking his job away.
Even after so many years, we never forgot that day or their faces or the smell of their breaths and of all the people who walked by and pretended not to see.
Based on the comments so far, most people who comment insightfully don’t come here to tell someone that their experience is a “cover up” of another more real experience.
October 17th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Hahahahahah! I cannot hold my loughing reading all the new comments! ok where should i start now? listen guys there are 100000000 of things i could start telling you about but this does not matter. Few thoughts though are displayed here:
to @german bastard@ i would say: yes my dear i understand …but the only issue is the following one: It was your grandmas brother/son/uncle/fucker or whatever else u might wanna call that that travelled all the way and came to torture rape slaughter and kill our people, who by that time were not bothering anyone. Sorry that some of them defended their countries bravely and tried to stop the ruthless cold-blooded heartless and souless people of yours who had no sample fof humanism inside them and tried to concur the whole word thinking that it belongs to them. typical for the germans who think they owe everything they know everything they are better and superior at everything….so zip you gob and apologize for the mass murders u comitted….by the way, when we were growing up my parents used to tell me about the brave of our grandpas -did yours do the same about the “heroism” of yours maybe!??? shut up!
Germans are not welcoming at all! they just simply pretend! and when they go abroad the play the nice civilized ones! what a load of old bullocks! see how many foreign politicians u have in the government…count the number of immigrants and u will see how well are those represented! u see, i can speak with numbers too darling!
to carry on….why do not speak with many of the germans who left the country and went abroad (UK, Norway, Sweden, Denmark etc) to tell u why they will NEVER GO BACK to their own country!??it is because they fed up with their own people being so pathetic rude boring tasteless colourless and above all control-freaks! U do not believe me? just get a few and ask them out of curiosity, u will be surprised and shocked to hear the negative critic from your own people and theii relief for leaving behind all the german misery! more lessons next time sweet heart! AUF NICHT WIEDERSEHEN!!
October 22nd, 2009 at 5:32 pm
The German people that I met are generally rude (of course, I do met 1 or 2 nice ones). I’m not sure if they aware of their rudeness, but I think it is good that they start to reflect on their behaviours.
October 27th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Wow…i…when i read all your posts i dont know what to say…Well im a German girl…im 18 years old and i ….hehe i dont know where to start^^
First of all it seems to be a stereotyp that so many german people should be rude…I admit that i was rude sometimes in my life but i cant remember that i ever was rude so hard as it is posed here sometimes.I mean which person living on this planet was never rude?Do you think that everyone is rude by aim?
Im not sure but often i think all the people ant accept that know it is another generation …the world war is over since many years.It hurt to feel that there is a comparison between our great-grandparents(which most of us never met) and us.Im not proud that there was this stupid man in germany and tought he was the absolute king…PLEASE forget all those things..i dont know if you know what feelings you release but maybe you think about it.I love other countries and so it is even more sadly to hear such things…..Im sad that there are germans who were rude adverse you…
greetings Jessica
P.s:sorry for my text mistakes …im so uncertain when i write texts in english^^
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:38 am
wow, super interesting! I came here under a search on google: “German people rude” becuase I am so shocked at how awful these people are that have been hired to work at my place of employment. I am aghast (as are all others at this workplace) at the way these people are. The man and his wife are sickening with how they feel that all americans are idiots (even the people with high MD degrees!…the dentists and doctors!) The man is so ugly with his gross fat head and iccky hair all long and balding. The woman, oh my gosh, shocking…wears hideous clothing and says such rude things to people. It is strange how they can act this way as they are lucky to have a job. These people do not believe in serving customers needs with any sense of urgency or respect for the way their actions affect our accounts. They are horrid to be around. and further, they do truly spend alot of time talking and smoking when others are working. and with the accent, people can hardly understand them, and then the jerks act like we are idiots!!! also, i must agree, i have seen their rudeness to mexicans. it is mortifying. They revert to their gross sounding german language all the time in mixed company, and then get all freaked out if someone speaks spanish…well assholes, we are in california…so get real! yes, ugly, miserable and they think they are so superior to all others, and since they are from germany, and think americans and mexicans are idiots, these german people should go back from whence they came, they deserve to go home..back to where there are gross people like themselves! in california we are not into this disgusting attitude at all, I do wish they would go home. we all do.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
I suppose that rudeness and grouchiness must be contagious to a certain extent. If the majority of your fellow citizens keeps treating you like shit, e.g. several people walking side by side on a sidewalk not making room for you walking in the opposite direction, you might find yourself doing the same after a couple of months or years. Not everybody will, of course, especially not if you think of some of the mentioned atrocities of German behaviour, but I think it’s safe to say that the problem recreates itself.
I have found that Germans are often very much surprised and grateful for unexpected kindliness, probably because it breaks that cycle of rudeness. I’ve also found it to be a way to make friends. Maybe if it happens often enough, people will stop resigning and start do the same.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
I suppose that rudeness and grouchiness must be contagious to a certain extent. If the majority of your fellow citizens keeps treating you like shit, e.g. several people walking side by side on a sidewalk not making room for you walking in the opposite direction, you might find yourself doing the same after a couple of months or years. Not everybody will, of course, especially not if you think of some of the mentioned atrocities of German behaviour, but I think it’s safe to say that the problem recreates itself.
I have found that Germans are often very much surprised and grateful for unexpected kindliness, probably because it breaks that cycle of rudeness. I’ve also found it to be a way to make friends. Maybe if it happens often enough, people will stop resigning and start do the same on their own.
November 15th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Germans especially the ones in the East Potsdam for example are stuck in a post communistic nightmare. Dehumanised,oppressed,
victimised,crises,Normalisation.
The five rule on how to make a society amoral and rude and selfcentred. They seek only to blame and excuse their past and complain about mm and how their clothes should be folded. Anal retentive and frankly I never give them sympathy having fallen for that trick before. See they all seem to think thet they are owed something from us Auslanders. When in plain view they havent gotton over the dehumanising process. That is why east German failed and the Russians got sick of these people Prussians with mixed blood and superiority complex. The only way to deal with this is to GIVE THEM A SWIFT KICK IN THE CROUT. Before they try and chang the earth into CROUTLAND……. No I do not hate the germans I hate the fact’s which they are blinded to. STOP BLAMING AND EXCUSING AND TELLING US IT’S A PROBLEM IN GERMANY>>>> THE PEOPLE ARE THE PROBLEM.
BECAUSE THE STATE DOES NOT ADVOCATE INDIVIDUALISM………
SO get critical not analitical. We really dont wish to know the surface area and pye of a bunch of washing. FREEKS
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
I can’t believe what i’m reading here. I just came across this site by accident and i’m really shocked. I am in fact german, i’ve been to the UK once and had a nice time there. I’ve never been to the US, although i really want to go in the future. I know some people there, they are extremely nice nad friendly.
one thing that really stunned me how people think that germans have never seen redheaded people. What the F…? Why not? Of course we see redheaded people, all the time, they go shopping like everyone, they live in our neighbourhood, they are normal people among every other normal person. Of course if you go to a town with 500 inhabitants, 400 are older than 60, you’ll get a funny look, but not as a redhead, just as an outsider. that normal, in every country, you’ll find these little villages with some abnormal grumpy people. i think germany i highly influenced by the american culture. look how young people dress, listen to what music they like, what tv shows they watch - mostly american. And dont tell me we are rude. our ancestors messed up BIG TIME! over 60 years later, you cant blame young people for that. we still feel deep regret over what happened, but its not our fault. were in the process of finding our german identity, like you americans already have. you are proud, waving your flag and showing it to the world. thats nice. if there is one thing to criticize about germany, its our shitty politicians. these old assfaces dont know anything about the people living here. our school system is completely broken, our economy is crap, everything.
November 24th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
60 years ago is not much time at all, and especially in comparison to the atrocities that were committed. however, that doesn’t mean that young people of today are guilty of those crimes. however, some of the personality traits still have not been rooted out. there is still this general feeling of obedience to authority without question (for example in the workplace), there is still a “strong dislike” of certain foreigner groups even if it is kept quieter. there have been foreign bases on german soil for years and after two wars the modern view of war in germany has been pretty much the only alternative that leaves germans still able to feel superior. now they feel superior because their thinking is elevated regarding avoiding war. it’s kind of like with the environment. the environment in europe was terribly polluted. so, they were forced to make changes. now, they have done that and so they take an elevated position there too. but these changes were thrust upon them from outside forces.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Hey guys
sorry my english isn’t good but I try to tell you my opinion.
At first I’m a German. and i don’t agree with your arguments and because our relatives were so stupid (from 1933-1945) that doesn’t mean that the youths are the same. Less then 2% of the Germans are racists. and we don’t believe one truth, as well. I think everybody must have his own picture of us.
P.S: If you think we aren’t interested what’S going around us, I’m sure that YOU are believing that every german looks like a traditional bavarian ;D
November 30th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
@Julian, how exactly did you come up with the 2%? Is that an official statistic? Either way, it’s bullshit. I’m Canadian and have been living in Northrhine Westphalia for a while now.
Yes, most people are cold, bitter and rude. However once you get to know some of them you will see that they are also racist. Not all of them - I will admit I also met fantastic Germans - but most of them will tell you bad things about turks and asians once you gain their trust. This is something I cannot live with, racists are the scum of the universe. It makes it really easy to see though why not so long ago some guy with a square mustache slaughtered millions of people without anyone really minding it.
I also noticed another thing. It might happen because I’m a guy, but German women are far friendlier than men. German men tend to be overly frustrated and generally shy and even in clubs they will mostly stay in corners or at the bar and chat amongst themselves. Which makes it really easy for us foreigners to give women the attention they’ve been craving for.
Another thing that I noticed in bars and clubs is young punks are pushing their limits. They are very belligerent while drunk and can’t understand that I could probably easily rip their heads off due to my military training. I never give in to their provocations, but man are they pushing it.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:41 am
I lived in germany for a year, my girfriend is german… She is a happy camper… I felt on average the people were cold and miserable. They push in line but come on fat???? they are all twigs, im 190 cm and 88 kgs and everyone thought i was fat :)
they are very serious people
December 1st, 2009 at 12:44 am
Nicely said julian,
December 2nd, 2009 at 11:12 pm
I am an American university student currently studying in Bayern. I stumbled upon this discussion whilst trying to deal with a bit of ‘culture shock’. Anyways, I find this discussion interesting to say the least.
I know that there is nothing I can say to brush off the American stereotypes that half of you have already assumed of me… and that is wrong. Just in the same way it is wrong to judge any individual based solely on the culture from which he comes. Is it true that Americans are often arrogant, ignorant, annoying, or lazy? Sure. Is it true that Germans are often arrogant, rude, and self-centered? Jawohl. I have seen both!
But, no matter how I currently feel about German culture, I cannot allow myself to criticize it while refusing to criticize America. Though I’m not much of a theologian, I think the Bible said it right to take out the log from your eye before you help your friend take a speck out of his.
Sure. I am very frustrated at my inability to adapt to this culture. But that is my problem, not theirs. There must be an understanding in that every culture holds different values… and the inability to at least understand this concept leads to these heated attacks on both sides.
As Americans, we value our politeness… but lets be honest, we value it to an extent far beyond necessary. It is emasculating our culture (I’m speaking from the perspective of a man). As a student in Germany, who is majoring in German…. perhaps they value privacy and order to absurd levels.
We are both wrong, and the inability to comprehend this is what causes these ignorant macho-debates that never lead anywhere.
December 4th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
@Julian
I am also wondering where you came up with this statistic that 2% of Germans are racist. How do you measure and put a statistic on something that is within a person’s heart and may not be readily shared with others? Are you giving us the number of people that officially belong to today’s Nazi party? If you are, they are not the only ones with racist feelings. But anyway, this site is not about racism. It’s about rudeness. And if there is such a common thread to the feelings foreigners have about Germans, the Germans should stop justifying it and telling us what they think they are like and start doing something about the perception that other people have of them.
December 4th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
fffff
December 4th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
What is wrong with these people? Havent the Germans learnt their lesson in the second world war? Germans are so object orientated They place more importance to how clean the car is or their lawn, then how they look. They would go out looking like beggers. No sense of fashion what so ever, but thats ok if the car they are driving is spotless clean….(HELLO) When you go to a restaurant to have a nice meal, the waiters seem as if they are giving you a favour by speaking with you.. aND THEY ARE so ugly…..lets not mention public service…Are they Humans?? Or machines? Or animals?
December 7th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Did any of the english speaking people here, who are so angry with germany, because ALL the people are so rude, consider their own behaviour? Don’t you think it is rude e g to come to a bar, restaurant, shop whatever and expect that the whole world speaks their language, and do not even ask “do you speak english”? and maybe think why people were not so nice, i have lived for over 20 years in germany, and really weird, i never had so many bad experiences like some people write here who have lived in Germany maybe half a year… You find rude behaviour everywhere, you just have to look for it!
December 7th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I don’t think the previous post understands the problem. It’s not a question of whether or not a person speaks German. I haven’t noticed that Germans travelling abroad are able to speak the language of every single country they travel to, and many of the people in previous posts have said they speak German but are still treated rudely.Why have you assumed that they come into restaurants and just start speaking English? The resentment expressed here is a big part of the problem. English has become an international language, not just the language of a particular country. It’s just a way for people from different countries and cultures to communicate. Being defensive about this is just a way of avoiding discussing the real issue here, i.e. rudeness.
December 11th, 2009 at 12:41 am
I have been living in Germany for 5 months now, and everyday that goes by I regret more and more about coming here to study. In 5 months I have not been able to make a single friend or acquaintance, even though I have gone through great lenghts to try to accomplish it, like getting tandem partners, living with other Germans and downright talking to strangers in social settings. I have even met some girls and gone out on dates with them. It is dissapointing to be treated so bad everywhere in the city, people are quick to point out your mistakes and laugh at you or scold you because of them. Heck, a girl couldn’t forgive me for misplacing a small country in the wrong continent. I was quickly categorized as ignorant. People are always in a rush, impatient, intolerant, they ignore you and don’t make space for you while walking on the sidewalk in the opposite direction. Small things like that. People seem to be bitter and dislike foreigners. A moment of happiness for me quickly turned into a dissapointment when I found and bought a Corona beer in a bar and tried the latin Salud! cheer on a group of Germans that live with a friend… they just ignored me, while one of them told me: You are in Germany, you have to learn to say Prost!… pffft! Not to mention talking trash about Corona and why German beers are superior. In my experience, Germans have no sense of humor, are selfish, arrogant, rude and are incapable of having fun or taking things lightly. It’s a shame as well that they don’t appreciate other visiting cultures. And they always have an excuse for their behavior. If someone says that they are hard to get to know they say it’s because we don’t master their language or that they are just shy. If someone says that cashiers treat you like crap, then it is because they are pressured to be efficient. People look at me very strange when I get up of my seat in the tram to give it to an old person that just got in. I have seen young men seating with very old people on their feet beside them and they don’t care and just pretend they are not aware. Of course I have met nice Germans, but sadly the negative experiences outweight the positive ones. I miss the warmth of the latinamericans and the sense of unity and joy that these people don’t have. Well, I’m only here for 19 more months. Schade!
January 8th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
To all the ones who don´t like Germany:
Some of you do have some points. You´re right when you say Germans tend to be cold, straight, hard-working, too disciplined, uptight and machine-like. Guess what, it´s the first world and if you want to be competent, you have to be strong and hard. Germans have had a hard history, they have commited some crimes and that influences their psyche, not to mention the food and weather.
To Latin American:
I am myself South American. While I don´t know what country you come from, I can tell you that there are also cold ,rude people in South American countries. Hell, the capitol city of my country is full of such people, even worse, in fact. I have never done such silly things like saying “Salud” when I could have said “Prost” or “Pröstchen”. This is Germany, and in Germany you speak German. Who cares if you´re latin? If you miss your perfect people so much, then go back and stop complaining all the time about Germans. You fail to integrate. Don´t expect Germans to be warm, open and fake like latinos are. Integrate and be a bit cold, so you can survive. I have been living for 2 years in Germany and yes ,sometimes it´s hard, but what the hell,how many people get to study here?
Another thing is that you can make acquaintances ,but don´t expect them to automatically become your friends! I have lived in Germany for 2 years and even though I am kind of asocial, I have met some interesting people. Now I have started a friendship and it´s going well. You just need to find people who share your ideas.
Good luck, Latin boy.
From a fellow Latin American who has Germanized himself to a certain extent.
January 11th, 2010 at 8:32 am
Hey Michael, this place is to freely voice opinions, not one to attack one another! Shame on you!! Show some maturity and be respectful.
Don’t come here judging if other people’s perceptions are wrong or not.
You can talk about your experience but not attacking other posters.
Shame on you!
January 11th, 2010 at 8:48 am
hahaha I guess Michael comes from a country so horrible and that has no interesting culture that he doesn’t like to share details about it! he’d rather be a FAKE german than a real southamerican hahaha thats so lame! go ahead and be a lifeless robot so you can fit in. I guess now you think that you are superior because you “fit in” and no shame whatsoever defending a boring country like germany and even changing your latin name to Michael hahhaaha. i would never say im other than canadian and change my ways just to fit in… thats retarded. its selling your soul. i have stayed in germany for some mos. and i didn like it in comparison to studying in the US for example, and yeah, people can be fake friends in the US but you have a nicer time there and theres excellent service everywhere, unlike germany where peoples bad attitudes tend to get you.
oh and to the guy above: its fun to attack people, specially dumb people lol! try it
January 11th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
thanks for being so honest. I try my best to change this country
January 14th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
an american girl once asked me if people in germany were black or white…i still dont think that americans are stupid. yes, it was a stupid question but nobodys perfect, right? i dont know what experiences some of you had to hate germany so bad but i dont think this is a fair discussion here. i can understand some points to a certain extend but: while most of you praise america or canada, or whatever they come from, so much (and their people) and say germans are soooo rude…they become rude themselves by hating a whole nationality.
to everyone who feels that germans point out their mistakes: try and be honest. if someone says you did something wrong just say how you feel. youll be surprised how it works.
@Gordon: You are NOT right saying germans are soooo object orientated. but yes, you are in fact right that more than some people are ugly. you know why? germans are OLD. no one is having children here anymore (politics and all that) so young people are rare. i know what you mean…fat men, ugly beards, smelly clothes, i know there are more of these here than somewhere else. but still: you can find a lot of nice looking people here, people who dress nice, are modern and open. mostly young people, we ALL learn english here (of course with different results, but youll find some people who master english, really). while i too believe that the older the german the more bitter and rude (i see it everyday in the subway and i dont like it too), younger germans are really nice, open, intelligent and very polite. enough said.
January 16th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
That mite have come out wrong. it is not right to say that they are so object orientated, but it seems like smiling, making people feel welcome and being kind is seen as superficial here. Do germans know that you can be nice and humanistic orientaed without looking superficial??? that is the question. I couldnt care less if your house or car is perfectly clean and shiny…If you havent the basic human interaction skills, that makes all the countries in the world worth visiting and living…Than there is something psychologically wrong with theese people…..
January 17th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
@Gordon: Completely right, Germans tend to defend their attitude by saying that they are straight forward. If we were from the planet Vulcan, that would be excellent, but we aren’t. It is important to care for other people’s feelings, so you can say the truth, but being TACTFUL (key word for you Germans). And in this time and day in the world, it is important to preserve all the niceties. We are humans with feelings. When you call customer service with a problem you need an empathetic person on the other side of the phone line, not some rude person like in Germany… and the worst thing is that in Germany you have to PAY for calling customer service. Ridiculous.
What’s wrong about greeting people with a smile and treat them nicely even though you hate the world? Why spread bitterness and sadness? I think posters here don’t hate Germany, we just don’t like mean, unhappy people.
January 18th, 2010 at 11:09 am
If you ask a german about your new shoes, he would not tell you the truth, that he does not like them. He would say :”I like your shoes, but their are not kind of my style”. Its just overexagerated.
Germans are just often pissed off by the pressure in their job and the shitty government. If they come too late to work because the bus were too late, they are afraid to get fired, so they are getting angry by slow busses.
And the reason why they accept their crappy government is, because they´re afraid to be called Nazis if they fix the way the government works. Therefore they accept all the foreign people (turks, arabs, russian,…) who are living here, but they dont like them. If they wouldnt be here germans would be alot more nice and polite to foreign visitors.
At least germans are just common stupid western country people.
January 20th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
At John T:
I am sorry, but how old are you? You sound more immature than I do. The same goes to the other guy.
Why should I write my real name? And yes, I find my country´s culture to be boring and silly. Like all latin cultures. It´s because of being dancing all the time that our lands are so poor and lack development. I don´t consider myself superior. I think all people are the same.
January 22nd, 2010 at 3:50 am
@ Michael:
I was reading this post just out of curiosity, I agree and disagree with some posters, but your case really stands out.
Pal, you just dug yourself deep. You are just making it worse by saying stupid things like that about latinamerican cultures. You are just coming off as ignorant and a biggot, and against your own people, which is even more pathetic. I recommend you get yourself some education or at least do some research in wikipedia about latin cultures. Or travel extensively, as I have done (provided you are worthy of a visa). Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico are great countries, for example, if you take the time to know them and learn from them, not just judge them because you saw some sensationalist news in the media or went there for 3 days. And after you study enough, then get a job and buy yourself a clue. You will never be a german, but you will always be a poser, and a loser that tries to associate himself with something he deems “superior” to feel better about himself. So I guess you just want to be superior by association, not by own merit. It’s a shame how people like you pretend to be “whitewashed” with other cultures. you can walk, talk and dress like them, but you will always be a latinamerican. Like here in the states, with white kids pretending to be african americans. A joke. But you know what? It’s better that you never mention again that you are latin, because you give them a bad name. If I ever met and american who did the same you are doing, I would beat the living poop out of him for disrespecting our country.
January 22nd, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Guys please shut down this forum, it is pointless to try to show to the Germans how meshed up they are cause they simply do not understand at all what is going on in the rest of the world. Trust me, they think that they know everything better than anybody else. trying to change the Germans and make the humans again feels like trying to make an elephant to fly or something like that. they were, they are and they will remain f@@ked up for ever! do not waste not even 1 more calorie by even moving your fingers to post a message in this forum….do not even waste 1 drop from your saliva trying speaking to them to make them understand what is appropriate and what not….it is just a waste of your f@@@ing precious time!! Germans simply suck!
January 27th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
At Tom:
I know more about latin cultures than you do. You probably can´t speak Spanish,and if you can, it´s probably not good enough :)
I am not a poser. I never wanted to be a German or an European for that matter. Latinos are not my people. There is no Latin folk or race. Latin americans don´t even share the same culture or language or food or music, got it? The Brazilian culture is not the same as the Mexican culture, but you´re probably too dumb to notice a difference between both.
So what if I don´t like the Latin culture? I don´t like it and your insults won´t make me like it. You are more fascist than the Germans houhou has met, since you have problems accepting other opinions. Hell, you must be around 10 years old OR have a very very low IQ…why do I waste my time with a fan of Latino culture?
At houhou:
Are you still in Germany? If it is so bad, you may leave. There are bad people everywhere but I can guarantee you that Germans feel your despise towards them and react to it.
January 28th, 2010 at 3:26 am
@Miguel:
Hablo perfecto español y soy especialista en culturas latinoamericanas, de las que tú al parecer no conoces ni pizca. Sigue escribiendo, tu ignorancia es muy obvia con lo que escribes. En los países que menciono yo he vivido. No escribo por escribir, como tú. Malinchista.
Oh, and so the other posters can get this:
Miguel (Michael): keep writing so other educated people can see how truly ignorant you are. Por la boca muere el pez. And so that you know: No two countries share the same culture. Each has a special one.
January 30th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
Michael….get lost looser! get a life!!
January 31st, 2010 at 3:05 pm
A Tom:
Tu espanol no es perfecto. Es lo que yo llamaria “Broken Spanish”, en Ingles. Si, no uso tildes pues mi portatil es Aleman.
Naci y vivi por anos en Latinoamerica. Como puedes decir que tu, un Canadiense, sabe mas sobre cultura Latina que yo?
Educated? Ignorant? You´re probably 20 years older than I am, yet you are arguing with some random guy on the internet. Does that make you feel smarter? Go learn your Spanish before you claim you know more about the so-called Latin culture than a native Spanish speaker.
I couldn´t care less about your opinion. I don´t like the culture of Spanish-speaking countries and I have good reasons for that. No idiot like you will be able to change nor ridiculize my opinion, since it´s mine and it´s my right to have it. You have to be mentally impaired to want each person to agree with you and your dumb latino-friendly tattles.
At HouHou:
Grow up and leave the country you hate so much. Retard.
January 31st, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Michael:
You are in a safe place. I forgive you. I understand why you say the things you say. Come on, give me a big ol’ hug. God bless you. I will not fight with you anymore. At the end of the day, we are all humans. Peace out brother.
February 1st, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Do we have a fair share of assholes in this country? Hell yes!!!
Are there a lot of things which are plainly wrong in present day Germany? You bet, and only a completely disillusioned moron would disagree with that one. But some of the comments here make me simply cringe.
The thing is that a lot of the issues told here by expats or students-abroad are NOT Germany specific, they occur pretty much everywhere you go to in this world. The question is only how you will react to it, which entirely depends on your perspective.
Just as an example: While working in Adelaide quite a few years ago, I found Sydney to be inhabited by a bunch of obnoxious, overbearing bastards - all to the contrary of the rest of Australia. I never had so many perceivingly rude encounters through all of my two years down under than in that particular city. All the years before I have mostly spent in a rather sleepy suburb of a mid-sized German town so the contrast to a multi-million population city certainly didn’t help.
In recent years I went back and - guess what - I quite liked it.
So what changed? In between of my last two visits, I spent 1 year in LA and 1.5 years in Beijing which enormously changed my perspective of how a large metropolis works. Compared to these two, Sydney is warm and welcoming beyond belief.
The same is often true for Germany: a colleague of mine hates it here to the guts; in his opinion the way his neighbors behave (ignoring him, showing no interest at all) has to be interpreted as downright rude, whereas at home (somewhere in Virginia - I can’t remember) an intact community where you know everybody was absolutely normal. Another one, London born and raised, simply loves it here because it is so relaxed compared to home (sic!).
Stuff like this can happen EVERYWHERE you go to - just because Germany is a western country does not make adaption to another culture any easier.
But one thing about the rudeness against foreigners; if you watch the behavior of some tourists you should at least consider the possibility that this does reflect on all of you.
If one US tourist screams at a waitress in English (because if you say it louder they will eventually understand, right?), does it mean that all Americans are obnoxious? No
Does one Brit, who thanks a barman for the served beer with a full “Sieg Heil!” (with raised arm and everything - seen two weeks ago in Munich. In the aftermath he was complaining about the humorless Germans) imply that all English people are intolerable pricks? No
But in a lot of cases, a lot of expats just lay down in the bed made by these people - even if it is unfair.
Sorry for the lengthy piece……. and the typos :-S
February 1st, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Tom:
I am glad we could sort out the differences in our opinions. At the end of the day, it´s called freedom of speech and as long as it doesn´t hurt anyone, it´s good. Have a nice day.
February 13th, 2010 at 1:55 pm
First of all: I am German and I am glad that I’ve mostly read about Germans being rude instead of Germans being nazis cause that would just not be true.
Unfortunately imo it’s true what most people say. We are kinda rude but we got used to it! When I first read this I thought “gosh no, that’s a false impression of German people” but thinking about how the cashiers at the supermarkets I go to usually treat me and how the responses of some guys are when asked for directions made me believe this fact.
Seems that the karma thing doesn’t work here in Germany. It’s not that u do good things and good things will happen to u. So I gave it up and it seems this is what most of our folks have done… they gave up trying to be polite to someone else because it’s just disappointing.
I’ve met a lot of jerks in my 22 years living here but also a lot of friends and they’re friends for eternity. U ve got to earn the friendship of someone and in Germany this doesn’t happen with being overly polite but with being honest and I appreciate this! If someone is behaving stupid, we tell him or her… if someone bought ugly shoes, we tell him/her as well… To foreigners this might appear rude and I agree with this!
We gotta learn how to deal with strangers… e.g. being more polite, not overly! just more ;-)
Last year I travelled to Edinburgh and the mentality of those people was so heart-warming that I didn’t want to return to Germany (and the low DVD prices as well!)… well I had to but I am going to leave the university here in Germany and finish my studies at the Edinburgh Napier University and I’m really looking forward to it! :)
This summer me and my friends will travel the USA from NY to LA. I’ll pay attention to us being nice and polite now that I know about this^^
February 15th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Obviously there are some nice Germans. They are usually well travelled and may have lived outside Germany for several years and therefore are not typically German. These Germans are tolerant,open-minded and nice to foreigners.Germany is such a vast country and i have had different experiences in different places. I think Germans are generally tend to be nicer in Cologne, Bonn and parts of east Germany and seem to be a little more laid back and open-minded. However i live in a small city in the south of Germany and i have to say i am unimpressed by the rudeness, coldness and definitely the racism of these cold-hearted, narrow minded Swabians, who have never travelled outside of their little village,let alone another country. The interesting thing is that the nice Germans i know who are from Northern Germany feel the same about the Swabians!Also the traditional food they eat here is like slop you would give to a dog( you wouldn’t even give it to a dog!) and you should watch the way the people eat their food, i was really appalled at the lack of table manners, i almost felt i was back in the stone-age at how uncivilised the people were eating!However i personally thik Northern Germans are way nicer!
February 20th, 2010 at 5:09 am
I am a full blood german! Yes we germans have attitude problems here and there, but we are not rude. its commentss like that that make us sound rude, because we dont put up with peoples bullshit telling us that we are bad tempered.
February 25th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
GERMANS ARE RUDE, INSENSITIVE, SELFISH PEOPLE. PERIOD. GERMANS ALSO CANNOT TAKE CRITICISMS. ONLY WHEN THERE IS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, THERE CAN BE CHANGE.
February 27th, 2010 at 11:01 pm
Now hold up.Germans aren’t that bad!Don’t get me wrong here but there happens to be a 50% american & 50% german in my class.She may be rude,disrespectful,selfish,mean & bad but only when she’s joking or tellin’ da truth.But she knows when 2 joke around & when 2 not joke around.Germans can sometimes be nice,wonderful & respectful people.And that girl happens 2 be my girlfriend.she’s sexy….VERY SEXY!so don’t talk about her or other Germans like that,even though some of it may be true.
February 28th, 2010 at 10:07 am
@ Ke’Shawn
Knowing a mixed-race “german” doesn’t qualify you to talk about german people in Germany. We are talking about experiences with Germans while we are living in Germany. To be fair, statistically you can’t extrapolate experiences with only one member of a universe. That is not a valid sample. But I’m glad your GF turned out to be fine hehe.
March 8th, 2010 at 7:26 am
Ok I’m kind of sick of the whole anti-german bashing thing that is going on at places like this.I’m German,when I was seventeen i spent an exchange year in arizona, have studied at the gonzaga university in Washington a couple years ago and in general enjoy travelling a lot.If I think Germans are rude? Yes, from an american standpoint definitely. But,our cultures are just not the same. A little example: When i first came to the U.S, I would be totally surprised when people in the supermarket or in school walked up to me saying: “Hay how are you doing?” I usually tried to reply, but people had already walked off.. It took me some time to figure out, that those people were just following the common decency and didnt actually want to know how I was. In the meantime I was being called a Nazi by random idiots in school every day, just because I’m German.People made fun of my accent, like I was retarded though they wouldnt be able to pronounce a single word in german correctly. The point is, I didn’t go to any internet forum posting untrue bullshit like all americans are ingorant, fat and stupid..I adapted to the American way of life, and though i did certainly not think everything was all that great, I accepted it and had a great time. If you go to another country, YOU have to make an adaption, not the locals. All in all we might appear rude to you, because we don’t talk to strangers a lot, we don’t ask how you are doing if we don’t care or might not like your countries political policies. But you know what is rude too? Pointing fingers at other poeple without even thinking just for a second about yourself or trying to understand their “way of life”..
Kind regards
Joe
March 10th, 2010 at 2:30 am
Joe, you were in high school. Kids in high school are jerks, everywhere. But how did adults treat you?
March 10th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
I have read all comments, and like everything else…there are great great things in Germany, as well as really bad. I have been here quite a few years, I am married to a German citizen, my husband commes from Stuttgart.
Trying to be really objectiv, I really want to say that arriving here changed totally my perspective and oppinion from Germany in a very negative way.
I love my husband, and I must say there a many Germans like him who are really nice and friendly, specially when you meet them in America, Spain etc…or have travelled a lot.
They also have (my oppinion) one of the best political systems, and they really care about Nature etc.. Everyday I am surprised to see hoy well structured is their System, Retirement, Education, Support MONEY, Health Insurance, Infrastukture…you name it !! in this sence, Germany is really great.
But now let´s go to the negativ stuff.
1-I really think that ONLY people whos been here more than just a few days or months shoud give an oppinion about it, it is really different when you visit a Country than when you are here in this Country (Society, System and are married to someone who is actually German)
I have heard many negativ comments from Germans about foreigners,must of them have terrible comments…they say about Americans: that they are really stupid,and they hate Americans that are here in the Barracks for many years, they also think that all Turkish are uneduc
March 10th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
I agree
April 9th, 2010 at 3:36 am
I live in a town that has German businesses. They visit the town from time to time. When they speak their voice sounds very analytical. They are polite, but they are also very honest, which in America is perceived as rude.
April 10th, 2010 at 1:27 am
this text is the biggest crap ever…. first of all, oberlehrer does not mean that u know everything better (I can tell because I am German)…. and u know what’s rude? - writing texts like this one…that is rude
greetings from Germany…
April 13th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
ohhh man.I don t think thar you really know anything about germans.has anybody of you visted germany…and i mean in real and not in your virtual live.germans have got another culture and they are laughing about the amaricains.and do you know why?? expecially because of this stupid prejudice.
and i mean i have to know it i am dutch-french.and hey not only germs are laughing about you,americains. the whole europeans are doing it because we belive that you arent mature with 60 ever second of your girls are to fat, your kids are even to stupid to breathe and there is a mc donalds every 5m. but in contrast to you most things are jokes and not even this what we re thinking cause we are not so stupid like you and belive every think we ve heard from. greetings to all amaricains out there (dont eat too much girls and to the guys , hey switch off the tv and learn… ohh no too late you havent got a future already)
May 5th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
I was born in Germany. First generation kid of Baltic immigrants.
There were quite a few issues that drove me out of DE 25 years ago. This is just a selection of what’s the tip of the iceberg.
Anal thoroughness and perfectionism that leaves very very little tolerance for error. They call it ‘Deutsche grundlichkeit’. Now you might say the British or the Swiss also have a tendency to anal retentiveness. Think of the English lawn or Swiss precision watches. Perhaps so but while it can actually be an asset to be anal in the domains you truly excel in, the fields where you don’t, perfectionism is an obstacle to yourself and a major annoyance to others. Even kids are often expected to be ‘error-free’ from an early age on and are under permanent scrutiny. Unfortunately the ‘discipline’ is limited to the written rules. Certain fundamental rules to be taught at home which make human interaction smoother and simpler are often excluded.
A popular german proverb “trust is good but control is better”. Perhaps that’s where the staring at strangers and sticking their heads out of the window is coming from… I don’t know. It’s probably a mixture of that and the fact that they are notoriously curious. To the point that they seem to be more interested in the life of others than their own.
Many Germans seem to get a kick out of making simple things complicated. They often lack a lightness in handling trivial daily things. In making too much effort they come out clumsy. By doing so they leave too little space for imagination. They don’t seem to function if everything isn’t organised and described to the T. This kind of mentality is also reflected in their commercials. They’d rather be inundated with ‘information’ (which can be total bullshit in the form of huge made up words) than to have something presented creatively or with a sense of humour.
Even when it’s most obvious that a foreigner is objectively better especialléy at something innovative, it rather seems to provoke more incentive to find a hair in the soup than to actually embrace it. “ja aber so toll ist das ja nicht…” “das geht so nicht…” “nee nee nicht bei uns…”
There was always a subtle “live and let die” attitude in the air when I lived there. It begins where standing in queue is happily replaced with some sort of infantile darwinian struggle and ends on the autobahn where the right of the faster is expected to prevail… actually not necessarily the faster. I think that enforcing your right and expect others to obey will do. It seemed to me that Germans may actually all hate each other. I suppose it’s also reflected in the highest number of private legal expense insurances in the world.
It was mentioned before that Germans don’t cheat. Well that might be right for the most part, like everywhere else in the world. The difference though is that they can be so bloody convincing, threatening and relentless when they want to screw you over. Most of the time with no hope of an amicable compromise. It can go as far as that it would be considered extortion in other countries. All you can do is either bend over or call your solicitors - if you can afford them…
Despite of it all I still have a few mates in Germany who are cool people. I could never live there anymore though.
May 9th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
I have a German friends and they are friendly :-)
May 16th, 2010 at 11:17 am
I have been here in Germany for two years now, and I can say quite a lot about the German Culture since my girlfriend is also German. In the end Its not about seing which country is the perfect and which isnt. Its about trying to make the best of where ever you are living….I am Italian born in Ireland and lived in England now in Germany. I always try to find the best of what the country offers, and in Germany there are loads of cool things to do. You just have to have patience when some German dude may seem rude to you. In many ocasions I have experienced people being rude to me, and I have explained myself. by saying. ´´ I dont thing you where very nice or fair to me, I come from Italy or where ever, and im not used to being treated like this…´´
I have immediatly received an apology or the few that were still rude to me have been criticised by the Germans themselves…as being (assholes). Also we need to let people who have been in the second world war a second chance.. The only way that works for me living here is to actually share my opinion with German people and tell them that it doesnt work that way in other countries… They can then decide if they still wanna be rude or not…. :o
May 20th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
I came to Germany with a positive attitude.But living here has really changed my mind. I don’t think that its just simply a coincidence that many non-Germans stereotype the Germans to be rude, because its actually the truth!The only Germans i have met who are nice lived abroad or travelled alot and are therefore tolerant to foreigners. Any other type of German are incredibly rude and so highly strung about the slightest thing.I have constantly experienced people slam doors in my face, jump queues,persistent staring, think they know everything(which they don’t!).They generally seem to be a control freak nation. In terms of all the bureaucracy, i find it hilarious because there is so much laws for stupid things but not for important things like law and order, i.e when i was waiting for a late train in Augsburg on a saturday eve,there was at least 100 dysfunctional people hanging around the train station, blaring music, throwing cigarette ashes everywhere and coming over constantly harassing me and my friends.I thought to myself where is the law here, especially since Germany is obsessed with law.It was a truly frightful and dangerous experience with no ign of the polizei.
Also i teach here. I’m going home to teach (thank God) very soon. I was appalled how appalling their education system is. Several kids with ADHD, ODS, severe learning disabilities all dumped in to the one class. where i’m from , kids who have such problems get extra support from a resource teacher, learning support teacher, language support teacher or special needs assistant. In my country, you would never ever have more than one such kid with severe problems in your class. My experience here in Germany has led me to believe that your educational system is worse than the third world. The German education system does not give a damn about kids with learning disabilities, behavioural disorders and no language support for foreigners. It is a very cruel predjudiced education system
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:06 am
Hi All,
First of all i am not German, i came here to Germany 8 months ago.
In Every culture there are the good and there are the bad (rude), so for me i met some rude people here and some VERY VERY NICE PEOPLE.
Germans are just a straight forward people who are proud about their culture and language and i think they have all the right about that.
Now from my point of view, let me put it this way…Germans who are (( Authentic Germans)) are a very nice, like to help others, classy people, on the contrary ((Germans who are not authentic Germans)).
Anyway if you met 1,2,3,…10 persons that was - were rude that doesn’t mean all people are rude.
For example : The US invaded Iraq and killed many many people there that doesn’t mean that most of Americans are killers or rude or whatever you call it…. on the contrary.
After all it’s only my point of view.
June 1st, 2010 at 11:47 am
YES,
GERMANS ARE EXTREMELY RUDE, RACIST AND HORRIBLE!!!!!!
its all about how THEY do things, and THATS the only RIGHT way…
“directness”? Id say thats just sheer barbarism…
NASTY NASTY PEOPLE YOU GERMANS….
no one can stand you bitches
!!!
June 4th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
You should all be nice it dosn’t matter who we are. But I should say I hate Hitler because he was messed up in the head and I see wht you hate these people but get a life and be nice!!!!!!!!!
June 4th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
You peole are just as rude as they are so stop and think. Would you like it if people made fun of you because you white or black or spanish????? You all are just as rascis as them german people. My dad and grandmother are german. So stop and think before you write!
June 9th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Wow - some people really get worked up about this topic! I have a German and an American citizenship and I keep it like this: Wie es in den Wald hineinruft, so schallt es wieder hinaus!
It´s hard, but people should try to stop overgeneralizing - we know there is assholes in every country, right?
I sometimes get upset about rude Germans, too, but appearently not enough to start hating all of them! And also: What about Turkish Germans, Russian Germans, African Germans, Afghan Germans, Lebanese Germans and everybody else here - does the rudeness thing apply to them, too? Just wondering
June 11th, 2010 at 5:27 pm
hello from russia)unfortunately don’t have any german friends but got impressed by their men caring attitude to their families when on holiday being kind&loving.can’t believe they’re rude,maybe they just don’t care about anyone outside their families and they don’t pretent)love german cars,classical music,literature)))
June 11th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
Hi @ all !
Im originally from Iran and live here in Germany for over 26 years. Germans are the rudest people ive ever seen and quite unfriendly. Sometimes you walk over a red traffic light some of the Germans look at you like retards and tell you that its not ok to do that because the children are waiting too. What the fuck ? The children shouldnt see me walking when the traffic lights are red ? So what happens if they see me ? They die ? So a child shouldnt be responsible for its own actions because i can be blamed if it gets hit by a car only by walking over the street ? Are these Germans crazy ? Maybe insane ? And why Germans always think they are intelligent ? The Germans dont know a shit of their own history or culture. They only drink beer and watch soccer. They dont read a book or the newspaper. Today i wanted to buy an ice cream. At the “Eis Cafe” like Germans tell it, a German women wanted an ice cream for her child. So she told the Italian ice cream seller not to make so much ice cream in a waffle. What the fuck ? Why not going to a gas station and buying an ice cream because there she can choose how big her ice should be instead of going on the nerves of other people. Why are Germans always behaving like fools ? And why is their car driving so much aggressive that you must fear to death crossing the street ? What about old people want to cross the street ?
And why Germans are always staring at other people if they have a different clothing style ? I want to leave this country as soon as i can because im really pissed on. I want to live in the USA where people behaving like human beings.
June 13th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Ok, Germans are racist, ignorant, stupid, mean and everything about them is AWFUL. I cant even express my hate for them! They think that Germany is the best place in the world, they slag everyone else and they think they’re cool, amazing and smart. THEY DONT EVEN REALISE HOW STUPID, UGLY AND DAMN AWFUL THEY ARE!!! I hate them so so so much.. I have been ‘friends’ with many Germans and all of them ended up either making fun of me for everything I have done etc etc.. They are very racist and stupid as well as mean
June 16th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
@Amir
“They only drink beer and watch soccer. They dont read a book or the newspaper.”
You are right!
By the way:
All Iranians are religious fanatics who read the Quran and believe in the Hadiths only. They flog their wives and hang gay people on a mobile crane but actually they are all heroine addicted!
Good luck in the USA
June 16th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
@Says
You are right too, but the worst of all are the German Jews!
They are racist, ignorant, stupid, mean AND Greedy!
Thanks god that there are non racist people like you!
June 18th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
@ dogooder
” All iranians are religious fanatics who read the Quran and believe in the Hadiths only.”
I preferably be a religious Iranian who is fanatic than be part of the atheist small - minded beer drinking German nation.
” They flog their wives ”
Good idea ! If German people would flog their wives they wouldnt be such men - commanding bitches like they are now.
June 19th, 2010 at 12:29 am
@Amir
Go to Britain and found a Shariah court there or go to the USA and built a big big Mosque at Ground Zero. The liberal anglo saxon countries will appreciate you much much more than we intolerant and rude Germans do.
We need you and your shitty goat fucker religion foundet by a hold-up murdering pederast as much as fistulas on our assholes!
Fuck off from here!
June 19th, 2010 at 9:03 am
@ dogooder
You seem to be an antisemitic and racist German. A real Nazi. Why is it that you Germans always hate the rest of the world ? I am proud of our prophet Mohammed and i think you have nothing to be proud of because your Germany sucks !
By the way your soccer sucks too because you Germans lost against Serbia. Even the US - Team is playing a better soccer than Germany. We dont need you Germans in the world because you and your bitchy sluts are crazy. Go eat Sauerkraut with Bratwurst !
June 19th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
My uncle is german there was a birthday party across the street . He almost whent over there even though he was not invited . He said ” so , that my neighbor ” I said ” thats rude ” . You dont crash anyone party especialy when your not invited .
German are very very rude they think that everyone ows them . I think they know they are rude and they just dont care . I would not be surprised if someone gets into a fight with a german because they are rude .
June 21st, 2010 at 5:47 pm
I am a Dutch person (i.e. from Holland) and living in Germany. My experience is most of all that “the” German does not exist.
Germany only exists as a state since 1871, before it was a collection of many little countries. This is still noticeable today: the differences from region to region are very big. I live in the north where the people are at first friendly and polite, but at a distance. It takes some time before you really make contact, but then you have a friend for life.
Service in shops is much better than in Holland. In contrast to the Netherlands, shop personal really know a lot about what they are selling and are very helpful.
Over-organisation, perfectionism, (too) strong respect for rules and authority also happens here, but less than in the rest of Germany. I have the idea that these things are caused by a deeply felt insecurity, that drives them to find hold outside themselves. I am not quit sure where this comes from.
My experiences with Americans have been less positive. Their exaggerated friendliness proved insincere, they were overly confident, but in the end proved incompetent. It was all outside presentation, but no content.
If I have to choice between Americans and Germans, I choose Germans. But of course Dutch people are the best ;-) We are like a more relaxed version of the Germans: Capable, but with social skills. Perfectionistic, but in a pragmatic way.
June 21st, 2010 at 5:55 pm
@Thomas (163): In Germany I have been at many parties where I was not personally invited. This was always welcomed (especially if I brought some beer). Maybe your uncle thought his neighbours in America? were as spontaneous as his neighbours in Germany.
June 21st, 2010 at 5:59 pm
@Amir: I also walk through red traffic lights when I think it is safe. But I understand the German point. Children are not yet capable of estimating if it is safe to cross when the light is red. So for them it is better just to cross the road when the light is green. If they however see a lot of adults ignoring this rule, they will follow this example.
June 23rd, 2010 at 2:51 pm
Interesting forum with lots of interesting points.
The BIG question in all of this is which part of germans “rudeness” that can be regarded as a “cultural” thing, and which part that is about them not treading others as they would like to be treated themselves?
Hope you understand my point here!
June 27th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
I have spent couple of years in Germany and have made some positive experiences (also with Germans I have met abroad), but in certain situations I find them cold and even rude.
I did not have too much luck with German roommates for example.
A year ago, I was sharing a two bedroom apartment with a German guy in Berlin.
He has been renting the apartment for three years and and all of sudden three months after I moved in, he decided to give
up the lease and move in with his girlfriend in another flat.
In an e-mail, I was asked to start looking for a new place immediately and informed, that he had arranged for people to come see the apartment in the next days, without being specific, when exactly I have to move out: in three weeks, a month or two months, he did not know himself. I had a lot of luggage, was writing my thesis, hardly knew anyone in the city and did not have too much time to organise things so fast.
After an argument with him, when I asked him to be more specific when I have to move out, he knocked on my door and requested to see my passport!!! His face full of hatred and mistrust, because a woman has possibly never contradicted him before. He insisted that I make a color copy of the first page of my passport and give it to him, in case I would leave without giving him the keys back, or in case I would cause some damage to the apartment. I have always been polite and respectful with him, and did nothing to make him feel I can get mad or act immaturely.
Three days before the end of the month, when we both agreed I will move out,
he started moving furniture out of the kitchen and my room, because it was convenient for him to rent a truck on that particular day. The day I submitted the keys: the place clean, with nothing missing or damaged, he said nothing, but continued being pissed off about something.
My advice for people sharing or subletting apartments in Germany temporary (even if you move in with acquaintances or people who appear laid back and friendly in the beginning), is to always request to sign a formal or more informal contract at the very beginning, so that the arrangements are clear for both sides.
June 29th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Andrei, if you are german then you are proving that you are rude. I agree not all germans are rude. EVERY race has there rude people. You are one of them, and i will have to say your racist as well. talking bad against americans, not all americans are bad.
June 29th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
I am a first generation American born of German parents, and I want to speculate that the same “I know better than you” attitude applies just as much to Americans as it does to Germans, and I think it’s because so many Americans are descendants of Germans!
Many of us like to point out what’s wrong with the other, that we are right and know better than anyone else, and we are loud and annoying as tourists. There’s even the depressed, grouchy attitude of German descendants in America that seems to be inherited through the genetic code. Also Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, complaining about every little thing we don’t like, and believing we are the best at everything.
I looked up “rude Germans” on google to find something about German tourists. This thread is at the same time hilarious and sad. I must say though that as I write, I’m in a hotel in Prague that’s been invaded by loud, annoying, rude German teenagers. Then again, teenagers everywhere are loud, rude, and annoying. This particular experience isn’t helping the German case, however.
July 15th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Frederick, I agree completely. There are several good points here but as an American coming to Germany, I have seen funny rudeness that you can laugh off, and flat out rude Germans who need to chill out. I consider myself a very opionated and sarcastic person, so my skin is pretty thick and I don’t care what people think/say. However, I’ve seen some pretty rude behavior in the short time we’ve been her, no matter what country or culture you’re from.
We have only been here a few months but the worst thing I’ve seen so far (since I am still learning the language) is the lack of personal space. People will walk right into you and do not pay attention to where they are going. Once they run into you, they give you the evil look. I don’t care what culture you’re from, some things are rude and unacceptable and cannot be explained by a lack of understanding of their culture. You can’t blame everything on culture.
July 24th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
I think that Germans are clean, hardworking, and repectful people. I live in America, but I am 97% German, and proud of it. In World War 2, American soldiers liked being with the Germans the most because the Germans seemed most like the Americans. People always think of Germans as the big evil people, but thats not true. World War 1 was started by an assassination of a Austrian leader, and Germany was allies with Austria, so they protected them from the people who assassinated their leader. Also, World War 2 was started by an Austrian dictator. The reason the German people didnt try and overthrow him is because Hitler fixed Germany’s economy, and the Germans liked him for it. And German people would clean up debris from destroyed towns right away in World War 2, rather than waiting a few days like the French.
July 25th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
As far as the red light is concerned - the French answer to that would be “no machine can tell me better when it is dangerous to cross the road than my own eyes”…
Take it as a metaphor — before you act, think with your own head instead of just believing regulations.
It is true that Germans have a strong tendency to belittle others and even themselves. It often seems like they don’t even trust their own judgement which I find a bit scary.
July 27th, 2010 at 3:11 am
I am afraid its true ? I have been an expat in Bayern for the last year.
living in a German household.
with 5 Germans., I also have met quite a few locals socialy.
I have to say some of the attitude is alarming? I have to report that some are so rude and insensative? Its quite unbelievable how people can behave. Especialy at birthdays and times where practicle demonstrations of affection are required? they have no idea how to show feelings.
July 28th, 2010 at 3:02 am
This has nothing to do with germans behavior, but on my many travels to Germany (fortunately never lived there, and nor do I ever want to) I have noticed that the way germans prioritize many things is completely fucked up and irrationel.
Just one example: In the city of Hamburg they wont spend any money on clearing the sidewalks from snow and ice during the winther. This makes walking (and bicycling - since they also have to drive right on the sidewalk) extremely difficult and uncomfortable, with a very high risk of slipping and breaking some bones. At the same time I noticed that all pedestrian tunnels/areas connected to either U-bahn or S-bahn stations (as well as the stations themselves) were absolutely spotless clean, and even all the ugly colored tiles on the walls that germans love so much looked like they were being cleaned every single day. Needless to say that it costs a fortune to keep it all so clean (like I would give a fuck about clean tiles and floors such places) when people were slipping on the sidewalks and hurting themselves all the time.
July 31st, 2010 at 2:55 pm
I’m English, living and working in Berlin.
I find a higher percentage of Germans to be rude, aggressive, arrogant and impatient, over the smallest of things, when compared to other countries. Couple this to a very, almost freakily, conformist society and it takes some adjustment getting used to living here. For example, I went to a Tyre shop for some work recently and by simple misunderstanding drove my car into one of the workshop bays. Instead of asking to reverse out decently, as you would to a customer, the workshop manager screamed at me like I’d just murdered a baby! This is one of many similar such incidents where if you don’t follow the norm or correct procedure they go crazy with alarming aggression.
That said, I know a lot of very friendly, helpful and dutiful German people who would go massively out of their way to take good care of me, or anyone, so it’s not that all Germans are arrogantly rude, it’s just there are a higher percentage of them here.
August 3rd, 2010 at 8:49 pm
Germans always finds something wrong if your not german . If you are german then they find nothing wrong . They are very controlling and they are nosey and they get very upset very easily .
I thinkg that germans treat other germans better .
August 4th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Germans !!!
responsible of 30m dead in WWI
responsible of 55m dead in WWII
Nobody respects them,it’s a shit country and they will be always cultural slave of anglo culture.I hope US and UK never gives back their sovereignty.
August 5th, 2010 at 3:17 am
I am german and I think it is true:
Germans generally are rude, racist, narrow-minded and they dont give a shit about other peoples feelings.
BUT IT’S REALLY GREAT TO FINALLY HAVE PROOF THAT PEOPLE (OF ALL RACES!!!) FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE JUST LIKE THAT, TOO.
And to the guy above me: anglo-saxon culture? Do you know where most of the Angles and Saxons live? Please send me a picture with your face finding out ;) BTW how many people got killed in the name of your country? Sovereignty??? No, I’ll stop here…
I lolled all of the time reading all this sh*t. It was really worth the time. I mean it. Thank you so much, Internet ;)
Muchas gracias from Germany
August 7th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Hey!
I`m from Germany, too.
You wrote al lot of nice Things about us…
There are prejudices which are not right.
Some people think that Germans just are blond, wth blue eyes an of course rude, unfriendly, “besserwissererisch”, an absolut superflous.
You wrote that Germans are generally bad.
Okay… I could tell you something about unfriendly American, Englands an Co.
But I Won`t.
The most Americans and Englands are nice to us. We try to be nice. But we can´t show it like you.
We grew up in Germany and lived in this day-to-day-life. We are in our eyes friedly to other people, because we diden`t learn so much… hmm, if someone gives us an… pen in school, we say “Danke” and not: “Oh, thank you so very much! Can I do anything for you?”
We understand that the other is thankful without big words. It`s abudant…
Of course a lot of German girls dreams of a guy, who ist like you. Which opens the door for you. Every time charming and nice and perfect… like in your books, what wie read a lot. But are you charming all the time? Can say without I met you that you are sometimes not nice.
We`re all humans, we are`nt?
Your basic setting is that we are terrible.
Yes, sometimes, but the time bevor 60-70 years is over, guys! Our country is tollerant, but supicious, too.
We are to try to get to the bottom of the things. Sometimes too much, but better than we would be so silly an blind and would look away.
Sooo… I hope, you understand me, my English is bad, I´m 14.
Don`t hate me, that is my oppinnion about MY country.
August 7th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Sorry for the misspellings.
August 7th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
AND…
A lot of people have no Mercedes.
My family has an old “Golf” what is
14 years old.
And JayJay: “Fass dir an deine eigene Nase.” Look who’s talking. This are this words meaning.
Germans are different. Some are nice and intelligent. Some are nice an silly. Some are arrogant and intelligent, some are arrogant an silly.
BUT… Aren`t this every people of all peoples on world?
If you really mean Germans are all bad and silly and so stupid, bad and so ugly… then I’m sorry you do.
Do you know, how it is if you look in the internet and there is written that your country is the worst on world?
Maybe we should open a “Forum”, where`s written the question: “Are Americans naiv?”
And in this time you can see, how it is.
Because the Americans are not the best, also when they are the most influantial on world.
Okay, maybe I´m a bit to much in a flap.
But there are a lot of wrong things.
And at last: Forget the time with Hitler.
The most people, which lived in this time are dead. And we are a new generation which has no guilt. We live among the shout that we were all nazis. What shall I say?
We are like you. We buy things in supermarkets, we go to school an we say ordinary “Hallo” and not “Heil Hitler”!
We could look in your past and see how you medicated your slaves at the time in this you had slaves.
But you are a new generation, too. When we think of the Americans, we see New York. We see the president Obama. He stands for tolerant and equity.
If the Germans would be so bigoted would they pick a woman as chancellor?
Frau Merkel is the first woman in this department.
Okay, I should calm down me. Is your opinion of course. And if you just noticed what look you want, then I can not help you.There are good and bad sides. But the good we see mostly only when you look closely. We do not know everything about you, but you can not claim to know Germany in full, even if you have lived there for a few months. After all, who grew up there, is inaugurated praktsich.
August 9th, 2010 at 10:34 am
@ Hannah
Your comments are mostly weird, German girl.
We are not talking about Hitler or what happened 65 years ago. WE are talking about Germany today. And the Germans are not tolerant people. Your chancellor Angela Merkel is the worst person on earth. She is corrupt and her politics are crazy. She spends billions of dollars for the banking sector and at the same time she cuts retirement pay for unemployed people and raises taxes. She gets donations from the banks and thats why she gives bailouts just for the banking sector. Your government is corrupt and shame on you Hannah that you are trying to talk about slaves in America. You know nothing about the USA and thats why you better keep your mouth closed.
August 9th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Oh yeah? And you know everything about Germany?
How tolerant! We Germans are the bad and therefore you know everything about us, while we know nothing about you?
Not shame on me, no, the other way!
It’s really great to see that all of us to be stamped so bad!
Thank you.
You live here too. We thank you not a thousand times, but we can rely on. Okay, too much generalized.
And so you understand me, here’s a day from my perspective:
At 5.30 clock in the morning I get up.
Breakfast. Short conversation with my mother.
Listen to music. Say goodbye (loud “Goodbye!”, Yes, we say goodbye to a great in Germany!)
The bus stop. My friend Gloria to welcome hug (so what you’re doing great here!) And entertain us. My friend Belma welcome.Lara, Anna, Neele welcome. See when the bus arrives.
The bus arrives. Far too full, as always. We’re tipping, and talk to almost
while with short breaks.
At school. We walk through the corridors to our classroom. No, it does not say hello every everyone. But we welcome those who we know and not the ones we do not like and they do not.
In the first two hours we have math Super. Mrs. Kaliske teaching is really interesting. This is meant ironically.
Bored in math to write down things. Talk to the neighbors (no, we’re not dumb blond clones that have nothing else in mind than to surpass others)
After the break physics. We have a new teacher. He is quite in order. Why do we always get all these trainees?
Okay, one gets by the hour.
Pause. My friends and I are in the same class. We are a clique. They call us the “sports-clique” because we always meet at the sports field. Some of us are a little turned up (not hardly believe it?).
We laugh, we tell. Like her. By the way there with us in school no lunch. We bring sandwiches. Times will also be quite nice, what else besides eating burgers.Then we have music. Okay, but again, a new teacher. After all, he is ziehmlich nice (even to Americans).
Believe it or not, often times we also had an exchange student at our school. French. Once Americans. Englishman, I do not know.
It’s school hours. We say goodbye and Glo and I go to the bus stop. There we meet Belma and talk, until finally, after twenty minutes, the bus is there.
Return.
Zuahause:
I have one brother and one sister. Both younger. Therefore, it is never boring. We are normal kids, you know?
No more ill-tempered parasite, the other mainly just bawl.
And übriegends: I “will Hanna” written.
No, I do not call Johanna, Hannah or something. is the name of it, too.
There are also very nice guys with us.
If you do not believe watch over.
Ah yes, what Angela Merkel is concerned: You are incredibly tolerant, I must say. But write a letter to the German government with proposals for improvement.
If we take seriously intended;)
August 11th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
This is a very interesting discussion. I was born and raised in Berlin, Germany and lived here until my teenage years until I moved to North America where I lived for nine years. Now I’m back in Berlin as an adult, and I notice things now that I have never seen before as a teenager.
I have to say that Berliners are the biggest BIGGEST complainers that I have ever met!! They are so hard to please, really. I rarely ever …maybe never…heard a Berliner say how thankful they were for something. There’s always complaining. As for being rude…yes. I think a big number of Germans are rude. I think young people though (those who are in their 20s) are really cool and friendly, but I find them a bit boring without having much of a sense of humour. Customer service…oh my gosh. There is no such thing as customer service in Germany. I think what the German still needs to learn is just to be human. Being warm and friendly. Germans are so task-oriented that they forget the people around them. Quality and performance is most important to them. Of course I’m not saying that this applies to all Germans. There are very nice and friendly Germans, especially Bavarians from the countryside I find to be very nice, but unfortunately, I have met so many rude Germans before that it’s hard not to notice it anymore.
Oh and something else…just because people don’t smile on the street or stare at you doesn’t mean that they are automatically rude. It’s just really weird for a German to smile at a stranger on the street and I’ve noticed that in a lot of other countries too, where it’s not normal to smile at strangers. And staring at people, I find that to be typically German. Germans like to look at people, it doesn’t mean that they don’t like you or that you are in any way interesting, it just means you’re there and they want to take a look at you….
that’s all folks!
August 12th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
I am part German and American. I have to say that Germans can be rude and so can Americans. You cant say that one nationality is rude compaired to another. You will find rude people everywhere you go. I would rather a German tell me that way it is then have an American lie to me and just give me a smile when they dont really mean it. Many Americans are taught that way. Its being nice on the surface and when they turn their back they stab you in the back. Maybe its the strict upbringing, doing things correctly and honestly. I just you cant judge a book by its cover… you know the rest. Especially people who just go by what they hear or stereotype. Many people say Germans stink, well I have met many Americans who reek of trash and could use a good cleaning.
August 13th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
i dont think Germans are rude , Berliner’s are really rude thats not even funny , and believe me I live in Berlin . cnat wait to get the hell outta here and move to another state !
August 15th, 2010 at 3:10 am
Interesting that this is still going on after years… Apparently there are a lot of people who love to hate Germany.
What all of you fail to notice is that there is no such thing as a typical German. Sure, we all mostly love order and punctuality, but other than that there are extreme differences between Bavaria, Berlin, NRW and the east in general. You don’t have to drive very far to feel like you’re in a completely different world. Bavarians are very, very different from people in Berlin for example. The latter are extremly direct and tend to complain, even I have to admit that. I live in Cologne (Köln) with more than 15% non-german population. Obviously, people are a lot more open-minded than in a village with 5.000 inhabitants - but that’s not a particularly german phenomenon. I remember being told that I’d better not make myself known as german while on vacation in South England because I would have had the crap beaten out of me. And I’ve been to Texas… need I say more?
Like Isabell said, I think it’s much friendlier to tell you the truth than to smile in your face and stab you in the back. And while Germans can certainly be rude when they don’t like you, it’s fairly easy to get on their good side. Just show that you’re trying and you’re good to go. Like I said, I live in Cologne which is crowded with tourists all year and I personally find American and British tourists to be a particular pain in the ass. They are often loud, stand in the way and expect to be treated like royalty - and I think this is a point where we absolutely clash. It’s the same with costumer service, as a lot of people have pointed out. Germans won’t just do anything for you because you wave cash at us. You want a coffee? You pay for it. You want a smile with that? You earn it.
Also, I really don’t understand how you can complain that people won’t speak english, just so you can understand them. We speak German here. Not everyone has properly learned to speak English and while Americans think they speak a language once they’ve learned a few basic phrases, germans will say they don’t speak it at all (much like the French, by the way). That’s because they think it’s ignorant to KNOW they don’t speak your language and still not bother to learn two or three sentences, instead expect the natives to drop everything to make your stay as comfortable as possible. I have some magic sentences for you: “Hallo. Können Sie mir helfen? Mein Deutsch ist nicht gut. Sprechen sie Englisch?” Be surprised what happens once you try. Fun fact: Aside from the British and American tourists, there are a lot of Japanese. Guess who gets treated better?
That said, I have never been unfriendly to a tourist in my life. I actually end up translating all the time because your average sales person usually doesn’t have the best education, thus doesn’t speak English fluently, let alone French or Spanish. How many of you can honestly say they speak a foreign language fluently, and I don’t mean two years of classes in high school? If they did they wouldn’t be working for minimum wages.
My point? While you’re complaining about their rudeness you are rather rude yourselves. You go to a foreign country and expect everything to be the same as at home. Then what on earth are you travelling for? The whole point is to experience differences and learn about them. A little adjustment won’t hurt. I simply refuse to believe that Germans just generally yell at and insult you for no reason. They may not just fake smile all day but that’s a cultural thing and doesn’t mean they hate your guts. We may be brutally honest sometimes but that also means that when we promise something, when we help you we really mean it. We are reliable that way. When we show feelings they are real. When we show you that we like you, you can be sure that we will go out of our ways to do whatever it takes to make you happy. Claiming moral superiority doesn’t make you more educated. If you really travelled as much as most of you claimed, or took a single semester of cultural anthropology in college you would understand that it’s all a matter of perspective. Do you think the Japanese consider YOU to be very polite?
Now, the typical obnoxious, drunk German (and British) tourists in Spain, Italy and the like are a different story - We are all ashamed of them.
August 29th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Germans have no problem treating foreigners like a subspecies. Until they get off their clouds and start admitting that it’s wrong to put up so many walls for people here I’m going to have to say they are extremely rude. More so than any American I’ve met in my life. And the law is always on the side of STUPID here. Also, their testing systems are extremely flawed. Example: On lufthansa’s site they have multiple correct answers but it is clearly stated that only one will be accepted. I believe they do this on purpose because a proper test is not needed, because they already KNOW if you passed or not. I thought the medical was great here until I had to be given Anesthesia. I asked the nurse “How do you know how much to give me? You do not know how much I weigh and you do not know the dose of my medication or what I take.” Her response was “Experience.” Are you frigging kidding me? German’s aren’t smart, they are cocky.
September 4th, 2010 at 8:32 am
this is all bull shit, they are rude.i have met alot of them and never ever a nice one. they are cocky and completely rude and full of shit!!!!!!!ther are germans married in2 my family and they are not good people!!
September 6th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
What can I say?
Some people are just limited.
You belong to it (so I do not mean all here).
Why do we only draw us more and more back from the Americans?
Hmm, that’s really a difficult question!
Only this way: my mother is a nurse and so far I am not yet dead. I know now it says it is pure coincidence.
But you know what? It do not interest me more, which limited idiots here to submit your oh so cruel experiences.
Oh, and about you can you return the foot tear the Germans have prepared a scandal lately, as opposed to people who have something to do with oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico. Ah yes, the people are speaking English, huh …
September 13th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Well, I had experience dating a german guy. He’s extremely rude and irrespectful. First date is ok, I was not interested so I stopped contacting. He’s been coming back again and again through messengers, always promised stuff but never did it, e.g. saying to meet for diner but never showed up. He’s never apologized and doesnt realize his mistake. I’m not at all interested in him but he keeps asking for chances but never makes what he claims. I’m not sure whether he wants to practice his player skill or not, but I haven’t seen a player’s skill suck like this. AND yes, he thinks he’s smart.
Another german I know wants to date one of my friend, while courting my friend, he still often mentioned how much he loved another girl… WTF, does he have a brain? or just had too limited experience with women?
September 17th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
I have met a fair few german people and have worked with them and have been there on holiday. I don’t think they are rude none of them have said anything offensive to me but i think they are more straight forword thinking and honest. When i went to germany the people there in Bonn and cologne(koln) were helpful in shops and would say enjoy your holiday when we left. Im english and have liked all the germans i have spoken to and worked with. So for me i can’t see any wrong in them.
September 19th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Hey guys. I thought I was the only guy who faced these problems but good to know there are a lot of them. Well I have been living in Germany for about 6 months and I feel so left out. I know a few Germans here but they just talk to you and interact with you only when you meet them. They don bother to even say thank you when you wish them on their bday and they don even hang out with other people. Their life is filled with work and work and the shittiest music collection. They play Nirvana in a disco and I heard a pop song being performed by a rock band. They are so cold that they don even want to talk to anybody on the train or even their neighbors. One interesting thing I learnt from my teacher is that if your neighbor is having a party and the music is too loud, all you do is call the polizei. WTF are nt you supposed to be a little nice to your neighbours, my teacher said the reason is most of the Germans don know their neighbors. Come on give me a break. I think most of the Germans die as loners..
September 19th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
It is so hilarious that how many people here trying to insist that the others are rude, while coming across as extremely rude themselves.
And to most of you who accuse other of racist, did you realize you just committed it yourself? You know, judging a person by his or her race, or ethnicity, which in this case, German.
And to tell you what, everyone is a racist, I’ve never had exceptions, including myself, because that’s a natural xenophobic nature of human being. The only difference being how you deal with your racist feelings, and that marks the level of your humanity.
September 20th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Finding this thread has made my day but also made me very sad. On the one hand it is nice to know I’m not mad or a bad person for feeling like so many others but then again by so many reporting the same feelings it means that there is truth to it and that is awful. I am half German myself and have been moving back and forth between here and other countries. I have never been able to warm to the the place even though the people I love the most are from here. Without wanting to sound horrible the place feels rotten to me and the people, outlines of their Nazi predecesors (I’m not talking about all, but many). The rude, uncooth, better knowing, forever staring, foreign fearing, in box putting nature of the people is suffocating and I sometimes feel like I am the only one who is realising that this place is a pressure cooker waiting to explode again. The German “Volksmusik Szene” reminds me of of the musik departments attempt in the Ministry of Truth (George Orwells 1984) to create a sterile, fluffy bunny world and the objectification of women is just unbearable. The beauty qualification is needed much more here that in other countries in my opinion. Now all these criticisms I have thrown out are not without understanding why the people have become like this…but to explain that would be more appropriate in a book and not a forum due to the complexity of the subject and depth needed to explain. The only thing I would wish is that Germans would show more humility and humbleness, that would be a great start. Germans jump in their defence and say politeness is secretly hiding bitter resentment, but that is not so. It is like charma, if you pass on good vibes you get them back. A very simple principle really….
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:56 pm
No, it’s not much nicer to be a jerk to your face versus being nice but not liking you. You still deserve kindness whether you have earned the German’s kindness or not. And how many times does it have to be said: Yes, there are rude and selfish people in every culture, but they occur with greater regularity in Germany. I have lived in Germany and in my homeland many years, and I would say it would be generous to the Germans to say that I encounter rudeness or selfishness 10 times as often here as in my home country. That being said, yes there are millions of very nice and kind and respectful people here too. As to those of you Germans who say you aren’t rude..wouldn’t it be more rational to let other people be the judges of that rather than just deny their impressions and to see that there are certain themes and characteristics that recur again and again in comment after comment?
September 24th, 2010 at 1:46 am
Its been a few days since my last post and I feel terrible for my negativity. However I have been thinking and I believe one of the problems is the resurgance of patriotism here. Oscar Wilde said patriotism is the virtue of the viscious and by god he was right. Germany was denyed the “right” for so long that now it is bathing in it after the world cup. Many people will disagree with me but I think the world Cup in Germany was a bad thing. I don’t believe anybody should be “proud” of their country as you have done nothing to be born there, it was just circumstance. You can count yourself lucky to be born there and not in a third world country as I am with Britain but I don’t think my little island is better than anywhere else, just different. I think if Germans did not get on the band wagon of waving a flag and celebrating made up boundaries this country would be a fine example the world could learn from. I hate how football turns everyone so primitive, it feeds fear of the “other”. Please to any Germans who read this, boasting “we have the best economy” or “we have the best living standards” in my ears sounds like “we are stronger than you” and “we are doing everything right”…sound familiar?…it scares me…being patriotic is a slippery slope! We should all stop it, not just Germans!!!!! But Germany with patriotism is like a kid who has found his dads gun…there is not enough experience and it will backfire…we should all just get rid of guns!!! :-) Ha, am I making any sense?
September 24th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
True.. but I bet my sisters wouldn’t like that.. haha
September 27th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Okay … I am again.
We are not saying we have the best economy.
Anyway I have never heard of. You only see what one wants to see. The conserns for me. Nevertheless, it will slow a bit narrow-minded here!
That with the World Cup: We also want to once again be proud of our country! We deserve it, to see again on our flag without having to think: Oh no, they pack away quickly! It would think someone, you’re a Nazi!
Have you ever been the German film “The Wave” seen?
As is pronounced exactly that.
Other countries celebrate their country.
So, my mother complains, I must stop.
September 28th, 2010 at 11:42 am
This forum is a bit heavy, i would say. but at the same time, it reveals many truths about the Germans. they can be like that quite often. rude, aggressive, “billy know all” kind of attitude, inpolite and often blunt!
But they also have good characteristics…they are honest, straight and can be good friends.
What it will take for a German to get acknoledged in a job envirnoment, it will take twice as much and better for a foreign one. but in which country does not this happen?
the best solution if you do not like that? stay in your country, no matter how difficult is there. at least, you won’t be a stranger foreign.
job done!
October 3rd, 2010 at 2:11 am
@ it is true though
I agree with everything you say but for my part the decission is not easy to “stay away” as I am half German and my family lives here and I love them very much. I carry a German passport and whether I like it or not will always be a part of this country. In the last few days I have made some wonderful experiences with Germans so it really is about finding nice people. However as much as it hurts me, and I wish it were otherwise…I still have the same feelings….on saying this I would be very happy to be shown how wrong I am!
October 7th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
I have read most of these responses and it is shocking how many people have experienced the same barbaric and aggressive behavior as I have here in Germany! Someone is very sick here with the cruel and vicious mindset. These people should be thanking the world for even allowing these Nazi-Jew killing wierdos to even still have a country!
October 7th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Sorry I meant…Something is very sick and broken here with the cruel and vicious mindset.
October 10th, 2010 at 12:39 am
Germans are filthy and lazy and they have a dont care attitude .
October 11th, 2010 at 8:42 am
Well, if you say that, you racist ass, must vote yes. Sorry, but slow it enough for me here. But he lives on in your nice little world with the evil Germans. You got it easy not only that there are other life than yours. We understand just a little bit better with the countries around us, because something like that as we tick. By the way, Hitler was Austrian.
October 12th, 2010 at 12:34 am
As a black American here in Germany I can enter a store and not be followed by security, I don’t get stared at for walking the streets with my white husband, women don’t move their purses when I sit or stand near them, and they don’t move to the far side of the elevator when I get on. Unlike life for me in America, Germans don’t seem to be afraid of me.People talk about German rudeness, try being a “minority” in many parts of America.Germans are not Americans and we cannot visit their country and expect them to act like us.I’ve encountered so much kindness here, and I’ve been in over 11 German cities, thus far, both small and large towns.I travel in Germany by tram, railway, underground transport, buses,and private car,and I generally avoid very touristy areas/restaurants/lodging. Given a choice I’ll take “German directness” because whatever they may think of me, they don’t treat me as poorly as I’m treated in my own country. I love this place. Every place has its bad side/rude people, but I feel free here, safe here (I’d rather be cut in line in Germany again, than have gun shots going off near me, police always following me, as I’ve experienced in the US). Germans leave me be, and given the chance, I would NEVER go back to the US.
October 12th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Its Nice that anyone fight against this Gay Prejudices! Peace Out and wish ya luck for ya fight
October 12th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
hmmmm, i’m married to a german man, he’s the most thoughtful, sincere and straightforward man i have ever met. then again i guess i’m the lucky bitch :p plus we share a killer sense of humor and can be more sarcastic and dry than an englishman if we want at the same time(i am not german by the way).
that said, dragging this thread into history (WWI and WWII) will NOT do you any good. we all can do researches and read history books and find out who was really responsible for the death of millions. and we all know how your wars were funded by your bankers and the only times when the US entered both wars is when their “bankers” found it was beneficial and saw dollars signs written allover. so shut the hell up and go read real history books and not the ones published in propaganda clubs.
now as to rudeness, i believe in the term “treat as being treated” , it goes bothways, if someone is being rude you make sure he understands that even if you have to be rude yourself. so if you’re gonna be rude with me whether it is in germany or anywhere in the world, you’re gonna see the bottom side of my boot (metaphorical).
p.s. ever heard of Stalin? now that’s a real bad dude if you need to know about responsible of killing millions. oops i forgot he was with the allies during ww2 before he turned and kicked you in the ass lol
October 20th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
to nina
not all of us are Americans here, I happen to be half German, half British. How did you get to this site if you oppose what so many have said here? I studied history so I know there is never black and white sides in a war….my comments had nothing to do with who’s “fault” it was or who was right, rather the effects war had on the population wich was inevitable and understandable. Nevertheless with the weeks that have gone by and the countless more incidents of rudeness, hurtful and snide remarks…I am sad to say my thoughts and feelings towards the Germans I have met have not changed…as I keep saying…I would be happy to be proven wrong! P.S some of the people I love the most in this world are German so my feelings about half of my heritage hurt myself more than they could anyone else….
October 21st, 2010 at 9:44 am
Lawl?!
How the fuck can you proof this?
I don’t think you know 82 million people do you?
So pls shut up if you don’t know there 82 mil. ppl k?
If you know them all then tell me wether everyone is rude, then I’ll believe you… NOT! because I have friends which are not rude. So pls, STFU! GTFA!
October 21st, 2010 at 5:47 pm
Germany, Germany, Germany…
I love the country and the people. The most smartest people in the world. They have a great sense for charity and humanity all around the world. A “small country” but a great spender. They are not rude, they are human.
October 21st, 2010 at 5:51 pm
They are human and not Hollywood. Real people with real opinions.
October 22nd, 2010 at 2:50 pm
First of all I’m German. What many people complain about is atleast partially true. There is like no costumer service in Germany - One could argue wether this a sign for rudeness or autonomy. People on the street are looking miserable for the most part and won’t greet back. Working in Germany is hard because you are getting criticism for every little mistake, true. These points on the other hand do not qualify to mark the Germans as rude. It’s just a different culture and this behavior is not considered rude arround here, but merely as a part of life to be dealt with. So as a foreigner (who are not unwelcome or hated in Germany as claimed by some life failers, who can’t take criticism) you really shouldn’t expect to make friends on the first day, but rather to be given a chance to prove your worth and personality.
I can see why alot of Americans don’t like living here - it’s not just that they expect to be lied to in terms of being liked or looking good - they need the feel that everyone is interested in them, be it true or not. I guess you can see this in the social systems too. Americans don’t give a shit wether people die because they couldn’t pay their medication. Germans don’t. Americans don’t give a crap if mothers need to prostitute them selves or let their children hunger. Germans give social aid. Personally I’ve been to America recently and I gotta say in daily life people are not that much different, with the exception that all sellers are spittle lickers and that people ask “how ya doing” without giving a shit what you answer.
October 24th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
YOu are absolutely right:
I am a german. I am rude.
On my last visits to the states I was in a restaurant and had a nice (sorry I mean rude) conversation with a waitress. I asked her (in a rude way for sure) what she knows about germany, but she felt a little unsure if she could really say it. I encouraged her (sorry i mean: I shouted at her to tell me her f***ing opinion)and so she told me that she thinks, that german women are ugly and hairy, and that the land is very poor.
I told her that she was absolutely right, gave her a big tip (and punched her face for sure) and left the restaurant content and happy, that obviously everybody in the states knows how we germans really are…
Rude, poor and hairy.
October 24th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
Why do “foreigners” have to earn courtesy and manners from Germans? That should be a way of behaving generally…and it is not hard…treat others how you would want to be treated yourself…for Anon on here, you said about about how Germans dont lie to you on the way you look or “are”…WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU TO JUDGE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!!! I am sure these people you judge could find a million faults on you but self confident, kind people do not go around putting others down to make themselves feel more worthy(read what I have written previously and you will see I am not American and have come up with my own ideas on the complexes so many Germans have)…AND before anyone says it is just cultural differences I have traveled in Asia, Arabia and most of the West and although these distances are much farther, somehow the idea of kindness and courtesy has translated brilliantly when compared with Germany…I say it again I am not tarnishing everyone with the same brush but there must be some truth to the feelings felt by so many on here!!!!!!
October 26th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Did anybody read all 216 posts?
I stopped at about 180 and just want to make clear that this is not a Forum.
This is more sth. like a shoutbox.
I got here after googling “why are germans so rude”…so it’s likely that most of the authors are lonely-depressed tourists, not the sully satisfied and happy visitors.
October 31st, 2010 at 9:12 pm
As an American who just moved to Germany and has now been here for 3 months, I can say that I’ve had no bad expierences and have been treated absolutely in the best of fashions, something that would never, ever happen on the Esat Coast. I encounter more intolerant, rude, and racists attitudes when traveling in the mid-west US than I have in Germany. I have not seen anyone be rude, but seen how supportive the communities are of one another, and been invited to many, many events to become closer with the people here. Personally, I find Germany a much better place than the US.
November 4th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
For those interested in cultural differences between Germany and the US:
http://langlab.uta.edu/think-tank/germans-americans-talk
Especially this essay is great:
http://langlab.uta.edu/think-tank/germans-americans-talk/part-3/ch08/essay
November 12th, 2010 at 8:33 am
[…] Originally Posted by Wallaroo I was not even referring to WW2, but to the everyday mentality of most germans. Lack of emphaty for others, and pointing fingers at them for even the smallest mistakes, yet refusing to take any criticism themselves. Germans mentality has not changed much if any since WW2. I met some cool germans in my life, but they were the exception. Here is something to back this up from numerous people who have lived in Germany. Germans are rude and oberlehrerhaft Xenophobia and bigotry are always wrong - and this ‘forum’ you mention is just a series of cruel and malicious insults directed against Germans. I just read through it and it is ugly. The Germans that I know are nothing like this. It is offensive. […]
November 12th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Jeeze. I was planning on visiting Berlin but after reading about how rude the German people are I have changed my mind. I found a lot of rudeness in The Netherlands. Maybe it’s the lousy weather.
November 19th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
We Dutch people are not rude. We are direct and honest!
November 19th, 2010 at 11:51 pm
Rude or not, you decide:
I was walking my dog, minding my own businesss, on the sidewalk in front of some apartment buildings(it was clearly, undeniably a sidewalk (if you live here in Germany it is sometimes hard to tell -) and a man in front of his flat yelled to me that my dog was not allowed on “private land”.
I guess if my dog were walking (or doing other sorts of things on his “lawn” (it was really just an ornamental border), I could understand, but we were clearly on the sidewalk not even near his “private land”.
It wasn’t like we mistakenly on some grounds either - this was a full flege public walkway.
November 23rd, 2010 at 8:56 pm
I have read most of the comments here and I agree to some points. I am in Germany since two months and I must say that I am waiting for the day when I will leave this place. It is true that when you talk about the Second Worls War to Germans, they always talk about how their cities were bombed etc., and how they were the victims of the war. And for smiles and good-manners… you can wait for it. I have not seen a single sincere warm smile here. But some people are nice people. Not all of them are rude. They have had a bad history. They are not to be blamed I think. But I agree that most of the rude people don’t even try to change. I called a telephone company as I was having problems with the internet. The woman on the line said that she does not speak English and she hang out.
November 24th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
I was in a small town in Germany for just a week or so. One of the most unpleasant trips I’ve ever had. Perhaps I was smiling too much and the Germans didn’t like that. Rude customer service, it was my turn next at the cash register, and the lady there told me to wait as she went to help another customer look at some jewelry items. This was a nice thing to do, but I was next in line, and that customer had not ask her for help. Apparently I was the only one waiting and she didn’t care. I waited for a few minutes, and as she showed no sign of ever coming back, I went to the next register. This was just one of many similar experiences I had with the Germans in that short span of time.
No sense of humor, can’t laugh at themselves, a very critical bunch, grumpy most of the time, not as intelligent as they think themselves to be. I was living in close quarters with them so this was all from personal experience.
I was rather excited about touring Germany for the first time, but I don’t think I ever want to visit there again. Not that they care anyway. But I wish I had known all this before deciding to make a trip there. I wouldn’t have gone.
There are nice people there, of course, but the rude and grumpy ones just overshadow them all.
November 25th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Well, if you are American, you won’t be that happy with German service.
In America everybody acts so friendly and is doing such a fuss about everything while in Germany people are direct and pragmatic. Of course this seems rude to Americans (and also the British), but it’s just service without unnecessary fuss. First try to think like a German before you call them rude or insult them :P
November 27th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
of course, you will find rude people everywhere if you look hard enough, however, there is such a thing as common decency. saying whatever comes to you mind isn’t necessarily better just due to the fact that you are being direct. germans love to say that americans are superficial, yet i know very few that dole out the frilly compliments just for the sake of doing so. we’re just not chomping at the bit to ruin someone else’s day. ugh.
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Haha! #5 on this list- “Bison”- had my husband and I both laughing so hard! That’s hilarious- Germans being ‘direct & honest’ about not liking someone’s cooking, etc… Wonder how that would blow over with my mother in law who already gets offended over NOTHING! Ha..She is an redheaded Italian woman and got offended at me for cancelling a dentist appt (it’s a long story) but she’s still holding a grudge about it and it’s been weeks! She told us to never talk to her again! She frequently takes a common, everyday event and turns it into an offense! It’s terrible.
Truth be told, I would MUCH RATHER have someone be HONEST with me (even if it seemed rude or brutal) and at least get the TRUTH out on the table & communicate, than someone smile, act nice and be lying…Or silently hold some sort of grudge for weeks or years! Let’s just be HONEST! I can work with honesty… I’d rather have a screaming match if need be, than have someone silently stew… I can’t STAND passive aggressiveness…Can’t STAND it.
What would you guys prefer? For the German to tell you the food was bad and get on with life, or to tell you it was lovely to your face and then go behind your back and tell someone else how bad your cooking was? (Like most Americans would do!) lol… I can say this from living in America my whole life, but also being German and having grandparents & family from Germany.
Every German I’ve met is very direct, to the point…No chit chat…It is a distinguishing quality…You can tell someone is German, even if they have no accent, just by their directness.
One time, I called my German grandpa (Opa)and he answered the phone- I went into talking about something & he cut me off RIGHT AWAY with “What do you want?!”
I just had to comment because this entire subject gave me a good laugh! :D lol
Catrina
December 10th, 2010 at 2:11 am
I am german and would like to say that we aren’t all rude. it’s the same in every country. some are pesssimists some are optimists. and being blunt and honest is better than lying to someones face. I also agree that this is a hilarious subject because some of you are moaning about the people being grouchy and mardy… well, are you telling me that you have never witnessed that in your own country???!!! LMAO
December 12th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Such lame counter arguments from German “Pro rudeness” people here…being rude and uncooth is not the same as being honnest…it is possible to be honnest and polite…just because other people don’t go around telling people “What they think” doesnt mean they are lying…I find it sooo horribly presumptious of some people here that they believe their opinions matter more than peoples feelings…there is a time and a place for brutal honnesty…and I feel in Germany it is just used to put people down! Stop thinking your so important and so much better than other people! Then you will find your “honnesty” wont come across as pure arrogance!!!
December 13th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
I am German. I have to agree to your negative statements about Germans. Germans suck. Sorry.
December 14th, 2010 at 1:27 am
My dad rents out vacation houses to germnans on the danish west coast, and there is NOTHING that these people won’t complain about. Nothing is too small for them to bitch about to the agency, right down to sheeps staring at them while they are in the swimming pool.
December 15th, 2010 at 4:31 am
Sheep…. ;)
They probably couldnt handle the fact that the sheep out-stared them…
Probably also worth noting that the generally rude behavior of MANY Germans does not occur with people higher up their perceived societal chain (the boss, hr doktor,.) or authority figures (police, judge, advisor.. )..
Germans KNOW what they are doing..
Fellow posters please note that the (weak) defensive positions on here are similar to what most would adopt given when on the receiving end of this type of criticism. It’s to be expected.
For those basing their arguments on the principle of free-floating relative cultures, we do have a constant reference point. Germany is supposed to be a christian nation.
December 15th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
A christian nation? Germans don’t even seem willing to TRY and follow the 10 commandments.
Even most muslims would be more willing to do so. :-)
December 16th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
I loved reading all these posts. I am an American woman, married to a German guy from the Black Forest for 11 yrs. We met and live in America (he came for work). The things I loved about him at first, I still love about him, which are he is very intelligent (in some ways), hardworking, loyal, family-oriented, caring in his own way, not to mention kinda cute;-)
BUT …. There absolutely is that other part of him I’ve been reading about on here. He can often come across as completely uncaring, cold (I say he’s an ice cube), rude, very incognizant of others’ feelings, etc. We’ve pretty much spent our whole marriage arguing over this exact subject. He has alienated my adult daughter (she was 10 when I married him), one of my sisters, and now our daughter, who is 11 and quite American(ized), complains about how he acts. She thinks he’s rude and mean and he doesn’t love her, even though I say, yes, he does. Me, myself, I guess over time, even though I’ve been angry at him plenty over this, I have come to a greater understanding that it’s because he comes from a different culture, and I suppose I have a greater tendency to forgive him as my husband. I KNOW he loves me by the things he does for me day in and day out, but he does do and say things that make you think he thinks people have no feelings. He says things that put people down and laughs about it, like that’s a good thing. Annoying!!!!
I’ve been to Germany. It’s like people here say. I had extreme culture shock upon visiting there 12 yrs ago and couldn’t wait to get back home. Despite that, I have been back a few times since and plan a trip next year too because he’s from there and has family there. It’s different, that’s all, and I know I get to come back home in the end:-) I could NEVER!!!!! live there:-) And he says he never wants to either, so that works for me:-) His mother gave me the ugliest, scowliest faces upon me first visiting there, I was floored!!! Like WTF did I do??? He really didn’t pre-warn me about this German attitude, but, oh, yes, it is there. No doubt about it.
@Hannah, my 14-y/o German friend …. Peace out girlfriend:-) My husband’s son still lives in Germany and is also 14:-) I really understand that it is upsetting to you to have everybody pick on your country. They do that to me too because my hometown is Cleveland, Ohio and everybody calls it “The Mistake on the Lake” and I hate that!!! Even if Cleveland isn’t the best, so what?, that’s my home! (or was, I live in Seattle area now). But there really is a reason behind what everyone is saying, just so you know. I don’t think it is just to be mean. You have to visit a place like America to see the difference. I hear the younger generation is cooler too:-) Hopefully friendlier!!! That’s how to make friends, by being friends, not by giving ugly, scowling faces (My mother-in-law is still not my favorite, but ok). Hope I helped you understand more, and hope I helped others understand you too:-)
BOTTOM LINE: No one is perfect. Try to be tolerant. Germans, try to be friendlier:-)
December 21st, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Germany is a beautiful country
only it’s people don’t know the concept of
1. customer service
2. hospitality
3. happiness
4. love
what their hobby is;
1. working (good huh?)
2. staring at people
3. complaining
they are stingy;
1. with money
2. to smile
they are very good at:
1. KNOWING everything (they think) better
2. very bad sense of humor
3. unromantic & bad SEX
they are very proud of:
1. complicated, ugly but funny language
2. being a GERMAN
they are well known as:
the Nr. 1 Racist people (17% of American population are german
descent, so white racist americans are german)
they rush foreigners to learn their ‘great’ cultures:
1. being unfriendly
2. force people to accept their minds
3. yelling at asians
4. get drunk and being idiot on the street
what do they look like:
1. robots (heidi klum and claudia schifer were also like robots before becoming models)
2. you are what you eat =P (german wurst)
they are rich, they have a big stomatch “bierbauch” xD
oh yeah we forgot about brands, of course they smell good, they have Hugo Boss. everybody likes the parfume i think, and also the Nazi, they were so good looking, they wear HUGO BOSS… omg
=P
it’s beautiful isn’t it?
December 23rd, 2010 at 9:28 pm
how many times should we say it? germans are pathetic, rude, annorying, irrogant, moody, blunt and stingy! they invade your privacy instantly and never consider other people’s feelings. racist, moaners, they believe they know everything better than others.so not true! they complain about anything, everything, everyone. they lack sensitivity, feelings, humor and worse than all TOLERANCE! they are so ready to punish you if you do not do something immediately, correctly, according to their will.
they were, they are and will remain control freaks. Nobody likes them. even they do not like themselves. speak to those who migrate abroad and u will see what i mean.
if u want an advice: avoid the bastards as much as you can. they ain’t worthy to waust your time. stay way clear. let them rot in their miserable, pathetic, sad life!
December 24th, 2010 at 2:38 am
I have recently been on holiday in majorca. There i have met a few Germans and the ones that live there were lovely and friendly. But at the end of our holiday at the airport we were waiting at a lift and about one minute later these three Germans came along one man two women, the man pushed my step dad out the way as he wanted to get in the lift first, but as well he was saying in German these English pigs and stuff like that and the two women were really loud and laughing at us, what they didn’t realise was my step dad can speak German fluent so he understood what they said, i had my mother there too and this is the first time iv’e seen German rudeness.
December 26th, 2010 at 3:44 am
Hi people i think people have there own oppinions in there own different cultures, some are rude yeah you get the odd one but not all of them, britsh citizens feel like there second class in every thing, like when your on holiday for example a british citizen is standing at a bar or cueing up the last thing you expect is for the german to push in front of you, i have seen this going on only some do that but not all. so really all cultures are to blame for pusing in cues and things really your suppose to be pasiant and wait, thanks for reading this
January 30th, 2011 at 2:42 am
The first thing that strikes you about the famous German rudeness is that it is an elaborate smokescreen to hide the insignificance of their own sense of self-importance.Their opening gambit is to assume that they are in the right, from the outset and it`s to be proven otherwise.It`s this haughty aloofness and arrogance that is essentally the crudeness of a cheap bluff that permeates almost everything. This social politeness and sense of superiority nonsense is a combination of jealousy, ignorance and reluctance to recognise the genius and intelligence in other countries. One of the first things noticed is the sheer LACK of culture to speak of- most of it has to be imported, then imitated. When a German is confronted over their own rudeness they often cannot see it as being rudeness which leads you to speculate that maybe they`ve got an innate maladjustment just to show the rest of us what it might be like to show signs of having had a frontal lobotomy or be the post-modern archetype out of Fritz Lang`s film Metropolis.
From `reserving` a poolside place with a bathing-towel at a hotel on summer vacation and blatent disrespect or disregard for others to hiding behind their beaurocratic white elephant with pompousness and fake reliability the famous German rudeness must stand alongside one of the wonders of the world. Perhaps meeting a German who is not rude would be like discovering a chicken with teeth.
February 13th, 2011 at 5:21 am
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February 15th, 2011 at 10:11 am
I think what many mistake for rudeness in German culture is just directness. If they think there is a better way to do something, even strangers might stop and “inform” you. It can be off-putting at first, but you must realize that it done with good intention. They *might* have a certain sense of “do-it-betterism”, which explains the sort of “teachy” atmosphere here.
For example, I recently got a dog, and you wouldn’t believe how many unsolicited comments and advice i’ve gotten about how to raise it, etc. Like they say, everyone has an opinion, and when walking down the street, you may just hear them all. Coming from an anglo-saxon culture, I had to create a sort of teflon coat to make it slide off. Learning German certainly helps to shut people up when necessary. After several years here, I still like Germans.
February 16th, 2011 at 7:50 pm
How relieved I am to read that so many other people find the Germans rude and unpleasant! What terrible experiences I have had in Germany (lived there for 2 years). When I came back to my home country I had to have lots of help and counselling to recover and I still have nightmares about it now, seven years later. You may speak the language fluently, be nice and helpful to everyone, go out of your way to learn their customs and what is acceptable, be the absolute model foreigner…and in return they harass you, push you, try to deceive you, pay you less salary than a German, cold-shoulder you, slag off your country, glare at you, shout at you, look down their noses at you, laugh at you behind your back, object to you having a boyfriend whose skin colour is different to you…the list goes on and on and on…In my last week I finally made two lovely German friends who don’t like their compatriotes very much. I am sorry for them that they are the only exceptions, for they surely don’t belong in that horrible country. Before I went to Germany I felt fine. To survive in that country you have to become very hard indeed and the emotional damage that my experiences in Germany have caused to me will, I think, be with me for the rest of my life.
February 21st, 2011 at 6:46 am
I am Scottish and I went to Germany last year for vacation. Every post I read about Germans being rude, cold, unfriendly, arrogant, etc. to be SO TRUE! Anyone who says that it is “just German culture” is full of crap! People know how they act and they have a choice to act the way they do. Humans are not animals who run on instinct. Germans know how they act and yet they choose to because they are mean, vile people. And Germans are very racist. They treat minorities like dirt. Except for asians. Asian people get treated well there I noticed, but if you are any other race, WATCH YOUR BACK! I am never going back to that horrid country again!!!
February 21st, 2011 at 6:48 am
By the way, the lady who wrote about the Japanese exchange students who were very polite is so accurate! I love Japanese people! They are so polite, nice, friendly, kind, etc. I want to host one someday but Japanese never seem interested in Scotland. If you know any Japanese who like Scotland let me know, I would love to host a student from Japan! Way better than Germans!!!
February 26th, 2011 at 6:18 am
Yeah, they’re rude and racist. I have a German-American friend who I met when we were 12. Both her parents and grandmother were born in Germany and moved to the states. They were all very opinionated, high and mighty, nosy and racist. Now I work with a bunch of Germans here in the States and we have to do everything the way they did it in Germany. They say “Well, we did not do it like that in Germany.” Drives everyone nuts. My immediate supervisor is passive-aggressive and moody. They are also very clannish. They will all go out socially after work but only with the other Germans. The Americans are left out. Are they rude? You betcha!
February 26th, 2011 at 6:28 am
Oh yeah…about not returning smiles…so true! Most people almost reflexively return a smile when someone smiles at them. When I pass one of the Germans in the hall and smile at them, they either look the other way, stare blankly, or give me a look like I’m some pervert. WTH? Another thing I notice is that they are still very sexist and discriminatory in the workplace. There is plenty of room for error if you are a young male, but if you are female, forget about it. Better not make any mistakes because they will come down on you like a hawk. I don’t know if they realize that is illegal here in the States.
February 28th, 2011 at 6:08 am
Hi there..
I am proud to be German. I lived in the U.S for 6 years (New Mexico). Currently I am living in Australia (New South Wales).
In conclusion I can say that the majority of the individuals who have posted a comment here are suffering from being subjective, overreacting and stereotyping their own experiences.
It will never work to draw one single picture about one nation….it is just not possible.
Germans did many many things for the whole world and every nation takes advantage of it. Other nations also did a lot for the world and Germans certainly also appreciate that.
Honesty is very important to a German and as posted by many, Germans would rather tell someone that they don’t like someone’s food, car, shoes (if that is the case) instead of allways making compliments when it is not the truths.
It is not just a German problem that many strive for wealth. In fact, Australians and Americans like to buy things they don’t need and pay with money they don’t have (credit cards) to impress people they don’t really like. Chinese, Japanese and Germans are well known for having the highest money saving rate in the world.
Again…you find any kind of behaviour in any kind of society and mostly it is the ignorance of the individual to live and accept the differences of a person from another nation.
You find that everywhere.
I have seen many countries so far and in every country I have come across nice and ugly (not physically) people.
But i guess that is what we need…stereotypes to blame others for the behaviour that we don’t like…but deep inside we are actually acting in exactly the same way..
February 28th, 2011 at 7:00 am
Hmmm..
I think the Germans can actually really do without all the grumpy people who have posted some of the funniest stereotypes about Germans that I have ever come across.
Germans don’t complain..they give feedback…its that simple….
So..basically…if it was all so bad why don’t you just stay where you come from. There are several hundred other websites where people actually posted the exact opposite of the things you can read here.
And accusing Germans as being racists?
That is the biggest joke of all…if you don’t speak “Awstraian” (Australian)…you will allways be treated as a person of second class in Australia.
If you don’t believe in the American way of live (forcing other nations to believe in Mc Donald’s, Coca-Cola and Walt Disney), an American might think you are a terrorist…
I allways loved to go to Germany…surrounded by the language of scientists..having some decent and intelligent conversations.
They are not stingy with money…they just don’t waste the money like Australians, Americans or British and create a global financial crisis.
Germany is the economy motor that is pulling the EU out of its own debt crisis and German tax money is bailing out currupt economies that are not able to manage their own budget.
And….yep..ALL germans are rude
ALL Americans are fat and stupid
ALL French smell and eat onions and garlic
ALL Australians are convicts
ALL Muslims are terrorists…
How about you educate yourself a little bit (hint hint…it is called international cultural communication)….lots of books are available.
March 1st, 2011 at 7:52 am
@The Moose:
Nobody disaggrees that the Germans have not done good things. But the forum is about one thing: German rudeness.
Sorry to break the bad news to you Moose but you are indeed self-blinded, irrogant, nosy rude people who cannot see beyond their ego! Your reaction is actually very typical and quite expected: a classic anticipated reaction from people who believe to be superior and better to anybody else, you never make the effort to realize how pathetic your behaviour can be.
You have read all those dozens of posted messages in this forum…and still, you believe that people have developed the wrong stereotype:( that is what is all about: your ego and sense of superiority for everything will never let you change towards the better.
@M&M: FYI The are many different forms of education. There is the superficial education i.e. going to a good school/college/university and obtain a good degree with honours….and there is the so-called social education i.e. learn how to behave properly in a society whereby appropriate social behaviour becomes the very foundation of mutual respect to other people. What does it mean if you possess hounour titles and masters and doctorates if you have not learned, from your family, the very basics of behaving properly and treating other people with respect? Cause it is a sign of profound, real education:
NOT to be nosy and rude constantly
NOT to believe that you are superior to others
NOT to disregard anything different as inferior
NOT to try to force your opinion and power to others
NOT to be irrogant and megalomaniac psychopath
i.e. not to possess the majority of the above characeristics that Germans unfortunately do.
This is what real education means. You might go to the most isolated village…and still find a sepherd who behaves very kindly and gently to everyone.
And you might go to the most prestigious University…and find a very intelligent, well-educated Professor who is the most rude and idiotic irrogant ever…
Who is the most educated one?
This is in reply to your bullshit theory about “international cultural communication”.
Obviously, all those books reading you have been doing and which you recommend to others has been a complete waist of time, cause it is obvious that it did not only open your eyes but, in fact, rendered you more irrogant and close-minded.
Read all the posted messages again…and you will understand what it is all about…HOPEFULLY!!
March 6th, 2011 at 6:57 am
I have to agree with the article! German people are very rude! I do not understand it! I am from France and I admit that french people can sometimes be rude, but that is the way some people are in every country. But german people take it to new level.
I have been to germany many times with my family and we never have good experience. i have never been surrounded by such unfriendliness and rudeness in my life.
when i was in cologne, germany, these 2 german women came up to me and laughed at my height and face. i do have a model look, tall, skinny, long nose, etc. and these women say i had witch nose and look like i never eat. i was very hurt.
another time, i was in munich with my father, and some german men made fun of my french. also, people everywhere at hotels, restaurants, stores are rude, and do not help.
do not go to germany. it is worst place i have been to and i have been to many places in world.
March 8th, 2011 at 7:39 pm
Aulaire, I am sorry to hear about your negative times spent in Germany! :(
But, I have to say that I have had similar situations when I visited Germany 5 years ago with my aunt. I think Germans have failed to take etiquette classes or something because every person I ran into over there is very rude! They have a “ME-ME-ME” mentality. I wonder if Germans realize their behavior?
March 8th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
@M&M
Seriously, you need to reread all these posts! This article is about Germans being rude! Which they are!
Many foreigners go to Germany to study it’s culture and visit the sites, and they come face to face the cruel reality that Germany has to offer. Rude people, racists, lack of hospitality, etc. Do you honestly think tourists that go to Germany expect that? No they do not! Which is why so many people I have spoken to say negative things about Germany, and most people never go back there again!
There are rude people everywhere, but in Germany there happens to be a much higher ratio of rude people. I have traveled the World so I am not a simple minded, stereotypical twit. I know what I am talking about. I live in Europe, and I can personally attest to the fact that most Europeans hate Germans! I have been to the U.S many times, and I found Americans to be the friendliest, kindest people I had ever met. Germans need to take some tips from them!
March 8th, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Greetings from Spain!
I was planning on going to Germany for a student exchange program this fall. After reading all these posts, I am very worried. Maybe I should not go.
Spain get many German visitors to our country and many of them are rude. This article is true. I was shocked to read that Germans are rude even in their own country!? Very sad if this is true.
Here in Spain, we treat every person with respect, not only people we know.
March 12th, 2011 at 12:11 am
I am from Pakistan and I love Germany, though never visited it.
For me, German speaking countries like Germany, Austria and Switzerland are lands of castles, forests and mountains, filled with rich history. Germany is close to my heart, as I have read about it since my childhood. But as far as Germans are concerned, I am uneasy about them, as I have heard so much about their rudeness and being cold and serious. I have met Brits, they are friendly esp the Scots as I have heard they are cordial and a deep respect for religions.
I hope to visit Germany, but still cannot make up my mind due the cold attitude of Germans.
March 12th, 2011 at 4:46 pm
@ MG
Everything you wrote in your post is exactly how I feel. I love Germany the country, but not very sure about the people..
March 12th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
@ Gonzalo
I think you should go to Germany for at least a semester. If you end up hating it, then leave. There might be a possibility that you might love it there. I have never been there so I cannot give you any pointers. The most important thing about being an exchange student is the experience. I was an exchange student in Japan for a year, best time of my life!
March 12th, 2011 at 5:27 pm
@ y0shi
I noticed you posted you were an exchange student in Japan. I actually am interested in going to a university in Tokyo. Can you tell me what life is like there?
March 12th, 2011 at 9:41 pm
Ok they look at you like you are A vampire or something
March 13th, 2011 at 7:38 am
Sorry, but I think Germans are rude as hell but then again so am I. Muahahahaha! Nobody sounded more retarded, and ass kisser then number 50 Santos! Shut the fuck up bitch! Brazillians sell themselves in a second if they know you got money! And no, they were not prostitutes but I think most of your women are. Yeah, im rude as hell too, and not from US!
March 13th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
I personally lived in Cologne, Germany for almost 3 years and I could not wait to leave. I had to take many trips to other countries in Europe just to regain my sanity.
I found the stereotype of the French being rude to be untrue in my experiences. I loved France and Italy. They were so warm and inviting. Even Africa, where I had to wear a burqa, was friendlier than Germany!
When I first realized I was going to Germany, I was so excited. Cultural Anthropology was/is my field and I just could not wait for the experience! Sadly, I think I would have felt more at home in a village in the middle of the South American rain forest.
It is true, the typical German doesn’t have any respect for anyone that is not German. I have several German friends that have told me this. As far as them being honest: This was not my experience. Direct, yes. Honest, no. There were many times that I was showered with shallow flattery. You know when it’s real and when it’s not.
I think the weather has a lot to do with the attitude, but not all. S.A.D. is rampant. As described by Wikipedia: “Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression or winter blues, is a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms in the winter, or, less frequently, in the summer,spring or autumn, repeatedly, year after year. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), SAD is not a unique mood disorder, but is “a specifier of major depression”.” In the area I was in, there was hardly EVER sunshine. I personally had to be medicated for it and things improved on my end.
Some of my experiences:
If I smiled at someone while walking down the street, they crossed the street to get away from me like I was the town loon.
Customer service is non-existent as we all agree.
There was a post earlier about how German women are often attracted to US or British men. I was told that was because they’ve berated their own men so much that they have lost their machismo and are seen as too weak by the women there. This is just what I was told by the women I interveiwed. My personal experience with the men is that they were attracted to non-German women when the women were “bubbly” or had a happy attitude because they said that German women were too stern. BUT YET, they are most all extremely rude unless you’re in a pub and they’ve been drinking. The only time I could actually talk with and enjoy their company was in the pub. Any other experience was dreadful from trying to get cable to going to the bank. And although I was told that Germans are required 7 years of English in school, that I was expected to speak Deutch within my first week there. Anything else was unacceptable. I therefore learned to speak as much Deutch as I could.
I wanted so badly to fit in and experience this culture. I tried. I REALLY REALLY tried. After 3 years, I gave up. I have since needed therapy to get over this experience. I will NEVER go back to Germany. I don’t even want to stop over in the airport when going elsewhere. Why put myself through such torture?
March 14th, 2011 at 4:54 pm
Some of these posts sound so farfetched and unreal to those people who have not been to Germany. But for all those readers who have been wise enough not to go there, ALL THE BAD STORIES YOU READ ABOUT GERMANS ARE TRUE!!!
I’ve been to Germany 2 times. Once in high school for a 2 week Europe trip with the high school I attended in Oregon. We spent about 5 days in Berlin and Frankfurt. I have to say that I had a good experience. People were friendly and I loved all the sites I went to.
In college, I decided to spend a year abroad in Berlin Germany. I attended Humboldt University in Berlin. I love the college, and I made some good friends, but my view of the rest of Berlin has taken a nose dive. People here are so unfriendly, rude, pushy, unhelpful, etc. I have to point out that most of the friends I made were foreigners. It is literally impossible to make German friends.
I have one german friend I met at a bar, and he spent a lot of time in the U.S during holidays, so he was more open and friendly than the typical german. He agreed that my views of Germans was very accurate! He did not understand their mentality, what causes them to act the way they do.
He told me that Germans don’t even try to get to know their neighbors! Germans will even call the police if one of their neighbors is doing something they don’t like. That really surprised me. If a person needs help on the streets, 99.9% of germans will pass them without a second glance, maybe pretend like they don’t even notice. I took public transit to school every day, and I noticed that men would not give up their seat for women or the elderly.
I am glad I spent the year studying in germany, but I don’t think I would ever go back.
March 14th, 2011 at 4:57 pm
Forgot to add, Germany is a good place to visit, but not to live in. There are lots of beautiful places to visit, especially in Munich. But for sanity reasons, I would suggest that no one live there.
I wonder what the suicide rate is there, must be INCREDIBLY HIGH!! With all those cranky people you have to put up with there?
March 18th, 2011 at 11:55 am
Hi
I’ve been living in Germany for one and a half years now.. and i think i should share this. I’ve lived in three other countries before. interacted with people from south east asia, the middle east, India, canada, and even some parts of africa(zimbabwe, south africa, morocco). Germany’s the first place in europe that i’ve been to. I speak five languages. What i found is this: You want people to understand you and like you, you gotta try understand them too.. I must say that the germans are a friendly lot. All the rumours i hears about them being cold and unfriendly seemed totally untrue. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that i was always eager to talk to them and was genuinely interested and that i tried speaking german, no matter how broken it was..and the result - a year and a half later..i can speak decent german and have a lotta new friends..I guess its important to try learn and understand the local culture regardless of where you are.. especially true if you are in a place that speaks a new language. Try go to america and speak something other than english. Not only is it stupid..its just annoys people..and the result- they are rude.Guess the same applies in germany or anywhere for that matter.
i guess each culture has its perks (germans have an obsession with the rules and maybe they are not so good at being funny ;)) , but i’ve even encountered rude folks in spain and normally people say that the spaniards are friendly..so i guess the point is dont generalise..every person is a different one and each culture has its individuality - try understand how it works. You cant expect to superimpose your expectations on someone or some culture and then say its screwed up.
March 22nd, 2011 at 1:53 am
I have to agree with the alot of what is being said about German’s and they’re behavior. After living in Germany for well over the last 14 years and in at least 5 different area’s I can not count the amount of rude incidents that have been conducted upon myself for no other reason but because I was foriegn. For anyone who says that they had a swell time after one month and then went home that is why your a tourist.
I do have many German friends and love my family over here but this has nothing to do with a people who can not conduct themselves in a agreeable manner that is generally exceptable in everyplace except Germany. Also the amount of racism that I have witnessed here would rival the American period of the 60’s easily. This dont “generalize crap” comes from people who have not lived in the country at all or not enough to draw a conclusion that is credible in any shape form or fashion.
Wake up people in Germany you may be smart but your still pulling the same shit you did for the last hundred years
Truce
March 22nd, 2011 at 11:53 am
Wow, I did not realize how bad racism is over there. I lived in the U.S during the 60’s and I know first hand what racism was like back then. Glad its over and people grew up and quit being such a-holes. This is coming from a white male.
I went to Germany 3 years ago with my wife, and never came across any form of racism whatsoever. In fact, it seemed like the Germans were very fascinated with other cultures, certain cultures to be specific, Japan and South America. Thats the vibe I felt.
My wife and I spent a week there and had a great time. The only problem was that we did encounter the most atrocious customer service.
March 24th, 2011 at 9:20 am
Hello from Canada!
Sorry to burst all your bubbles, but there are racists in every country. In Japan, there are some clubs and restaurants that won’t allow non-Japanese into them. Yup, that is racism at its severity. Nothing against Japan, love that country to death. I am sure there are racist Germans, but there are racists outside of Germany too. Do not stereotype!
March 25th, 2011 at 4:37 am
[…] Originally Posted by dblack That’s something I’d like to understand better. Obviously there was a ‘perfect storm’ of factors that set off the Holocaust, but I’ve always wondered what it would take for the US (or any other society) to fall into such insanity. That makes two of us. Maybe these posts can give you and others a clue… Germans are rude and oberlehrerhaft __________________ Never trust a man who doesn’t swear! […]
March 25th, 2011 at 1:57 pm
[…] Could holocaust have happened elsewhere in the westernn world? Assuming that Hitler got in charge in France, Great Britain, or another first world western country at the same time, and with the same ideas and hijacking of power from the government. Do you then think that he could have gotten away whith executing 6 million jews, or is this mostly as a result of the special german mentality? I have seen posts from quite a few people who had a hard time understanding how a western country could commit such horrible and massive geneside in newer time, but living in Germany for a while made them understand how this could happen. It even seems to many people that the rather evil german mentality has not changed much (if any) since WW2. http://www.true-germany.com/common-p…rhaft%E2%80%9C __________________ Never trust a man who doesn’t swear! Last edited by Wallaroo; 9 Hours Ago at 08:42 PM. […]
March 26th, 2011 at 10:48 pm
[…] Originally Posted by Wallaroo Assuming that Hitler got in charge in France, Great Britain, or another first world western country at the same time, and with the same ideas and hijacking of power from the government. Do you then think that he could have gotten away whith executing 6 million jews, or is this mostly as a result of the special german mentality? I have seen posts from quite a few people who had a hard time understanding how a western country could commit such horrible and massive geneside in newer time, but living in Germany for a while made them understand how this could happen. It even seems to many people that the rather evil german mentality has not changed much (if any) since WW2. Germans are rude and oberlehrerhaft In fact Hitler did get in charge in France and they handed over so many Jews the Germans could hardly handle them all. […]
March 28th, 2011 at 9:53 am
All I want to say is that Germans are truly the rudest people on the planet. I would go into detail, but I do not want to reiterate what 99% of the posts already confirm. And I have too many stories to tell on German rudeness. It would take hours.
April 2nd, 2011 at 8:29 am
I love this blog! It is nice to know that the experiences that I went through in Germany weren’t my imagination or were due by my part. When I travel, I am always on my best behavior and I always read up on other cultures before I go. That way, I am not ignorant to their ways. I went to Munich, Germany last summer for 2 & 1/2 weeks with 2 friends. We all hated it there. Everyone was rude! I have never experienced anything like that in my entire life. Of course, there are rude people everywhere. Here in the U.S. I might run into a rude person now and then. Today I was at the supermarket and some guy wasn’t paying attention and bumped into me and never apologized. Incidences like this happen all the time all over the world. But, in my 2 & 1/2 weeks in Germany, my friends and I met more rude people than what I would meet in a year in the U.S.
I read some posts expressing “some” individuals wanting to go to Germany. I strongly advice against it!
Spend your hard earned cash at a more worthwhile location. And more exciting place too. Germany was BORING!!!
April 2nd, 2011 at 6:58 pm
Hi everyone!
This is Gonzalo from Spain. I was planning on going to Germany this fall but changed my mind after reading all these negative posts. Instead I will travel there for a week maybe more. If I like it, I will go to school there. If I have bad time, then I will not. Most chances I will experience the latter.
April 4th, 2011 at 10:32 pm
Hey,
it’s really sad what people think here about Germans. I am a German who lived 2 years in America. We DO have red heads in Germany, of course. And yes, we can be really rude. But only if the other person is rude too. It’s just … you say stuff. And that’s not true.
April 5th, 2011 at 4:18 pm
Hi,
iam german. I read this text and I doesn’t like a lie and this is a lie.
German have a bad story, this true, but it doesn’t mean that we all like “the Authority”. I can’t understand why americans every time say so a (sorry for this word) bullshit …
All countries have one or more bad story and we dislike the story of germany and try to forget this story and be civilized. But it give people who are uncivilized and THIS is really bad.
Thanks for reading.
-SAR
April 5th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
I work at a bakery in Portland Oregon. I deal with many European customers where I work. They come here with their family for 3-5 years to work for companies like Intel. Most of my customers are nice and friendly, except for the German customers. Near Portland, there is a German school, which the Germans send their kids to. Their kids end up not learning any English while they are here, because their parents refuse to allow them. Very ignorant!
One German lady who shops at the bakery, wanted me to put real peaches in her cake, and I said that is not possible because it was February (not peach season). She said I needed to find a way to find real peaches or else she would complain to my boss. I couldn’t believe my ears! I made a cake for her with canned peaches inside, and when she came back the next day, I handed her the cake, and explained what I had done. I told her if she is not happy, then go ahead and talk to my boss. This situation was out of my hands.
Another German lady comes into the store with her 3 kids. One day, I offered her kids a free sample cookie, and their mom yelled at me. She said that she only gives them cookies from a certain bakery in another part of the city.
These are just a few of the events I experienced with Germans. They are a sad lot. I don’t understand why they act like this. All the other Europeans are great.
April 11th, 2011 at 8:02 pm
I love this blog and all the posts! Very entertaining stuff! It is funny to make fun of a country full of people we all hate a.k.a- the germans! haha!
April 12th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
“wie es in den Wald hineischallt, so schallt es hinaus” is so not true in Germany (in english it means sth like “you get treated by other ppl the way u treat them” . I am a naturally friendly and happy person and when i smile at ppl (not a massive grin, but a nice lil smile) they almost never smile back but thats just one minor thing that pisses me off about this country here. I also lived in England for 3 yrs and that was an absolutely marvelous experience - to the British ppl here - I love you all :D
I am born and raised in Germany but im not “real” german - my parents immigrated from another european country. I must say that i have not came to terms with the mentality in this country and i cant stand this permanent presssure and/or negativity that kind of lies in the air. I can feel it physically let alone emtionally. I cannot hear this “there are rude people everywhere” gibberish, cause thats not the point. the negativity in this country is just prevailing and as someone above already said - i can see too why all those horrible things 60 yrs coudl happen. many germans just tend to obey authority without questioning anything and i feel there is a great lack of sympathy for other people, too.
the UK on the other hand, is the complete opposite: people rushed to help me as soon as they sensed that i might need some support in anything. i cant say that about the germans unfortunately. hier it is “das Recht des Stärkeren”
April 12th, 2011 at 6:13 pm
I am a Russian American who was born and raised in Germany; lived there for 22 years. I met an American man when I was attending college in Berlin. We married and moved to the U.S.
I have to agree with all the bad things people are saying on this site. Germany is not a nice country. The people there are very rude! It is the mentality there that it is ok to act like that. When I moved to the U.S, I remember how surprised I was by how friendly and kind everyone was. When I first met my husband, he actually said I was very rude. I was shocked because I did not think I was, but when I look back, I have to agree with him. Growing up in germany and learning their culture and customs and being around rude people all your life will eventually turn anyone into a rude person. Luckily, I have lost a lot of German traits when I moved to U.S. Germans do not realize they are being rude, because it is normal in their society to act like that. Sad country! Very happy I do not live there anymore!
April 12th, 2011 at 7:21 pm
“wie es in den Wald hineischallt, so schallt es hinaus” is so not true in Germany (in english it means sth like “you get treated by other ppl the way u treat them” . I am a naturally friendly and happy person and when i smile at ppl (not a massive grin, but a nice lil smile) they never smile back but stare at me with a miserable serious expression, but thats just one minor thing that pisses me off about this country here. I also lived in England for 3 yrs and that was an absolutely marvellous experience - to the British ppl here - I love you all :D
I am born and raised in Germany but im not “real” german - my parents immigrated from another european country. I must say that i have not came to terms with the mentality in this country though i grew up here and i cant stand this permanent presssure and/or negativity thats in the air. I can almost feel it physically.
And I dont wanna hear this “there are rude people everywhere” gibberish, cause thats not the point. the negativity in this country is just prevailing and like someone above already said - i can see why all those horrible things 60 yrs could happen. many germans just tend to obey authority without questioning anything and i feel there is a great lack of sympathy for other people, too.
the UK on the other hand, is the complete opposite: people rushed to help me as soon as they sensed that i might need some support in anything. i cant say that about the germans unfortunately. I cant wait to move out of this country and live in London!!
April 12th, 2011 at 7:23 pm
another thing:
there is a strange mix of gender here I think. Men are not masculine enough and women are too masculine..does anyone know what i mean?
April 12th, 2011 at 8:42 pm
[…] Originally Posted by Wallaroo Assuming that Hitler got in charge in France, Great Britain, or another first world western country at the same time, and with the same ideas and hijacking of power from the government. Do you then think that he could have gotten away whith executing 6 million jews, or is this mostly as a result of the special german mentality? I have seen posts from quite a few people who had a hard time understanding how a western country could commit such horrible and massive geneside in newer time, but living in Germany for a while made them understand how this could happen. It even seems to many people that the rather evil german mentality has not changed much (if any) since WW2. Germans are rude and oberlehrerhaft The US holocaust warning scale would look like this red - severe - conservative run government yellow - elevated - liberal run government green - low - moderate run government __________________ The bush administration and bank lobbyists proudly killing our economic system - 2003. […]
April 13th, 2011 at 5:21 pm
With so many things here being said I’d just like to throw my opinion into the bowl. I think in contrast to Germans you Americans are doing a great job. You have your failures but you are also able to learn and to reflect. Well, Germans do also reflect but it seems to me they are biting their tail every time. They don’t get it. I say this as a German myself and only via reading English-speaking media do I understand how rude and narrow minded we Germans actually are. Just one example: Germans complain about American films being poorly made or whatever while at the same time they aren’t able to make outstanding movies or TV series (like “House” or “24”) themselves. Also setting up a company like Apple wouldn’t be possible in Germany. Although Germans are innovative, there are not REALLY innovative if you know what I mean. It’s because they lack the mindset or courage to really try new things out. There’s a lot of pressure in Germany for being “normal” and don’t step over the line or do anything perceived as “crazy”. “Crazy” in German has a negative connotation. I think though that things are improving in mentality, especially within the younger generation, but it’ll take some time to really make a change. That’s just my opinion. Cheers from the country of darkness ;)
PS: One comment here says that Germany has terrible comedians. That’s absolutely true!
April 16th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Thanks god all of you PERFECT just germans people not perfect
being rude better than being STUPID
i am not german
April 16th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Hey All,
Forbes Magazine is talking about how wonderful Germany is. Feel free to comment. Here’s the address:
http://rate.forbes.com/comments/CommentServlet?op=save&sourcename=story&StoryURI=2011/04/08/worlds-friendliest-countries-business-expats.html
April 17th, 2011 at 4:45 am
I lived in Germany for two years and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. It probably hepled that I speak German. I never found Germans to be what I would describe as “rude”. There was something else though. Some (not all) Germans did seem to not like themselves for being German. I remember one girl I dated saying, “Ich bin stolz deutsch zu sein? (I’m proud to be German?) No way man, not me!” I found that strange but it was never really a problem because those Germans that I met always liked Americans. Others that I met definately did not like Americans, most especially GIs like I was at the time. One thing I found odd was that while I was a mid-twenty something, colleged educated young man raised in a middle class family I could not establish relationships with people of similar socio-economic background in Germany. They seemed to be the people who didn’t like Americans. The only time I actually did experience rudeness was when I ventured into a little yuppie cafe with some American friends and waitor wouldn’t serve us. But that was rare. I had many friends among working class Germans and many friends in their late teens or 30’s, even among the right wingers who are so often thought of as xenophobic. When they yelled “Auslander raus!!! (Foreigner out!!!)” they weren’t referring to me. I think it depends on the individual. When my parents came to visit me while I lived in Germany, my father loved Germany and thought Germans were wonderful friendly people while my mother thought Germans were rude and unfriendly. And they were meeting the very same Germans!
April 18th, 2011 at 8:09 am
Thanks to all who posted your remarks & experiences with Germanic culture.
Although a bit dated, I too am intimately experienced with the mindset of the modern German society, and feel somewhat comforted though not at all healed by the commiseration expressed.
It seems not much has changed since the 80’s (other than everything else with Germany…) within the locked box of the German soul.
For those Germans who feel defensive at the generally negative reaction to their culture, I offer the obvious caveat that Germans’ disagreeable nature is definitely not genetic.
There is no ‘ethnic’ stereotype that can be made of Germans in this regard (despite the traditional German & other tribalistic xenophobes continued & unfounded claims against differing ethnicities).
German immigration to the US was of course historically vast, their descendants numerous, their positive, hard-working cultural influence on early American craft, timber-framing, salt-fired stoneware, etc. enriching, and many wonderful Americans of German descent I’ve known display none of the traits we’ve experienced amongst contemporary Germans here & in Der Deutsches Reich.
It also cannot be said that German cultural heritage in the Old World did not rise to excellence, i.e. Durer & Bach, and of course as pointed out here, by excellence in modern mechanical & manufacturing technique.
I can also say that perhaps the person of whom I remain most fond was an idealistic German who emigrated to the US in the 20’s & started a wonderful summercamp which I attended as a child. But she represented a prewar culture and an idealism common to her time that predated the disasters which corrupted German behavior since.
That said, there is indeed & undoubtedly something profoundly disturbing about the culture of modern Germany.
As an 18-year old idealistic American youth completely ignorant & innocent of the sort of bombastic cultural antics of Europeans in general but fiendishly refined by Germans, I met a slightly older, somewhat equally idealistic (yet not nearly so naïve) Mädchen & together embarked on what began as a most pure love that lasted for years.
Suddenly I was thrust into the bosom of a rather wealthy but most disturbing family, full of vile underhanded hostilities, back-stabbing gossip, destructive jealousies, power-mongering manipulations & hateful hubris. It was all at once stunning, mind-numbing, head-spinning yet relentless Sturm und Drang Wagnerian nightmare. I’ve seen nothing like it in any population or situation prior or since.
Compelled to constantly go on vacations & attend dinners & events with these people, I came to find this vile brew of mean-spirited misery suffused not only each and every individual that orbited the family of this influential art-dealer, but upon my visit to the Vaterland, by the entire terrible Teutonic tribe!
Amazingly, and unfortunately, I cannot recall a single individual in the many I met there who was genuine, generous, compassionate & kind (with the single exception of my Beloved for whom I foolishly endured a most destructive, scarring six years).
In fact, the nicest looking people I found (other than the one slightly ‘special’ cousin too daft to be devious) were those in then East Berlin, where some kind of backward Soviet ‘camaraderie’ seemed to exist around pub tables lubricated by lots of vodka & over their favorite spam-like sliced mystery-sausage.
Of course the jealousy & rage of this vindictive Germanic family at our happiness, the malicious manipulations, the cruel conniving & constant critique did indeed drive us crazy (as intended), and ultimately drove us apart.
They had managed to keep their incestuous claws in my girlfriend, and while they regularly drove her to tears, she was too abused by their antics from too young of an age to evolve.
Despite subsequent successes, neither of us seem to have recovered from the resultant split. In fact I can safely say that each and every one of that family, their friends, and all of the German people I met were to one degree or another, Damaged Goods.
In retrospect it would of course have been better to either elope or leave, but so in love, we were stuck trying to make an impossible match between our relationship & her culture which she naturally still calls home (though she displayed none of theHerrenrasse to which so many modern Germans seem to still addict themselves).
I emerged from this immersion in the modern Germanic style a rather angry young man, fully convinced that the reasons for the populism of the Nazis was entirely culturally-based, that the culture which gave rise to that mass-madness was alive & well, and I was incredulous as to why such a toxic nation was not dissolved and dispersed after the war… But of course one grows up from feelings of nationalistic hostility, since it’s ultimately individuals who decide how they choose to behave, not cultures (right people??).
This is not to merely indulge a mournful Tale of two Teenagers, nor is it the first time families foiled a first love (though thankfully no Shakespearean suicides…) nor can I say with certaintly that their behavior was actually anti-Semitic (although somehow, despite being 6’ & light, rumor had it that I was tarred as the Kleine Schwartzhaarige Yid), but it remains for me a traumatic personal experience with a society that seethes with suspicious, cynical, almost sadistic, destructive darkness, and seems to breed Bad Seeds.
It’s since become apparent that even naturalized German/Americans of the postwar decades seem generally hooked on their abusive cultural complex. So powerful are the cultural claws peculiar to Germans that even long-time migrants to the USA born there often retain their maddening obnoxious arrogance.
It wasn’t until the Iraq War that I was again so frustrated with an arrogant nationalistic influential society, this time my own! Germany in the ‘80’s corresponded with Reagan, and in the intervening years, the US culture was to become an utterly deranged, obese Idiocracy, populating Megachurches with their ‘What’s the Matter with Kansas’ warmongering, gluttonous, Amerigoon-exceptionalist, mouth-frothing mass of red-stated miscreants .
Sadly after much experience I can recommend neither Americans nor Germans if one seeks an enriching cultural diversity . But there is a reason Shadenfreude is a German word…
April 18th, 2011 at 9:18 am
@ vernarbt
I must disagree with you. You portrayed the U.S as being just as bad as Germany. But in actuality, Germany is far worse. In my 25 years, I have rarely seen racism against any race, whether it is black, Asian, Hispanic, white, etc. while living in the U.S. My husband was stationed in Germany for 3 years, and I moved to that country when I was 21. I was shocked by the way foreigners and minorities and non-Germans get treated in that country. It mad me sick to my stomach. My husband finished his time there, and we moved back to the States. There is racism in the U.S. I would be a fool to disclaim that. But most Americans are very open to diversity. Did you know that the U.S hosts the most international students?
April 18th, 2011 at 11:33 am
@ guasc
Indeed, Echt Herrenrasse.
But the advent of Obomba in the US has unveiled the seething civil war still smoldering just below the surface here. The pitchfork-wielding hoards are fully freaking out.
As Germans seem to sabotage themselves & their culture with self-hating, mean-spirited hyper-perfectionism, Americans sabotage their society with anti-intellectual fundamentalist idiocy.
Both are intolerable, albeit for entirely different reasons.
Both are daily choosing to dig a hardened right-wing hole for themselves out of irrational fear.
But I can say with certainty, that of the two backward nationalistic entities, both bathed in a century of unprecedented militarism, it is presently the USA that remains for the past half-century the most dangerous, projecting murderous force throughout the globe against people of no threat to her borders.
However in the USA, particularly if you have access to NYC, the cultural diversity is a gift. Many NYers in this day and age simply can’t fathom the level of ethnic distrust Germans (or for that matter Southerners) still harbor.
It must be a huge drain to go through life that way, especially in the age of the Human Genome Project, where racism is now genetically disproved!
April 19th, 2011 at 11:02 am
@ vernarbt
Don’t mean to sound rude, but you are beginning to sound like a fanatic with your far fetched comments about the U.S and Germany. The U.S is a conservative country compared to many countries in the world, but has proven time and again that our policies are the best in the world. Look at what is going on in Europe today financially. The U.S is heading the same direction but only due to left-wing philosophy, “spend tax payer money like there is no tomorrow.” It is the right wing approach that will keep the U.S strong. Follow what the founding fathers of this great country had done. DO not overspend, follow the Constitution, no social programs like universal healthcare or government funded abortion, just to name a few.
Now, I am going back what this article is supposed to about. Germans and their lack of manners. Germany has a screwy government that is a fact. Yet it is their mannerisms and culture that truly astounds me. Unless, you are okay with racism, cutting in line, yelling at people when you do not get your way, etc. Germans are self-centered people. Someone in an earlier post said that this behavior might be caused by a sense of guilt or pride that Germans have due to the past (WWII). Couldn’t agree with him/ her more!
April 19th, 2011 at 4:48 pm
German speaking people are rude. I have more experience with Austrians than Germans. They have no tact, don’t know how to queue or say please and thanks. But they greet …OH YES ! Greeting is very important they greet and scowl while they knock you down to get to the till before you. Children are bought up to greet 20 times a day .
Someone wrote German speakers are straight forward - where is the line between straight forward and down right tactless?
They get on my nerves no end.
April 21st, 2011 at 2:55 am
@giasc
Sounds like you are a fan of the Ryan budget bill, cut taxes further for the uber-rich, defund Medicare, continued socialism for corporations at taxpayer expense but privatize their profits… How is it fanatical to be against this idea when 76% of the nation also hates it?
Your side also called us fanatics for being against the Iraq invasion, how’s that ’shock & awe’ thing workin’ out for ya’??
Like all your other militaristic & deregulationist/corporate welfare antics on the backs of taxpayers, was truly “spending taxpayer $ like there was no tomorrow” (i.e. NOT what the founders imagined, any more than they supported your fanatical ideology that the USA is a christian nation, that deranged evangelical notion of the end-times theocrats who almost blew up all of the EU & US… & remember, Reaganomics did NOT work, Clintonomics DID.
Bear in mind that the founders were vile racists, since built into their founding documents was the notion of slavery, an endemic racism the USA still has not recovered from!!
But back to German popular attitudes, I’m curious as to why this sort of rudeness & arrogance, which undoubtedly exists, would be particular to Germans? Is it genetic, are they born that way, specific to their ethnicity, or is it learned behavior?
BTW, Yankees, aside from all the domestic dysfunctions detailed, were always known as ‘ugly americans’ (hmmm…).
Perhaps part of the problem with both ugly societies is the arrogance of Empire Nationalism. Nationalists & Empires always seem obnoxious, imagine what South Africans thought of the Dutch, India of the Brits, etc.
Indeed Germans remain the ones people resent, yet look how Germany is the largest economy in the EU, and did all this from a state of complete destruction some decades ago.
While we can villify any society for obnoxious attitudes, careful not to dismiss whole populations.
People are individuals, the body does have a head.
April 21st, 2011 at 8:40 am
Hmmm…this is an interesting blog.
I have been to Germany several times on business trips. It is a beautiful country, especially the southern part (Munich area). But, the beauty of that country and its wonderful culture is overshadowed by the rudeness of that country’s inhabitants. That is all I will say because I do not want to reiterate what almost every blogger has posted on here. I think enough examples have been given to where it is not necessary for me to post examples.
April 25th, 2011 at 8:38 pm
I am german….it’s quite interesting to read all these comments about us.
I think most germans are very selfish…but i think most of all humans are. I just have a few friend that think about other people, but they think JUST about others.
For me it’s not rude (although I’ve benn raised a lot by my grandparents who care a lot about good manners)to tell wehen somebody did a mistake. Do really just germans tell they opinion (I mean we usually do it sometimes when we talk to our friends but generally not to teachers or other adults we don’t know).
Well, i think it’s kinda cool and funny to be rude and disrespectful in some situations. But that doesn’r mean that all germans are always rude. Only when it’s not that bad to be rude…
April 27th, 2011 at 7:28 am
I don’t think Germans are rude at all. They can be very straight forwarded but I prefer that over the fake friendly behavior whne I lived in the US. I’ve been to Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Duisburg, actually all over the country and most people were downright friendly. My experience is that Czechs are pretty rude, but that’s perhaps because they are not used to people of colour. The English are quite rude from my experience as well, but the Scots are generally very nice. I go to Germany 4 times a year or so, and always love going there. Germany and Greece are the two nicest countries to visit in Europe if you’d ask me
April 29th, 2011 at 5:22 pm
I am a German living in Dusseldorf. I can honestly say Germans are rude, but that is our culture. One thing, most Germans are difficult to accept other cultures and immigrants. It is our personality. We have difficult time warming up to strangers or even acquaintances. The German government has been trying to integrate more immigrants into government jobs like police. Hope it works to bring less racism in this country,
April 30th, 2011 at 10:21 am
i know one german living in the uk, and i find that person rude & miserable, with nothing but disdain for the uk, you dont like it flock of back to germany.
April 30th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
I think I can ‘top’ all these comments about rude germans. I am actually going through a very unpleaseant experience as an Englishman working for an english company in England ….. with German immediate colleagues. It’s definatley not all of them and some seem very nice to me, the way I happen to like people to be, warm, generous, good humoured, helpful, gentle etc. etc. The job is customter sevice for customers in Germany. I have no trouble serving german customers, they are polite and fine; it goes smoothly. My German is about 90% perfect and was adjudged good enough to do the aforesaid duties but I’m really stuggling with some of my colleagues. I even noticed that the tone they adopt with their fellow coutrymen seems, how can I say, officious? This seems unnecessary as it is only business not, shall we say, a life and death war situation or something where you might expect people ‘not to suffer fools gladly’.
It’s all new to me, confusing and really pretty distressing as I need to constantly ask them for help as I am new to the job so at a disadvantage, a bad place to be in I can assure you with some of them! I might mention to some posters that I am white. I find this tone really impossible to take. I can go into a rage myself about this and it has taught me so much about sensitivity and ‘respect’ in cross-cultural exchanges. To pretend that all these historical facts about wars with Germany can be forgotton and not come into one’s consiousness at all I think is not possible. Now I know how a black person feels when they get a disdainful glance or bad tone from a white person. They demand ‘respect’! And let me tell you deutsche Freunde, that I do too. We English of course find a lot of this germanophobia quite funny, one thinks of Fawlty Towers etc. Well, I hope you find this an hilarious example of a funny englishmen who can’t forget the war. Here I am in my own town in an english firm being pissed off by Germans in a little mini Germany. Of course I don’t explode but I wanted blood. What did I say to my supervisor as I complained? - ‘I want his f**king head on a stick!’ That’s how annoying it is!
May 4th, 2011 at 5:48 am
I work in a store in an airport so I get to see and meet all kinds of people. Germans are nice but some of them come as if I were to have insulted their mother. So rude! And real rude. I try and be nice hoping to turn their mood but it seems like that makes them worse.
May 11th, 2011 at 9:22 am
Here’s the thing about Germans: they say one thing and do another. They say that they are a welcoming to foreigners from other countries, yet treat them like garbage. Germans have rules for everything, like many people have already stated. Yet, they do not follow 90% of them. If you are a foreigner like me, if you break one rule, expect to get screamed at.
I am an American studying at University of Berlin, and I HATE IT HERE! Luckily, I only have a few more weeks to go then I can go back to my home in Texas, USA!
May 12th, 2011 at 5:59 am
As a German-American having grown up in Germany and being exposed to both cultures, my experience is that you will find at least 30% of all Germans being aggressive and rude in public, while the rest may be nice, but are generally hesitant to show it.
You will encounter situations unthinkable in the US or other civilized societies: last time a jerk elbowed me out of the way at Frankfurt airport when he thought I was standing in his way.
Cutting queues, never saying “excuse me”, taking advantage of others rather than helping them etc. is standard behavior in this country. You will also encounter genuinely nice Germans, but the impression is already ruined by the uncouth mass that dominates the public life.
I am always glad to be in the US or Japan with a really civilized society. The irony is that almost all Germans think they are culturally vastly superior to the “Wild West Cowboy” Americans. Those who have been to the US and seen the difference often denigrate American friendliness as being superficial instead of acknowledging German rudeness. Shame on this country.
May 12th, 2011 at 8:20 pm
Wow! I thought I was the only one! I’m a south american girl living in Vienna and I hate it here! The mentality that Germans/Austrians have is horrible, they are sooo selfish and never want to help! They can’t tolerate any kind of mistake, they always have to point it out and scream at you, I mean… seriously… just relax!
I have a German boyfriend and he’s awesome but when I met his family, I was so shocked :/ They treated me like shit and just shook my hand like if I was some sort of stranger.. I mean.. I’m the girlfriend, I was expecting a warm welcome and a hug or something, but that just didn’t happen, so fucking boring and cold people! I’ve been learning German for 2 years already and I am quite fluent, but sometimes I make a couple of mistakes of course, well, when we were having dinner I said something wrong and his parents corrected me and made a giggly laugh… thanks for humillating me.
Also when I was with him at a concert, he came across with some of his friends and started talking to them. I was besides him all the time of course… and guess what.. NO ONE spoke a word to me. I was a ghost. I was totally ignored, they didn’t even say “hello” or ask him anything about me. I felt horrible.
I guess I could make a list of other 1000 things I hate :/
I seriously can’t understand it. I mean Austria and Germany are such beautiful countries, why is everybody so bitter all the time?!
May 13th, 2011 at 11:00 pm
[…] Re: I hate Germans, because… Maybe I should answer the thread question seriously. Now I dont hate Bleipriester, but I hate germans (or lots of them) for the following reasons: They are nerds who tend to focus on irrelevant details instead of the bigger picture. They have no patience with other people. They have a HUGE staring problem. They got an extremely bad taste when it comes to architecture, colors, food, and clothing. They got no queuing culture. They are unvilling to help when you ask them, and unvilling to help people who has been involved in accidents too. They are constantly bitching and complaining about the smallest and most ridicoulus things. My dad rent out vacation houses to germans, and nothing is too small for them to complain about. Some even complained about sheeps staring at them while they were in the swimming pool. They leave no room for other peoples mistakes, and will tell them right away in a less than friendly way. Thats what I could think of for now, and lots of other foreigners agree with me as you can see here: Germans are rude and oberlehrerhaft __________________ Never trust a man who doesn’t swear! […]
May 14th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
10 good reasons to hate germans:
1) They are nerds who tend to focus on irrelevant details instead of the bigger picture.
2) They have no patience with other people.
3) They got no sense of humor.
4) They have a HUGE staring problem.
5) They got an extremely bad taste when it comes to architecture, colors, food, and clothing.
6) They got no queuing culture.
7) They are unvilling to help when you ask them, and unvilling to help people who has been involved in accidents too.
8) They think they are the smartest and most rational people in the world, and superior to everybody else. Obviously they are wrong!
9) They leave no room for other peoples mistakes, and will tell them right away in a less than friendly way.
10) They constantly bitch and complain about the smallest and most ridicoulus things.
May 18th, 2011 at 11:01 pm
Hi, I am quite thrilled to read how germans are perceived in the world. Especially the 10 things are quite interesting. I read here most bad comments are from people who are living or have lived in germany for a while. I completely agree on this point. It is hard to find connections in germany but only they do not come for free in fact it is hard work. I wonder always why people go to a foreign country and expect to live their life the same way as they would do in their homecountry (in fact, that is pissing off germans most). Most see only the negatives as they will be experienced every day but do not do anything about it. I am working in a huge global company with many colleagues from all over the world. You know what, some of them living in germany since 10 years and speak very poor german and wondering why they do not have so many german friends. Others have a huge friendship circle but mostly from their own country. The germans are germans nobody else. They won’t change because of you. One thing more, if somebody really want to stay in germany and commit their life to germany you will have an awesome time. If somebody sees it as a short time stay you will be in agony city. Germans will make friendship only if it’s worth the effort. So maybe some of you who couldn’t find connections are likely not matching the criteria for being interesting enough to get further explored. Think about a german saying : “Wie man in den Wald rein ruft so schallt es heraus” or for the English: “What goes around, comes around”. from a rude, inpolite, never helping, arrogant, always complaining, driving cars with 250km/h, smart, superior, non queuing( I just love queue jumping as specially in england), boring, “kraut” eating, hating my life, non humorous, child eating, non shaving, not talking to complete strangers, superficial, german. P.S: I’ am right now in Italy and here people know how to queue ;-)
May 25th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
hello
I’m german and i really don’t agree with your prejidices. sure, wherever you go around the world, you are bound to meet rude people here and there and I will not deny that there are more than enough rude people in Germany, but that does not mean that we are all rude bastards.
Well i am terribly sorry that my people prefer telling the truth and getting uncomfprtable things done with over being fake as to not wouding other peoples fragile little hearts.
We are’nt rude, just very straightforward. Is it that bad?
And it is not lie there are’nt any rude americans or british because if you were humble enough to step down from your allmighty thrones you would realize that there are just as many rude people around the world
We might be a bit cold in the beginning but once you become otu friend, the friendship lasts forever.
Please try to understand a different culture before you bring your own culture and prejudices into this and stereotype us.
May 25th, 2011 at 10:30 pm
The previous comment by Heidi inspired me to respond.
As someone who has lived in Germany for many years, I do not believe Germans are any ruder than any other people. In fact, I have experienced some of the most civilized human beings on the planet in Germany (I say this at the height of realizing that the term “civilized” is often something that Anglo-Saxons tend to reserve for people they look down on who prove ’surprisingly not as primitive’ as they were expected to be). Maybe we all need to look in the mirror, eh?
However, I do believe that there are many people in German society who tremendously enjoy living out their pedagogical tendencies with reckless abandon. I have often said to my dear wife, who is German, “Vor Schadenfreude kommt in Deutschland nur die Belehrungsfreude” (”In Germany, schadenfreude, i.e. malicious pleasure, is only preceded by the pleasure of telling other people what to do.”) Yes, some stereotypes ring true.
I say, don’t lament it, rather try to have just as good a sense of humor as the many Germans I have experienced who laugh at themselves and others with an excessive tendency towards “Belehrungsfreude”.
May 26th, 2011 at 8:03 am
I appreciate how Germans are honest with you when you ask them a question, even though there are times when I wish they would sugarcoat their answers LOL.
That is not the problem I have with them though. I don’t like how unfriendly and nit-picky Germans are. In my 5 years in Germany, I probably made 3 true friends. Here in the U.S I have many friends. Another thing that made it difficult for me to make friends was the German way of over analyzing everything. They seem to try to find fault with everything I did. It was hurtful.
May 28th, 2011 at 2:28 pm
Great forum people, loved the comments! Absolutely hilarious to be honest.
I am still in Germany and could not feel any more for the people that suffered the german rudeness!
ok, first the good things. I would say that the Germans are very proud, patriotic, efficient, precise and perfectionists. These are all great and well done.
BUT..they are very very very very rude. Most of the things mentioned above illustrate the whole picture precisely.
I think they need to relax a bit more in their life and enjoy the journey, not aiming only for the final point of doing everything perfectly…cause they can be very nice (if they want).
Ah, and I do not like the way they try to control Europe’s financial policies. It is kind of unhuman and disgusting coming from the nation that bloodshed the whole Europe few decades ago, if you know what I mean.
Keep it up
June 2nd, 2011 at 5:17 pm
Yeah, all germans are “oberlehrerhaft” and rude, all frenchs are gay, all americans are fat, all polish peaople steal, all blacks are high ….
F*ck you ;)
June 4th, 2011 at 3:18 pm
aaaah motherfuckers germans are smarters than american gay freaks!! hail hitler
June 6th, 2011 at 8:53 am
@ germansarebetterthanamericans
It’s Germans like you who give your country a bad name! You are obviously a Nazi party member or fanatic. Germans are not better than Americans. You think you are because your ideology is messed up. look at who you support…hail Hitler?…give me a break! You are a dumb ***!!
June 7th, 2011 at 9:44 pm
Hi
First of all- I am german. And I lived in the U.S for a year now. I came here because I was alwyays in love with America, because I heard that the ppl are sweet and welcoming and of course I was attracted by the “American Dream” or the “American Way of Life”.
I have to say, that I find it rude how you guys talk about Germany and how you put all Germans together and say we’re rude! People always told me how polite and nice I was. Now I have to wonder if they all lied to me like apparentely they do on a daily basis to NOT seem rude…
My exchange year here already hasn’t been that good (not because of the ppl here or the U.S, just because of my living situation here.) but this website that I found by accident really made me feel bad. Thanks guys. No- you’re not rude at all.
June 10th, 2011 at 5:57 pm
Germany is a despicable country! I spent a year in Munich, and I have to say that I was never happier to get back to the U.S. I don’t understand Germans. I tried, but failed. If someone can tell me what causes Germans to act the way they do then plz let me know!
I hate Germany!
June 14th, 2011 at 1:30 am
OMG, has this “discussion” been raging on for three years? Seriously? Give it a break, people! And a warm-hearted “Thank you!” to the few voices of reason amidst this shitstorm.
Been at “Karneval der Kulturen” last weekend in Berlin. One million people on the street but I saw only two mildly rude ones. :)
Yet another ugly German.
June 14th, 2011 at 7:36 pm
I have to agree, i live in Germany and the majority of the People are rüde and Cold blooded. The typical German mentality is cold hearted rude and they are liars too and very lazy when it comes to doing their work. Americans give their heart and soul and trust while Germans give a half of a pinky finger and not more! For example I have had a best friend that is German I have given her all kinds of money and did lots of favors for her and the thanks I get is absolutly nothing at all in return, I did not even get a text message wishing me a happy new year or a merry Xmas, then my (best friend) had the spineless nerve to just say strait up “I have no time for you” and of course their always their Sundays)))”; since were such good friends but my best friend can not! Be bothered on a Sunday her saying Sundays are for me, bottom line the list goes on I thought she wS just a bitch but this is their typical mentality and I am an outsider and not one of her good German people who don’t give her money or do all the things for her as I did but outsider is the word, plus Germans have no common since at all that’s why there is so Many deaths on the auto bahn in icy weather, I have met a few Germans who are not as bad as that but they still are, here in Germany most of my friends are Polish or Yugoslavian or Australian and they do not act shitty to me like a German or my (best friend)
June 15th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
well, i live in Germany now, and to be honest, if i could choose again, i would definitely l go to other country.
MANY of them are RUDE, but they don’t want to admit it (or maybe they don’t want to face their problems)! Just like 10 minutes ago someone yelled at me, only because she wanted to enter the subway first. She was standing right behind me, and kept complaining about me moving too slowly. The problem was there were still people getting of the subway!
I have been to many other European countries, and I have to say that there are more impolite and unfriendly people in Germany than in other middle/western European countries, let alone Scandinavian countries (If you want to know what politeness is, you should definitely go there).
June 16th, 2011 at 6:29 am
Hey.. Germans are only rude for a few reasons. Here is why i think so,
Im German from Oranienburg,They are very self centered people because look what happened after WW1 and WW2. There country was left in ruins.Leaving the country poor, loss of life for nothing and when most countries turn on to Germany it is very hard to gain that trust back. and been expelled from foreign lands of most of the communised countries (eg.) Russia,Geogia,Romania etc…, I mean what are we suppose to think of other races if they do that? Please comment back if you have a answer,much apperciated Danke. :)
June 16th, 2011 at 6:46 am
Hey.. Germans are only rude for a few reasons. Here is why i think so,
Im German from Oranienburg,They are very self centered people because look what happened after WW1 and WW2. There country was left in ruins.Leaving the country poor, loss of life for nothing and when most countries turn on to Germany it is very hard to gain that trust back. and been expelled from foreign lands of most of the communised countries (eg.) Russia,Geogia,Romania etc…, I mean what are we suppose to think of other races if they do that? Please comment back if you have a answer,much apperciated Danke.
June 16th, 2011 at 12:25 pm
Germans are pretty much in a tunnel vision mind set, they schedule everything and if you obstruct their schedule for just 2 seconds they get very crazy and impatient then you can really see the lack of common since and discipline they lack, when an American or most other nations people goes our to do something we notice our surroundings a bit Germans have such tunnel focus and they don’t know what’s to their left right and they are so impatient to go no where it’s almost funny of how stupid they are. I’ve also seen German couples on numerous occasions take their girlfriends out to eat and I’ve seen them sit there with their calculators and tally up their portion of the bill right down to the penny and make their dates pay their portion, we damn sure don’t do stupid shit like that
June 16th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
I must respond to some of the comments, I from California but I live on Germany and yes we have Assholes in every land and nation being from Los Angeles where the lifestyle is fast with rich snobs or gang bangers we are still more laid back and easier to relate with than a cold ruthless German, German people are not monsters who will bit your head when they see you but you will pay for their (hospitality) and when you in line like at a bakerei they will help other custard first if they think your not one of them and other customers will shove you out of their way and cut on front of you of you do not move with their quick tunnel vision, Germans if you get close to them you will find yourself in a hurt relationship because of their selfish rude mentality, for example a German man and Frau could burry their child that morning and by the afternoon their whistlin and shufflin through the park, that’s just how they are over here and once you understand their warped mentality you can deal with them easier.
June 16th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Oh and by the way just to let you guys know my Father is from Unkrainia and he served a few years in the German Army, I live in Germany because I am an American Soldier
June 16th, 2011 at 4:22 pm
OK, this is in response to the comments about southerners:
We are not all racist. I love diversity but I’m an anthropologist. I study culture. I LOVE culture. Sure, there are some people in the south that are a true embarassment to us all. Mostly because they’re not well educated and are quite honestly very backward in their beliefs - BUT you will see that all over the US and Europe! Not just the southern US!
In Germany, not all are bad. But, from my experience, it’s rare to find someone genuinely warm and inviting. I met some nice people there - some that I would consider true friends. The main population that I came in contact with, however, were extremely rude and hated to be bothered. And, no matter how I tried to integrate, (by learning the language,etc) the majority just wouldn’t allow it. I’ve always been very nice and not overbearing. This is what my problem was (as I’ve been told). My husband told me that in order to fit in and get respect, that I had to treat them as “beneath me”. I hated it, but it worked. However, I personally don’t believe in treating people that way and could not live with it. Therefore, I left after 3 years.
I love traveling to other countries. I love learning of the cultures and experiencing them myself. However, I will never return to Germany. I have way too many bad memories there.
It’s a good place for some, just not me. In taking the toxicity and drama out of my life, I’ve decided I’d be better off traveling or living in a different country - somewhere warmer and more inviting. But that’s just me.
Basically, if rude people do not bother you and you can deal with a cold climate and cold people (until you get to know them), go for it! Germany could be for you. The sights are great. There’s a lot of history there and it can be quite beautiful. And there’s a great party atmosphere after 5 pm (17:00) in the pubs every night. They do relax down quite a bit after a beer or two and can be quite wonderful. Take in Karnival. It’s great.
June 18th, 2011 at 8:38 am
Wow, Germany sounds like hell on earth! No worries…I was never planning on going there.
I have heard bad things about Germany from several people who have gone there. It’s a shame that Germans act this way, because it is such a beautiful country with so much good to offer, good food, technology, etc. All overshadowed by the incredible rudeness one finds there. Very sad indeed.
June 20th, 2011 at 3:17 am
Germans are definitely rude. That is a fact that cannot be argued with.
I haven’t been to a lot of countries. Only the U.S, Canada, Japan, and Germany. The only problems I have ever had as a tourist traveling abroad was in Germany.
To those who think Germans are racist, some are most aren’t. They treat every tourist and foreigner like s***!!!
June 22nd, 2011 at 7:23 am
I am a German and I accidentally found this page. I can understand that Germans seem to be rude on the view of foreigners. But naturally for us Germans our behaviour is the most normal thing in the world.
We have a very difficult past and most Germans are aware of that. And maybe as a result of WWII Germany focused on economy. Today we are an achievement-orientated elbow society. So for most Germans it’s more important to be first, to have a expensive car, to have a big house, etc. than to be nice. That’s sad, but in my opionion that’s a price we have to pay for being such succesful in economy. So it’s not wondrous that Germany is the second largest exporter in the world, behind China. That may be an explanation, but cannot be an excuse.
The last thing I have to say is, that it’s sad that foreigners may have such a negative view of us, but I am not ahsamed of our behaviour. Because we Germans are what we are. We cannot press a button and change our behaviour or culture. So this web site doesn’t change anything. You can accept us or dislike us all your life. Your choice.
June 23rd, 2011 at 11:05 am
ever heard of the word “frankly” (meaning something like honestly, bluntly…)? It comes from the German tribe the Franks. So as many other people here pointed out we don’t like to beat around the bush like Americans do. I’d rather you tell me your honest opinion than to lie.
I agree that some Germans are not very open minded about foreigners, esp. Americans for different reasons. But others love Americans.
There is no customer service, but that doesn’t mean they are rude.
Also you see rudeness and racism in every country!! Have you ever gone to the DMV, the courthouse or any other American govt. institution and come back feeling respected or treated nicely? I havent!
June 23rd, 2011 at 7:11 pm
I am an english guy very interested in germany, i am keen on learning stuff about there culture. I don’t have a negative view of germans or the country, because about 95% of them have been ok with me accept for a few idiots, but you can get that sort of rudeness anywhere. I think most english people like germans, i honestly haven’t met anyone who’s said anything bad, they like working with them and go out for a drink when they come over. But i think theres rudeness in every country and some of our people let themselves down when they sing football songs about the war in the world cup, i think theres good and bad wherever you go.
June 24th, 2011 at 10:54 am
@Torsten
yours is a good post. yeah its hard to change culture and behavior. but its strange that only a lot of german people(not all of them!) cant adapt to swiss languguage and culutre. like we have portuguese, italian, and spanish, croatian, albanian guys and they all learn swiss german and adapt(ok ppl from ex jugoslavia still have problems, but i understand that because they had war lately)
but a lot of german guys dont understand swiss german and want us to speak german! like WE have to switch language not them!
in switzerland were all the same, no matter what education. but german ppl think they are a better class of society when they achieve a high level of education?!?
But i have to say: i know more NICE German fellows thean RUDE ones…
ITS SAD THAT THE RUDE ONES DRAW THE PICTURE FOR THE REST!
June 24th, 2011 at 10:00 pm
we all need to learn that we cannot fight racism with racism!!!
Listen to yourselves, saying a whole country is racist/hateful towards foreigners is just stooping to their level. (not helping at all!)
Let’s love each other instead, show love to everyone, EVERYONE, white, black, yellow, green, purple, German, American, African, Chinese who gives a damn? If you can’t do that don’t critizise others!
June 30th, 2011 at 8:46 am
and my name is spelled janis but you say it like yanis
June 30th, 2011 at 8:51 am
By the way if you wuld go to a german school from england or american what wuld you do “Learn german” … And then Learn in the school but its very hard belive me it is hard germans are very clever I once lived in england came to germany what i learnt was english people can be nice to your face but behind your back they are saying bad things.
June 30th, 2011 at 8:56 am
People are people you can’t judge a persone we all live on the same planet we can’t have wars why are there weapons wwhy does everyone fight to proove themselves huh not to protect there country otherwise if you were just protecting no war wuld happon?
its true..
July 2nd, 2011 at 7:57 pm
I don’t think Germans are rude. Of course, there are some who are rude but doesnt’t every country have that?? And I think it’s stupid judging a whole nation by just one or two people.
July 7th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
Thete are more than one or two rude Germans in Germany. More like all of them! Trust me. I lived in germany for several years b/c my dad worked over thete. My family and i recentlu moved to the U.S. This is a far better country than Germany. Americans have their flaws, but they are pnea you can understand. For example, americans are materialistic for sure, but they will aleays greet you with a friendly smile or comment.when.passing by. In Germany that is unheard of. Germans treat everyone like complete strangers. It sucks! It is also true thayt germans are pushy demanding people.I havr had many experiences…
July 8th, 2011 at 11:03 am
I’m a NZ expat living in Berlin. This city is now full of contributing foreigners and there is a bit of a culture clash. I often hear the german defense that rudeness is culturally relative, and to a certain extent, it must be, but I also think there are some absolutes worth considering. I think the ‘fakeness’ germans perceive in American and British culture developed for a reason. It functions to smooth out social interaction. Germans find it tiring to constantly decipher the ‘real’ meaning, but indirectness is actually a form of social sophistication that can diffuse tensions before they arise. If anyone expects to understand the world in black and white terms, they will find postured communication bewildering. The anthropologist Kate Fox describes the utility of this kind of small talk as ‘grooming talk’ in her book ‘Watching the english.’
July 11th, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Well, in reply to the person who said that Germans to nothing but bitch and whine and do nothing about it…you should be glad, for when the Germans decide to do something they usually drag the entire world into a war with them. Probably the most warlike and aggressive of the most warlike and aggressive tribes on earth, the devil whites.
July 13th, 2011 at 8:26 am
Hey, I lived in upper Bavaria for 3 years. I am afraid the 1st encounter i had was a family. the 21 yr old daughter was so rude and only ever thought about herself. She never saw other peoples lives. was totally un-aware! quite alarming behavior. The neighbours never spoke or were bothered to even wave. and it was a small rural community. Its a fact from my personal experience. they are rude and full of self interest only.
July 20th, 2011 at 10:02 am
GERMANS PEOPLE NEED TO MOVE IN CANADA BECAUSE WE ARE CONSIDERATE AS BEING FRIENDLY PEOPLE MAYBE AFTER STAYING A LONG TIME IN CANADA THEY WILL ACT LIKE CANADIAN LOOOOOOOOOOOVE YOU CANADA
July 22nd, 2011 at 1:58 pm
I’m from the US and lived in Germany for 6 years. (Background only to offer my perspective) At first I found Germans to be arrogant and pedantic (Obelerhrerhaft) at times, but as my stay in Germany grew, my opinion changed. In fact, I realized that many Germans were actually very friendly, modest and mild mannered. Yes, there is some truth to arrogance, but that can be said of many countries. I have come across French, Dutch, Belgian, Swiss, English and even Irish, who were offensive and rude. Having said that, my countrymen also have the same reputation, which is sometimes accurate. The one and only one attribute that I find to be true with Europeans in General, is that they seem to be very bitter towards foreigners. There seems to be a hostility to anyone different from themselves and it takes a lot of diplomacy and patience to overcome that. Yes, I’ve met Germans and other Eurpoeans who are ‘experts’ on America, The Germans who have never been to American are the most expert. And I have heard the ” Dumb American” stories that Europeans like to tell, whether they are true or not. But I have also been asked very stupid questions by all sorts of Europeans, which I found shockingly ignorant. The fact is, ignorance finds a home in any culture and country. People are basically the same all around the world. We would all be better off if we didn’t make broad brush statements. I have made them myself and I regret having made them. These kind of comments reflect poorly on the one who utters them. In conclusion, I have many German friends and my experience there was, for the most part, a positive experience.
August 1st, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Germany sucks! Dont even waste your time there. And dont go to Oktoberfest. Full of drunk idiots and expensive beer that tastes like piss.
August 2nd, 2011 at 8:38 am
Germany is a horrible soulless country. All they do is complain, complain, complain. They all (and I do mean all) run around with a face that makes you want to bash it in with a sledgehammer. Seriously. You ride the bus and if you happen to laugh too hard the driver will complain! (this actually happened to me).
One day a guy at work even asked me why I was always in a cheery mode and why I smiled so much. SMILED SO MUCH. Can you believe it?
Trust me, I’ve been in this $hit-hole for more than 15 years and I can’t wait to leave!
These people are rude, grouchy and pedantic. The only reason everyone tolerates them is because they are the head of the EU.
It’s sad that they constantly try to imitate US culture and even try to integrate English into their language. But that is only on the surface. They are just an empty superficial shell. This may also be the reason why so many Americans regard them as “nice”. Well, trust me, they aren’t nice to anyone else.
I could go on and on…
Do yourself a favor and stay clear of this depressing hole.
August 3rd, 2011 at 2:11 pm
Well I’m from Germany and most of those complains are from people who tryed to make it here without succsess.
They come here without speaking German and any education and than they don’t get a job and finally have to live on welfare.
But they don’t leave Germany because this life is still better than in their home country until they get deported back to it.
And now their complaining about how horrible Germany was… so fuck you!!!
August 3rd, 2011 at 2:44 pm
Izan, you’re talking out of your a$$. I mean, you’re probably a Turk living on welfare yourself!
First of all, I speak PERFECT German without an accent whatsoever (which is better than the foul, embarrassing way 99,9% of middle-easterners here speak).
I am also an engineer and earn pretty decent money. That has absolutely nothing to do with anything. And if you had actually taken the time to read what people above you wrote, then you should have realized that most of them are either US tourists or students. Not exactly the the group of people you were referring to. That would rather be pretty much all Turks and middle easterners, by the way. I mean, seriously, have you ever met an American living on German welfare? Ridiculous!
The reality is that most Germans would like to emigrate to the US or Canada and most who do try to identify themselves as Americans after just a few months (I’m sure a couch potato like you is well aware of those stupid “Goodbye Germany” and “Auf und Davon”, TV-Shows etc).
What you’re saying is just a reflection of how ignorant and short sighted some people really are.
Like the guy above that said something along the lines of “well, this is how we are but there’s nothing we can do. Take it or leave it…”. This is typical German behavior and the reason why bad customer service /customer loyalty hurts so many businesses here.
Have you talked to German people that have enjoyed the hospitality of other countries? I always have to contain myself when I fly back home and meet Germans who are so impressed by the hospitality offered to them. Most (if not all) Germans that I know would agree that this country is a social catastrophe. Divided, greedy, tunnel-visioned folk!
Second of all, foreign people in Germany cannot live on welfare unless they have a permanent residency. So please stop making $hit up and go back to your 08/15, government sponsored apartment, you prick!
August 3rd, 2011 at 3:07 pm
@Miggi (du huso)
Most people here aren’t students or american tourists:
Miggi Says:
I’ve been in this $hit-hole for more than 15 years and I can’t wait to leave!
Sean Says:
I’m from the US and lived in Germany for 6 years.
Malcolm Says:
Hey, I lived in upper Bavaria for 3 years.
ryan Says:
I lived in germany for several years b/c my dad worked over thete
Julie Brinko Says:
I must respond to some of the comments, I from California but I live on Germany
Deneen Says:
In my 5 years in Germany
(I could go on like this forever)
Students or tourists don’t stay that long.
And if you don’t like Germany there is an easy solution: Gtfo!!!!
Go back to your loser country…
August 3rd, 2011 at 3:34 pm
@Izan: thank you for being such a perfect example of German “culture”.
Now please go back to your Turkish ghetto. And don’t worry: I’ll be leaving this $hit-hole you call a country soon enough.
Ta-daaa, Döner-fresser!
August 3rd, 2011 at 4:27 pm
How can I be an example of German “culture” if I’m from Turkey, you stupid fuck????
Btw I’m German like I said before…
I wish you good luck finding an other country…
August 3rd, 2011 at 5:10 pm
@ Izan and Miggi:
WOW!!! You two need to cool it!!!
Despite the fact that I agree with Miggi, we need to remember that this is just a forum. We have to be respectful of other peoples opinion.
I went to Germany for a semester as a student. Regrettably, I didnt have the best experience for several reasons. But at least I tried to assimilate into the German Culture. It is true that germans dont give a damn about how hard a foreigner tries to fit in. This is the reason so many Muslims in Germany dont call themeslves Gerans no matter how long they have veen living there. It is almsot impossible for foreigners to be successful in Germany b/c Germans are very difficult to please.
Yes Germans are very cold too! That is a matter of fact.
August 6th, 2011 at 11:26 pm
My mum is German and the loveliest person in the world in my opinion. She too has difficulties with the culture as do I. She has married a “typical” German man and he is everything negative which has been posted on this blog. He is ruining our lives and I hate him for what he stands for, the arrogant, self centred forever better knowing side of Germans. Irony is although apparently these aspects of the German personality have contributed to the “great” economy, it meant in his personal circumstance his downfall. He is a bankrupt, sick and bitter old man and he is taking us with him on his sinking boat of debt, sorrow and superficial nonsence. I am leaving this country in 1 month…and I can say I will be glad to get the fuck out of here…I only wish I could take the few nearest and dearest to me back home…to the warmth, humour and acceptance for eccentricity that the UK has to offer.
August 8th, 2011 at 10:03 pm
It is very heartbreaking to see how “my country” is perceived by non-natives.
I have a dual-citizenship (german-american) and apart from having family in the Boston, MA vicinity I also spent a year abroad as a f.e.s. in Texas in ‘98/’99.
I understand why Germans might be perceived as rude and also why americans might be perceived as fake. I find it disheartening to see that the cultural gap between these states is far deeper than language. It might even be deeper than the asian-american culture gap.
I think germans are vastly misunderstood for all of the reasons posted above. However, I also believe that we have no one to blame for this but ourselves (speaking as a german resident right now).
Truth is always in the eyes resp. glimpse of the onlooker, so if we are perceived by the majority as being “rude” “cold” “bossy” or whatever else, than we shouldn’t respond in agression and lash-backs, but rather consider what we can do to change that reputation.
People tend to forget that there is a difference between being honest and being blunt. I can be honest w/o hurting someones feelings. That doesn’t mean sugar coating it. We actually have a german saying for this (Der Ton macht die Musik), which roughly translated means “It’s the difference in tone that makes the tune”.
There is nothing to be gained by insisting that other peoples perceptions are wrong. 1) who is to be the judge of right and/or wrong and 2) this just increases the “germans are rude, bossy, cold people” stereotype.
It’s majority rule’s on this one and I for one would like to see a turn around on the perception of germans.
Think of it this way: “Germans make the best of friends - once they’ve accepted you. -How can anybody see that, if they have to run their heads against brick walls to be accepted? And further why would anyone want to try to become your friend if you are not friendly to begin with?”
-Just a thought, K.
August 9th, 2011 at 1:20 am
thanks to the interwebs, we now know how many self-absorbed, ignorant douchebags are really out there.
August 14th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Due to my ADD, I wasn’t able to read the thousands of previous posts - with that said, I hope I don’t sound redundant.
We as Americans know how to behave in our own society to live happily and succesfully - cultural norms. Being naive and thinking that everyone else’s norms are exactly like our own, leads to the discussions as posted above. The Germans on their own turf know how to behave to live here happily and successfully, and most of the time, they are pretty good at it, amongst themselves. They fight with each other, aren’t very politcally correct, stick to the law with extreme ferverency, or ignore the rules all together, they don’t talk to people they don’t know, trust nobody, and complain about everything. This is their culture.
I did not know these things before I came here, hence frustration and misunderstanding.
Whenever I’ve encountered a situation where I felt ignored, put down, talked down to, argued with, or anything of the like, it was as if I was just hit with a ton of bricks. Because, if that had happened in America, heads would have rolled. The problem is that it didn’t happen in America, but rather HERE - where these things are normal. I need to learn to accept that fact that things run a little differently here, and I can’t keep comparing HERE to BACK HOME (where I know how it works).
To say that Germans are rude, is merely comparing our norm to theirs. Clear, compared to Americas, Germans don’t rate high on the “nice” scale. But in a country where “nice-ness” is considered a charachter defect, we can’t forget the fact that we CHOOSE to stay here, despite it all. Obviously, the good side of the Germans outweighs the negative.
August 14th, 2011 at 11:39 pm
I’m from Scotland and have never commented on a forum before. These comments are disgraceful. I have been treated with great kindness in Germany. They’re a difficult bunch no doubt but they don’t deserve the downright racism and prejudice shown towards them on here. Some of you should remember the old maxim: if you don’t have anything civil to say don’t say anything at all.
August 15th, 2011 at 8:24 pm
While we’re on the subject…..
non-verbal communication styles of the two countries (the USA and Germany), differ on various levels. Not knowing these differences can lead to the perception (from our perspective) that the German is rude.
“Smiling”, a gesture we interpret as friendly and accepting, is used only sparingly in Germany, between very close friends and relatives. Have you ever noticed the German “Smiling Eyes”? Some people think they are about to have an epileptic seizure when they do it!
Being that the USA is an immigrant society, the early immigrants who came from somewhere else, quickly learned the best way to get along with people of other cultures was “blanket niceness”. Regardless of ancestry, it was preferred to be nice to your neighbor rather than combative. (There have always been exceptions to this norm).
Germany on the other hand, until very recent times, has always been ethnic German. There was no need for assimilation. Before democracy and the social-market economy, feudalism ruled the land and everyone knew their place. They did not have to be overtly polite to anyone. They just had to accept their fate/place in life and deal with it. Going to work, going shopping, dealing with the neighbors. Superficial politeness was not required, just getting the job done. Not much has changed here since those times. German workers pride themselves on the product/service they deliver, not necessarliy the “how” it is delivered.
Let us not forget that there are 82 million people living in a country the size of the state of Montana (which has a little more than 900,000 inhabitants). They have a non-verbal communication style that allows such a large number of people living in such a small space to peacefully co-exist with one another. Being that we have a different history and more “room to roam”, our rules are different. When we don’t know these rules, like I said before, leads to misunderstandings.
August 16th, 2011 at 8:34 am
Haha, I find this blog to be absolutelty hilarious. I have many German friends, I’ve lived in Germany for three years, have a German finacee and I am an American. Germans as a generalization are pushy, direct and not particularly friendly to strangers. Yes, this is a cultural thing.
If you are from the Southern US(Ladies) and you are used to getting the door opened for you then you will not recieve the same treatment in Germany. People do not hold the door open for each other in Germany (in general).
Germans are also quick to point out a mistake. Many people point out mistakes in all cultures but Germans make sure they let you know. For instance, if you make a mistake while speaking German you will be most definetly laughed at. Granted you could be laughed at if you make a mistake when speaking English as well, depending on the comment.
As with any generalization question (why are Germans so rude?) you will find many exceptions to the rule.
Sometimes I become very frustrated with German society but that is because I grew up in the US where things were different.
So, some tips for English speakers when you come to Germany:
It is completely normal to cut somebody in line in Germany if they are not looking. The person behind you will probably not say anything but instead complain about you cutting them to their friend right next to them.
Never say sorry to a German unless you are truly sorry. Because if you admit you were at fault prepare to recieve a further tongue lashing.
Germans see being loud as being particularly annoying, so if you are an American try to lower your voice to inside level. Unless you intend to get dirty looks from everyone then continue to be loud. (The Italians never care)
Do not expect to be greeted at a restaurant or even seated because you are expected to seat yourself and call the waiter when you want something.
Do not be alarmed when somebody hockey checks you on the sidewalk and does not say “sorry” because they are not sorry and that is perfectly normal in Deutschland.
If you are German and you are reading this you will probably think these comments are true and funny. If you are a Sensitive person and you think I am being mean I will be very German about it and say simply “that is not my problem”.
August 18th, 2011 at 7:37 am
I don’t think Germans are rude.
After reading those comments I came to the conclusion that Americans are pussies…
August 19th, 2011 at 5:36 pm
In my opinion, Germans are neither rude nor “oberlehrerhaft”, as you said. I live in Poznan (Poland), travel regularly to Berlin or Dresden and have never meet such behavior. And as a Pole, I probably should have been.
August 23rd, 2011 at 3:17 pm
To Michael. All this is the kind of behavior that makes not only foreigners sad and miserable, but the germans as well. It is universally wrong and human beings are just not supposed to be that way no matter where they live.
They ought to teach german schoolchildren good social skills in school like “dont stare” “dont cut in line” “dont be pushy” “dont critizise others all the time” “dont be affraid to say sorry” etc.
August 25th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Seriously guys, you made my day!
I’m german and I did google autocorrect for fun. So I typed in “why are so” guess what google proposed to me for every single nation (execpt italy^^) I typed in: Yes, rude!
I do this often because it’s just hilarious (especially in english^^). But have you ever thought about how the people get to this site. Well some of you might just be trolling through the internet, but must of you inserted something like “all germans are retards or I hate germany or I need support in my stereotypical world-view” and came to this site.
So no wonder that there is a overwhelming majority of people on this site who dislike germany. Just think about it.
So if you come to Germany again, just keep your smile and you will find someone who is willing to help you and don’t start with the attitude of all germans being dickheads. And I would like to apologise for some of the experiences you made especially the story wai yen told was quite shocking.
Greetings to all of you
Tycho
August 25th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
damn, never ever use these ” ” signs because others can’t read them or what is written in them, cursed html^^.
So correction: I typed in ” why are (insert random nation) so “
August 26th, 2011 at 4:31 pm
Michael said: Quote
“I have many German friends, I’ve lived in Germany for three years, have a German finacee and I am an American. Germans as a generalization are pushy, direct and not particularly friendly to strangers. Yes, this is a cultural thing.”
“A cultural thing?” That is just a poor excuse from someone that is either just passing by or planning on leaving.
We live in a global world now and this kind of rude behavior is what keeps Germany far behind in terms of social well being. It is unnecessary and shouldn’t be tolerated. Even Germans agree on this point (at least those with international experience do).
I can understand your position and the fact that you want to make the best of your current situation. But please come back in say…3 more years and tell us how that went, mkay? ;)
Good luck and a THICK skin to you, Micheal. You’ll be needing it.
August 31st, 2011 at 4:13 pm
Hi to all.
I’m German and I spent quite a lot of time in the UK, Canada and the US when I studied. On the one hand i find it a little sad to read SO MANY negative comments about Germany but on the other hand I can understand the anger completely. When you’re spending a lot of time within the country among good friends, a stable sorrounding etc., you will probably deny these frustrated comments.
But everytime I returned from a longer stay in another country, I felt EXACTLY like most of the people in this forum.
I’m so tired of this chlichée, Americans were superficial and don’t say what they mean. The problem of many Germans is that, if they don’t know someone, they assume you could be an “enemy”, so they chose to be careful and reserved. In English speaking countries it’s the opposite. People think “I don’t know you? Ok, so I expect the best!” and welcome you…
In general I think, most of my fellow Germans lack GENOROSITY in an immaterial understanding of the word! “Why be friendly to someone you don’t know, just give as much as necessary” seems to be the attitude of many inhabitants here. People in the US, Canada or the UK show a very very generous behaviour towards foreigners - that’s absolutely what I’ve experienced. And I love this attitude!
Also, I miss in many fellow Germans what you call “Ausstrahlung” here… maybe best translated as charisma, radiation or presence.
I met so so many witty and intelligent people especially in the United States that it makes me crazy, when I hear people talking about dumb or “cultureless” Americans!
Many people here in Germany don’t believe in something they don’t see. But pragmatism and technocratism is not everything.
Currently I’m living in Hamburg again and live a good life, but unfortunately I can also understand what someone in this forum here called “soulless”. The economy maybe grows compared to other nations at the moment, but what’s the point of an assumed wealth when it lacks spirit?
Cheers
September 1st, 2011 at 3:16 am
My husband’s relatives of both parents are from Germany. He is a very hard working, salt of the earth, good man with an attention to detail and drive to complete any task he begins until it is done, and done right. That said, in his quest for performance and perfection with any and all tasks, his awareness of others needs or greater priorities seem AWOL. So much so that if he were overhauling a tractor in his free time, for instance, which he does for pleasure, he would accuse a wounded person of getting hurt on purpose to try to distract him. And rather than feel sympathy for the person, he would feel frustrated by the interruption. All I can say is that its a good thing he is handsome!
September 9th, 2011 at 5:47 pm
To shine some light on this: germans are not all rude. But when people from foreign countrys think about germany, they mostly think about bavaria or in general the southern part and bavarian people are very, very rude. Therefore most people percept germans to be rude, which in general is not the case.
Actually, germans are really social and hospitable, especially in the eastern part (the former GDR).
Also in the area around the city of Cologne the people are very open-minded and welcoming others, as are the people in the northern federal states of germany.
Bottom line: don’t confuse the Federal Republic of Germany with Bavaria or Baden-Würtemberg … saying all germans are rude is a much too simplistic view.
September 12th, 2011 at 1:15 am
I’ve lived in Munich for 2 months and travelled to 10 countries. German people , with rare exceptions which I have met and befriended, are the rudest and most inflexible people ever. Customer service in Germany is practically non-existant and their health system, even to an european living there is quite confusing and excluding. They are amazing at producing machines, which reflects their robotic mentality and behavior.
They are cold, indifferent,impersonal and rude even among themselves. It doesn’t make a difference whether you speak the language.When you go to a club they sometimes refuse to take you in simply because they don’t like your face; just like that, very prejudiced people. I am white with black hair and I don’t look german at all , which by the way feels great after knowing those people.
Munich is by far the most developed city I have been to, I’d say it’s perfect.In contrast, the most annoying people I have met in my life are there too.
September 15th, 2011 at 11:52 am
well… near all of the posts here are rude (doesn’t matter if they are true or not), so the evil germans are in “good” company.
damn, sorry i used those ” .
have a nice day people (wherever you are right now!) ;-)
September 16th, 2011 at 1:51 am
hello folks
i am a 30 year old guy being born in germany to an afghan mother. my father died in the war that is going on in afghanistan since over thirty years. i should be happy to live in this (physically) peaceful country with all its possibilities, but i am preparing my emigration to another country for more reasons i could write down here.
but well, lets get started.
while learning a lot in school and university, i think the education system is overloaded with unneccesary crap germans like to call “Bildung”. yes i red goethe, schiller, kant, hegel, marx, fichte, hesse, platon, aristotele, etc. yes i learned a lot about history, physics, mathematics, sociology, informatics, biology, psychology, etc. yes i have the freedom to learn to play guitar, piano and saxophon in a big flat, because i get something for nothing.
BUT I WANT TO WORK. or better put, when i work i dont want to be treated like a SLAVE without any dignity.
as an immigrant born in germany, i never felt integrated into this sick society, for to be integrated in this society means to be a coward, ruthless, snobish, arrogant, egoistic little wimp. i cant be all of this things at the same time. i am arrogant, but i am not a coward. this is very dangerous in germany and a lot of people will try to sabotage you for that. a lot of intelligent AND warm hearted people i know are either totally wasted on drugs(marihuana, speed, cocaine), in jail or leaving for a country where immigrants are not treated like shit and free minded people can get a job.
i lived one year in italy. there i was so poor that the mother of my girlfriend had to send us food, but i was never happier, for there was LOVE, real CULTURE and the SUN, that gives you energy. besides that a lot of very good musicans on every corner. german musicians are a joke. sure, they play fast, they know all the styles, they know the technique, they know hundred of songs, but they have no SOUL, no GROOVE and no FEELING.
i dont expect any of the germans to understand me, i gave up the fight to show them that there is more than that what they call a live.
they will excuse, they will give explainations, they will deny at the end insult you and scream: “if you dont like it here, piss off!”
well, maybe they are right(germans are alway right). i dont belong here, i never wanted to be here. i can program, i can play various intruments, i speak three and a half languages, i learn fast, i work effeciently, i like to have smiling people around me and i love the SUN. the latter is something a lot of germans rarely see. i will go for the sun and leave this golden cage of maniacs behind me.
oh, and a german girl broke my heart.
very, very deep. ouchhhh.
but another one is fixing it together :O)
uh, and my step father is a german. he is an ashole, that forced my to unpaid hard child labour, doesnt pay for his real children a penny without big drama, owns several houses but walks around like a bum, doesnt pay taxes and is as fucked up like 50% of the other germans.
and of course not all germans are like that. those that are not cruel monsters are cowards, in jail/sanatorium, on drugs, emigrated or still young and naive.
see you at the beach -O-
September 16th, 2011 at 9:41 am
I live in Scandinavia and travel often to north Germany and have always found the Germans to be pleasant and friendly enough and have never understood all the complaints about our central European neighbours.
BUT, now for the fist time in my life I have been on a package holiday in Mallorca and ended up in a mainly German hotel, I have to say I can’t believe how rude SOME of the German guests were both to non-German guests and the staff, shouting at the staff, taking other peoples tables in the dining area, pulling faces at other guests and the famous hanging towels on the chairs around the pool hours before they go there, they were like small spoilt children.
There were fellow Scandinavians and quite a few British there as well, I could for the first time sit back and see the real difference between how these different European peoples behave, while the majority of British and fellow Scandinavians were polite and happy, the majority of Germans seemed grumpy and dissatisfied and my opinion of the Germans has definably changed for the worse.
There are of course nasty, rude and arrogant people everywhere from all races but when a particular race stands out it makes you think what the cultural differences could be to make people behave so differently.
I still don’t know if Germans just act different abroad or if Germans from different parts of the country are different from each other, as I said I visit northern Germany often and really like it there, friendly, pleasant, clean, with good food and very cheap beer, but will NEVER stay at a German tourist hotel outside of Germany again!
September 16th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
The main point is orientation. There are cultures that are more Human orientated and there are cultures that are more Object orientated. You can see clearly that germans are Object orientated Their ability to construct maschinery, engenering….well they are pretty good at that. When it comes to deal with humans, emotions, empathy etc…they are a third world country….in that sense. The Germans that live in Germany dont recognise that of course, because they dont want to confront themselves with other nations…neither have the interest to LEARN.
I hope that the americans dont have to bomb them again to learn another lesson from the past
September 18th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
They are so rude. I’m not talking about those who have left Germany, after all there must have been a reason they left! I have been living here for over 10 years now and it still ceases to amaze me how they have no manners, in the sense of simple things like saying hello or holding doors, jumping queues and pushing in and also just being plain rude and grumpy if they feel like it. To top it all they are unable to discuss or acknowledge another opinion. If they say something it’s always in a “This is the ultimate truth” tone. Dont get me wrong, Im married to a German. The bottom line though is that you will never change them, so you either get used to it or get the freak out!
September 20th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
yah its very true you guys how can you forget Hitler ….this cold country it makes it even colder with there heavy sprache. there are devils with horns flying around i hate them for there behaviour , you only see them opening up when they are drunk ….and they like free food.ohh and they can gossip.. they think they know everything very big headed,my god at times i feel am in hell leaving with them… there brains need to be washed.
September 20th, 2011 at 10:26 pm
I just forgot about there staring…. never seen in my life…at least we stare and when someone notices we look back… My God , going shopping is a nightmare. and what ever song they dance toghther what??? you are fuck joking. true 3rd word. these people can drive you nuts.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:38 pm
…sadly its likely to spread like a virus cuz germans will imitate their own false behaviour inable to tell right from wrong. so 3rd world is gonna be around for a long time.
its tough but it makes u strong? at least thats what i’m telling myself so as to keep my own sanity partly.
feel free to come over for a visit, but dont ever make the mistake of staying for good. germans way will eat u up
September 27th, 2011 at 6:54 pm
I agree with many opinions that people wrote here.
BTW after many years in Germany, things become sort of pattern. For the society some try hard not showing any prejudice that they might feel. For example, one of my working colleagues said “it can not be, you got this job too fast”. All of a sudden, with NO connection to anything you are speaking, I get this “Israel has a beautiful folk dance”. So be even more carefull with the person voicing this, and I myself find the folk dance in Israel very fine. It does not matter how they are, that this society really misbehave people, even their own citizens, they’ll stop the TV programmation to show Israel earning a gold medal in Olympics. And… This is all… Such a great gesture that at the end also looks out of context. Well, they should speak more on TV about this, about their feelings, their ways of doing and seeing things.
In the long run it’s only up to us to know how to handle it, if you still need to live among them, there’s nothing that one can do.
September 28th, 2011 at 4:08 am
x
September 28th, 2011 at 5:18 am
I’ve been reading several of the older posts now for about an hour and they are very interesting. I just got back from a week long trip to Germany. I was very impressed with the beauty of the country and some of the culture. However, I was very disappointed by how I was treated by the Germans. My bloodline is German and I was really looking forward to visiting the country of my ancestors, but they are so rude. Seeing as I was traveling, I mostly interfaced with service industry personnel. Sales staff, wait staff, hotel staff, etc. These are typically industries where one would expect customer service and friendliness. This was not the case. I tried to learn as much German as I could before I went on my trip so I could try to communicate with the locals in their language. When I started to speak in German, the conversation and attitude was so-so, but when I didn’t understand something and had to try to communicate in English, the conversation and attitude when downhill fast. I am accustomed to greeting people as I pass them. I greeted so many people that just looked at me like I had two heads and proceeded to walk passed me without responding. I could understand if someone was rude to me if I had done something wrong, but I never met them before in my life. It was very disappointing. I look the same, was speaking German,(to the best of my ability), I AM GERMAN and was really looking forward to experiencing my heritage. I have always been proud to be German, I will always be proud to be German, but I am left with questions as to why I was treated so poorly. To respond to some of the earlier posts as to German superiority versus American quality, etc.: The Germans make high quality products and structures. I’m not going to take that away from them. The German posters need to realize though that Americans are not inferior, ignorant fools that they are trying to make us out to be. Most modern technologies were invented by Americans. Computers(ENIAC), light bulbs(Edison), transistors, first to break the sound barrier in a plane(Yeager), first video game(Goldsmith),crash test dummy, airbags, handheld calculator, compact discs, cordless telephones, argon lasers, LCD screens, plasma displays, personal computer, Email(ARPANET), magnetic resonance imaging(MRI), the assembly line(Ford), airplanes(Wright), telephones(Bell), digital cameras(Kodak), hepatitis B vaccine, Ethernet, Internet, Segway, the list goes on and on… For the Germans and all of the other people on here that feel Americans suck, America is a melting pot of German, French, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Austrailian, Afrian, Brazilian, etc., etc. So, to say that Americans suck is to put yourselves down because your people make up America. America is just a gathering of people from every country in the world trying to live a better life compared to where they were living. Otherwise they wouldn’t have moved here. If we are being judged by the actions of our government, that’s too bad. We as citizens don’t always agree with decisions that are made, but we don’t necessarily have much say in what transpires. If we are being judged by what is seen on TV such as E, Bravo, or the Jersey Shore, that is also too bad. This is not an accurate portrayal of the vast majority of hard working, good hearted Americans. Regards…
September 28th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
Ok. Alright.
Do we really need the 400th post saying Germans are rude, cold and don’t say hello?
Maybe we can finish the thread with three words: GET OVER IT!
You are all grown ups. Don’t be so defensive and weepy!
I’m living in Germany for three years now and most of the people I met were awesome! It’s always a question of your own attitude. And if the common mentality is different than in your own country, just accept it and don’t take it personal!
Regards
September 29th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
As a 25 year old German, I do understand, to some extent, the negative comments from some posters from the U.S. and Britain. As a culture, we speak more bluntly about negative things if they are true and we do have a tendency to correct other people. I especially think of car drivers who would pull down their windows and shout at cyclists who don’t have any lights on (I had that experience as a cyclist). That kind of people are annoying but they do have a point.
On the other hand, we smile at people when we feel like it, not because there is a social norm requiring us to do it. We ask people how they are only when we want to know it. That is why we smile at people less often, and ask people how they are less often. When I came back from longer stays in English speaking countries, that struck me as rude, because I had become used to something else.
So, yes, I do understand some of the negative posts about German “rudeness” as opposed to American/Anglo Saxon “friendliness”. Still we need to realise that we are talking about differences in culture and etiquette, not differences in the personal qualities of the people we meet.
Some posters in this forum, including even some Americans who have lived in Germany for years, have completely failed to realise this.
September 30th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
I completely agree with Andreas.
I am german. I am proud of this, because obviously, I feel that it is the greatest country that there is. But can I really judge this objectively? Can I really just say, we are superior to any other country anywhere, because I know my own culture best, and the others - well, I have only ever got a glimpse of them that I did not understand?
I am shocked that people would act so stubborn and unreasonable about this topic.
September 30th, 2011 at 9:50 pm
well, I grew up in Germany but often saw other parts of the world as well and most germans I know are rude. Especially germans above thirty, fourty. However, I find people from the north, especially around Berlin most awful.
Last week I stood on a street while waiting for someone, wasn’t standing in anyones way, still some old grandpa shouted at me asking me if I was bored or just retarded or something - HELLO? Somehow germans can’t stand it if someone isn’t acting busy, then they feel like they need to find some Arbeit for you or at least put you down for not working right at that moment (especially if you’re an Ausländer, because they’ll panick that you could be what all Germans hate most… an unemployed Ausländer who gets money from the government)
But don’t get it wrong, Germans just like to pretend as if they work a lot, it doesn’t mean they actually do…
Also if you don’t act “oberlehrerhaft” yourself (which I lack because it would just feel silly to act that way) and act like you got the bigger wiener most germans will feel superior to you and feel the urge correct everything you do and tell you what to do and how to, because you can’t know it youself, of course, cause if you would you’d simply show everyone else just like every german would.
So please - saying Germans FAKE and pretend and lie less compared to Americans, that’s just laughable. Germans are no1 at faking because they fear being recognised as what they truly are - not being THE ÜBERMENSCH, thus inferior to everyone pretending to be the Übermensch.
Also germans seem to hate Ausländer/ foreigners who are more educated than 95% of the “Otto-Normal”-Germans. I have this japanese friend who always had top jobs, and when she went to the Jobcenter to just ask how to get an export license they told her to get an 1-Euro-Job (A job where you get paid 1 Euro per hour) - WTF?
They hate children or young people in general, too. Maybe because the majority here is old and usually germans hate it when other people have something they can’t have as well, and the only thing you can’t buy with the money from your Bausparvertrag is youth.
I’m glad that this mentality will die for they loathe to deliver offsprings, because they hate children so much.
The only good thing with Germany is the absolutly beautiful language and the possibilities it offers. But most Germans are bad at german language anyway.
I don’t know how the majority of this people could get so degenerated.
September 30th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
have to add,
another good thing with Germany is the food from the south. I think that’s it.
September 30th, 2011 at 10:13 pm
Nh, and when I mean south I exclude Bavaria. Bavarians are damn rude. Maybe because most people there live in tiny villages so they’re kind of backwoods.
October 1st, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Nomnom,
I’d like to know where in this world you’re living now. And if you found happiness. Your comment sounds more like you need some therapy…
October 1st, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Im from germany and I would not consider myself rude. But I realize that I could come of as rude. Becourse I dont greet Strangers or always say thanks to cashier and the reason for that is that people would look at me funny if I would do that, its just not considered normal. But at the same time, when a stranger greets me I catch myself thinking whats his deal?
And i think its sad, becourse I do have the urge do greet other people but I dont want them to thing Im crazy so I keep my frendlyness to myself. :D And I think that alot of people feel the same.
But its true that when you trip or fall that most People wouldnt help you or even ask if your okay and I speek out of an Experions I had with a lot of steps. ;)
But when you get to know a german better you realize that some are shit but some are just fantastic. I thing the saying tough outside, soft inside could fit for us germans. :D
October 1st, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Davide, would you explain your point of view? Because I find it a bit hard to follow why from all comments here, you pick mine and say I need some therapy?
Well, some people already said here that they needed therapy when they left Germany, to get over those experiences.
October 1st, 2011 at 5:04 pm
@Argentinian_in_Berlin
dont worry ull get ur fair share of 3rd world germanness
just stick around a couple of more years and maybe ull be glad that nobody closed the blog by then
ever been employed in a german firm long term, dated a girl not just for one or two nights, ever travelled round the country? NO? maybe ur the one to grow up.
regards.
October 2nd, 2011 at 12:42 am
oh dear lord you people are so stupid. sorry for that but you have no idea.
im german and i hate to help people. i like to bbe controlled by others, and im fat. :D idiots!
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:48 am
If you enjoy living in a society where people respect dogs more than children, then germany will make you happy.
Maybe it’s not that bad if you’re not too foreign-looking, if you’re caucasian… But then I have to think of the huge amount of east european academics here who are treated like illiterates.
They cover up their racism with foreign or gay politicians and tamper with the numbers of crimes with racist backgrounds, but what you’ll experience here daily on the streets, at work is the opposite.
The only non-racist germans I’ve met were people with foreign ancestors themselves or people who have lived abroad. Every other german would tell you with perverse delight, as soon as they feel safe enough or drunk enough, what makes Turks or other foreigners so awful.
October 2nd, 2011 at 2:52 pm
@dan yes, I’ working in an agency for in Berlin for 2 years now and most of my colleagues are great to get by with and I’m good friends with some of them. PLUS I have a german girlfriend and many german friends outside of my work here. It’s so so weird to refer nationality onto relationships! Hello? What’s going on with you?
Many people here I know have long time relationships and yes, also with “Ausländers”! So maybe that’s YOUR experience.
I believe that you might have made these bad experiences, and depending on which society you come from, it’s surely true that you experience some Germans as rude. But what we should get after these 400 posts here is that this hyperfriendly chit-chat of esp. English-speaking countries (which I also like) does not come in the first place here. I does exist but it’s not THAT big part of the culture here. So what? But at least I made great friends here and yes, some people you don’t know may appear grumpy, but I’ve NEVER been yelled at by strangers or anything.
By the way I’ve just been to London for 2 weeks in August and I have experienced the worst costumer service there! Including bad, unfriendly service in cafés, where waiters tip themselves(!) WTF?!
Plus really weird, awkward racism towards black people that made me so emberassed.
And, at last, YES I have travelled Germany quite a lot. Even smaller villages in the east. That’s not an area I’d like to live in but, by the way, I’m not german looking at all (I have a quarter native american and portugese in me) and I’ve never experienced any racism.
My point is that if you all want to go on with your frustration…just go ahead. The funny thing is, I found an just an exact blog like this about Dutch, French and Americans! So just consider if it’s worth it to blame whole nations with singular charecteristic traits…
October 4th, 2011 at 2:21 pm
Reading the comments it seems to me that none of the contributors ever have been to Germany or the talk of a different country I do not know.
So most contributions to me seem nothing but childish and cheap rants.
I am French and living since more than 10 years in Germany.
Never before in my life I met so many open-minded and friendly people as I found them in Germany.
It is true that they go the short way but you can rely on them and they are helpful if you ask them.
Living in Berlin as well as in Munich I only met very charming, friendly and helpful people who have contrary to most contributors no bias which is sign for a better education as most Americans ever can have.
Germans are well informed about the ret of world.
I do speak German fluently with French accent but I never felt any trace of a discrimination.
I only can imagine that some behaved as they are used to behave and then the Germans react the very straight and right way.
My family who came to see me in Germany was fond of tis country and meanwhile 6 of my friends came to Germany.
Neither my friends nor my family ever has been before in Germany and they confirm what I say.
Germans are different as French but working together with them is a pleasure.
Anything works perfect and with only a few words. This is effectivity and no rudeness.
Wherever I came I was welcomed with open arms like a friend.
And I never heard or mentioned any kind of a hostile rant as it is usual for Americans and British.
A girl from Hawaii told me that has been called a couloured bitch- but it was no Germans but British and Germans stopped the Brits from insulting her.
Where I live everybody is greeting me and even in Munich people smile as well as they do in Berlin.
I know many foreigners from all the world and I never heard such a nonsense as you describe here in your fantasies.
So go ahead with your fever fantasies and enjoy your prejudices, bias and hatemongering ideas.
You are nothing but pathetic.
October 4th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
Never read that much crap of people who for sure never have been to Germany.
I come from Egypt and passed my studies at a German university as a physician.
I only met very warmhearted, helpful and friendly people.
Discrimination or bias I never mentioned.
Working and living in Germany is a pleasure to me!
Whenever I needed help I found very openminded Germans.
And I have lots of German friends and I am invited much more as I have time.
Germans are open and direct. They tell you what they think and they are honest.
I am working at a hospital and never had the feeling that Germans look down at me.
Wherever I go I felt welcome and I never noticed that I have been ignored in a pub or restaurant.
We laugh a lot and the Germans are easygoing anyway if you understand them and their mentality.
Many people from Arab countries come to Germany because they all confirm to me that the Germans are nicest and most friendly people they ever met. And they appreciate their effectivity and their precision.
Nobody ever was looking strange at just because I look different.
And never a German was shouting at me or ranting as you do.
Germans are extremely high appreciated by Arab people as well as they are admired by many other foreigners.
But only the native English speakers have their biased stereotypes and problems with the Germans.
So you better ask yourself why you not get along with the Germans.
For me Germany is the best and most generous country I know.
And some millions of foreigners from all the world just think the same.
So forget about your rants and your stupid crap you are talking about Germany and the Germans.
Reading your rants I can now understand much better why Germans basically have their reservations in regard of English speaking people.
So if you dislike them then just stay off - this is the easiest solution:)
October 4th, 2011 at 4:22 pm
My experience is different. I was welcome and Germany offered me a place at university for complete free.
I did not have to pay for my education because education is free in Germany.
People are very polite and friendly and they help you if you have a problem.
Never I felt discrimination. Germans are very curious and friendly to foreigners and they are interested from where you come.
In USA I felt discrimination everywhere but not in Germany.
And you can trust the Germans because they are honest and direct.
Needing help I always got by friendly people.
Germans do not make difference between foreigners and Germans.
I love their discipline and their clear opinion.
I never have been treated bad in Germany and I like the clean cities and the safety everywhere.
I go out a lot and I always was welcome when they heard I come from Mexico.
I like the life here very much and I have many German friends.
Other people from foreign countries say the same as I do.
And I love the food which is so different in every region.
It is not difficult to get in contact with Germans.
You only need to speak German and accept them as they are and then you find the best and most honest friends in your life.
And Germans keep their word and if they like you they really although they do not show their feelings that much.
But they are not cold.
I feel at home here in Germany.
I cannot understand what you write.
October 4th, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Being stationed since a couple of years in Germany I never read such a crap of really dimwitted brats.
It is a shame reading this type of statements just by Americans.
As a member of the US forces I made together with all my buddies only the very best experiences with the Germans.
Germans are open and honest and fantastic people.
If we only would have the same at home in the US.
People are extremely polite and willing to help whenever you need.
This blog is obviously a center for retarded dimwitted teenagers publishing their nonsense.
Shame on you!
And it is nothing but an impudent offense to all American soldiers who are stationed here in Germany.
Go home to your mums and play with your toys you brats.
October 6th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
I come from Poland and I never met rude Germans.
Quite the contrary. Germans are very open-minded and very friendly and helpful people.
But this seems to be a haunt for psychopathic dimwits and stupid hatemongers.
Never read so much senseless and foolish crap as I read here by native English speakers.
And although I am a foreigner I have to take notice that most of you are typical British and American illiterates who are so stupid that they are not even able to spell their own language correctly.
October 7th, 2011 at 4:56 pm
I am very sad after reading so many negative comments. I am from Germany and yes, maybe you are right. A lot of people here are rude. They don’t greet the others, they don’t help them, they ignore them. I often notice that and I am not proud of it. Maybe they never learned it better. But it isn’t nice and it makes you feel bad. For us its normal that the people in the supermarket don’t do “smalltalk” and that they even don’t greet each other. But I have to say a lot of people are just shy and maybe they don’t talk to you because they know you are English and they can’t speak the language or they are just very shy (for example me ;)) And the thing with the readheads: it’s just not true that we have never seen any. My sister and my mother are readheads and nobody in my family is blond and blue eyed. And we are just Germans. And forget the world warII and the nazi thing. Yes, there are a lot of neo nazis but I don’t know anyone (fortunatly!) and they are minority. In my town live many foreigners and they are very nice and I am glad to be friends with them.
And by the way: your comments aren’t that polite as well just to say that
kind regards
becky
(and sorry if my english isn’t the best)
October 9th, 2011 at 10:47 am
Hahaha.
Users “El Masry”, Mexican and “US Army” are the same person.
Learn to spell next time, you ridiculous troll.
October 11th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
Wow, Miggi — I wouldn’t have noticed. Thanks.
It seems that there’s a wide gulf between the views people have about Germans. Either Germans are polite and helpful, or else the stereotype is true. “El Masry” / “Mexican” / “US Army” has done no good service to his/her nation. He/she seems to have (accidentally) proved her/his nation is tricky and not good friendship material. Who’d want to hang out with her/him now, after Miggi’s comment?
My earliest notions about Germans (since the camps of WW2) was of the worry everyone had around here that the two Germanys, if re-united, would lead to the birth of a new monster.
By now, I — along with all my friends & relatives — think moderately that there are potential monsters in every sufficiently large population.
OK — so no German monsters — or at least not until one really shows up.
But — I’ve mixed with plenty of Americans and a considerable number of Germans. The vast majority of the Americans I’ve known are quite reasonable down-to-earth people, although I could argue very passionately with them — often against them — on a large and growing number of subjects. Its possible for an average Canadian and an average American to work well together, and play together.
Germans … I mostly just want to avoid. Arrogant, pushy, judgemental, manipulative, self-agrandizing, and lots & lots more …
If there are any Germans reading this, then maybe you don’t know. We’ve all heard the stereotype, and we all know our history — ahem. YOUR history. We know that it is not constructive to put that in your face all the time, and so we (Canadians) generally don’t. You should understand that when you’re rude to us, and we just step back and let you have what you’ve already declared is yours, in the generosity typically found in my nation. An American understands this, but most Germans don’t. They think they’ve won an argument or something, and that now the law must support the German who is touring in Canada. Its not for fear that we do this, and certainly not because we respect you.
I could swear it: one of these days, I’ll not be so stereotypically Canadian, and I will demand — with enough volume to fill the room — what your justification is, not just for the things that will have happened in that day, but in every matter, all the way to the death camps. You are a toxic people.
(Well, you’re not ALL toxic. I spent some time with a lovely German harpist. Some of my most favourite memories are of her. But, German reader, this is no credit to you. She hates her nation, or at least, she did. I hope she’s found some peace.)
October 12th, 2011 at 1:09 am
@Gordon in post #369
Thanks for that comment. The German language has a part in this as well, I suppose. I don’t know the language, but friends who do have said that its a great language for carefully disassembling a thing into it many parts, twisting and folding them according to how they “should” be, and then show that the machine can’t be re-assembled, with the implication that it was broken in the first place. And all this in one long string of nasal vowels and barking consonants.
October 18th, 2011 at 11:21 am
Well, some of the comments are true. I am half German and lived in Germany, the UK and the US. The majority of people writing here seem to be tourists or serve(d) in the Army (in ghetto like surroundings in Germany). So either they only went to shops (and yes, customer service is extremely poor) or had their base which had Taco Bell and the US shops. So they didn´t really meet any Germans, apart from the odd excursion to a local shop (same problem as the tourist.) I wont go into too much detail, as everyone has written most of what I thought in one or the other post anyway, however, one thing does annoy me more than anything:
Everyone goes on about WWII. I am not being funny here, but fact is that in the UK WWII plays a much larger role than in Germany. Everytime the World Cup is played for example the British tabloid papers always print on their headlines “se jermans are coming”, or “this is for Coventry.” Blah blah blah.
Take a look at your own history. The UK colonised and used and abused every country they felt could be oppressed. No one in i.e. India, Sri Lanka, South Africa is talking about that all the time.
The British are hung up with WWII - that is fact. The US-Americans seem not too worried about WWII, mainly as the majority don´t really have an interest in history outside the US. Even with their own history they seem to have some misconception of what they have done in the past. Hiroshima, one of the worst war crimes ever - US. Bombing vast areas of Vietnam with Napalm killing whoever was there at the time - US. Slavery (way after most other civilised countries abolished this) - US. The KKK exists in the US still and has a following greater than any Nazi movement in Germany or Europe.
Racist, anti Mexican propagnada is big on the Republican agenda. You dont have this in Germany or the UK. I think it is easy to have common enemy. It is fairly normal group behaviour. All countries do this. This is how they “stick” together. Doesn´t mean it is right though.
Germans=rude people
US-Americans=simple people
Brits=cold people
ALL countries have their stereotypes. None are very flattering, and none fit 100%. Don´t forget that the US is made up of at least 10% Germans. These left Germany (partly due to WWII, here we go again), but mainly before that time as they were mainly badly educated and poor people looking to improve their lives.
October 28th, 2011 at 7:39 pm
Hi everyone,
I won´t talk to much but, what ,the pathetism ,discrimination, professional blocage and hatred, with the media propaganda wich a group of activist from Bonn .Brüserberg has done to my whole since the day the Arbeitsamt-simular to labour office in Germany agreed to offer me a scholaship, then my night mare started, .From Dresden, was located the activist anthenna wich could make the worst comments, against my personality, so that , the labour office does´t offer me the scolaship.,Then, from Dresden, the church of Leipzig took over, by connection with DEUTSCHE WELLE:tOTALY UNDER harassement and the mobbing wich the so call radio comments could spread in the whole country,I spent 5 years looking for jobs everywhere, but no one could offer me a job, because , the neo nazis,menaced everybody who tried to offer me a job, up to the time I decided to live the offer of my scolaship and to run to Africa, but, in Ghana, it was not enough, everywhere the Deutsche welle station is, was the same thing to spray lies,insults, a real cynism in whole country where I tried ti to run away from the neo nazis.After Ghana,I left I went to Tanzania, wa s the same, from Tanzania, I went to Rwanda, but , overthere was more than worst.Then Actually I live in Zambia, is the same, because the neo nazi decided to finished my life by playing mentally with africans, because africans love stories.When a german , a member of the neo nazis group explain to then that they try to train me to become strong, the y tell people that is a kind of big brother game and then afetr while there is a present.A gain is a documentary, again is because the person is arrogant, and because they want to make a president out me. But, No body asked me before.But , my only misteak, was , thant I changed my citizenship and then I became german, since then my whole life is destroyed, Everywhere I passe weither in Germany or in Africa , since the neo nazi
s radio still under control of Deutsche welle , I have no choice, but since 5 years I ´am a victim of neo nazi mobbing , and their aim is that I become mental sick , then they will give oder to Deutsche welle to stop.My house where FULL OF MICROPHONES EVERYWHERE,and some mini camera, so that, When I tried to sleep during the night then ,this psychos of the neo nazis started.Talking by sending echos in my whole house synchronised all nonses talks from africans the whole days and nights.Sleeping for me is a miracle,I sleep by putting things in my hears so that I can close my eyes.So when you are talikin about rude, anfriendly,cynic,jealousy and hate foreigners.All my whole life since 5 years is a life testimony according to my harrassement, insults, and professional blocage wich I face up to now because I had a chance to get a german scolaship.But, the scolaship ,I left it because I could die with the barbarism of the neo nazis.
So for me, I will suggest to all participants to pray God that the devil who surrounds the german people to be defeated by Jesus name, because most of them , are , really a serious matter for the humanity.
Criminality, racism,social terrorism, those are the caracterics of the neo nazis, promoting by DEUTSCHE WELLE IN THE WHOLE WORLD:God has mercy for Germans
October 30th, 2011 at 7:54 am
I do not care for the typical cold German personality. I have lived in Germany for several years and in different towns and also stopped there while travelling in Europe. Germans are unhelpful and unfriendly to people they do not know, even when in a service capacity, such as a business where you would ordinarily expect polite service. They are condescending and like to be right and you may find your self feeling incompetent when you are not. Do not worry: it is not you. The Germans do this with one another, too. They are bolder than English, Cdn or American people and will argue or be stern to get their way. I have also hosted a German in Canada and found the person to be superficial and falsely courteous when she wanted something but would switch to be dismissive and stubborn when she did not get her way and quite insistent. She remarked to me how friendly people in America are and how they go out of their way in America to make sure you get good service and feel relaxed. This actually baffled her. Basically, Germans are not good work colleagues, if you are looking for collegiality nor good friends, because they tend to be competitive in discussion, not cooperative, are into one-up-manship,and do not care about others. They do not get along well with each other, either, so it is not because you are a foreigner. They are self centered and will appear arrogant, dismissive and unfriendly to anyone who is from England, Canada, or who is an American, where people are usually friendly and relaxed with strangers and certainly their friends and family. Germans can be harsh and tenacious, formidable, too. Germany is a beautiful country but not a place I would want to live in again or visit because of the people. I did not make any German friends in 6 yrs! I met people, but they are hard to get relaxed and be real.
November 1st, 2011 at 10:25 am
I suffer from mental and physical disabilities, and as a result I am unable to work. Anyway once upon meeting a German female here in the US, and telling her of my situation she responded with a very harsh, “No excuses!” She also had a constant use of profanity. F this, and F that. I have never met a more unfriendly person. Some say that Germans are just more direct, but one can be direct without being mean. The Dalai Lama is really direct, but he is niece about it. I know that this female that I interacted with is just one person, and that it is bad to over generalize, but based on what others have told me who have been to Germany, I don’t think I am over generalizing in saying that Germans as a “group” are very unfriendly people, and are also intolerant of anyone who is different or suffers from any kind of weakness. I think that Germans are very developed technically and intellectually, but not emotionally or spiritually. And they really need to work on this.
November 4th, 2011 at 2:10 am
I can put into google “why are … people so” and for every nationality i put in the first hits where “why are they so rude/ignorant/ugly/etc”.
Now i can ask the question “Why are people always trying to generalise?” Some people should ask themself if they are not just haters. And people that only met one person and bring up “others told me” cant be taken serious anyway.
@Alain Kamas comment:
You know how many wars where fought, how many people where tortured and killed in the name of Christianity, God and Jesus (Religions in general)? They dont save anyone.
Also this whole story doesnt sound believeable besides being a pain to read. Big conspiracy to ruin your life eh?
November 4th, 2011 at 9:46 pm
Alain Kamas, I wasn’t talking about Christianity when I said that Germans needed to work on their spirituality. I really dislike religion myself. I was talking about the fact that Germans needed to work on developing love and compassion, which is very difficult in an extremely conformist culture, because no one ever stops to reflect on their behavior or question the norms. Its just conform, conform, conform.
Terracresta, you are right, it is wrong to say that everyone of a particular culture behaves in a certain way. But it is not wrong to say that on average groups of people act in certain ways. If they didn’t, then culture would not exist. I am not a hater, but I do know that if I had lived in Germany that I would not have had the same educational opportunities that I have had here in the US. Instead I would have been denied an education period and labeled as dumb. I do not hate Germans, and would help any German if I ever saw one in need. I am in fact of German decent. But I will be honest in saying that I do not like German culture. I have noticed from some in life that live outside the US, that it is okay to bash America, and American culture, but once you say something about their culture they cannot stand it. I am just being direct and to the point.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:52 pm
I have been in Germany about 5 times. I live in Estonia. My native is estonian and I do speak english too.
I have had last two years a pleasant trip to Germany and Austria but one thing I must admit-if you planning ti spend your time traveling in these two countries, you should learn german. It`s crystal clear! Generally didn`t have any really bad treatment but I felt that people do not speak english (especially older one), they expecting you can speak in german and of course you would become a part of more if you just speak german.
I like learning languages and maybe one day I can speak in german already:-)Because I like very mush Germany and Austria-all the nature and arcitecture etc.
And I have one really nice friend in Germany, so I guess it all depends on a person!
But I have to say maybe germans really are too reserved, some of them don`t understand jokes and seemingly are too serious. That`s the community and also traditions!
This nation is a little bit similar to estonians who considered to be also serious, not too smiling and cold as northerner. I`m not, maybe I am the exception:-)
LG
Lisandra
November 10th, 2011 at 1:13 am
Oh, boy, what to begin with? first- I am not running spell check, so I apologize at the beginning for any misspellings.
We are in Germany for 3 years (Bavaria, Franconia to be more precise). I do want to get some things off my chest, as I am about to explode!! I am counting the f—–g days until we get back to the US…
First, some good things about living in Bavarua (Franconia):
you can get to France, Italy, Holland, etc.. in about 4 hours, so that’s nice.
German bakeries- very good cakes ( though dry, but not as sweet as American baked goods). Bread is good too ( although I prefer French because it’s not as dense as German bread).
Health system- quality of doctors is good; the insurance system more efficient than in the US I think because it’s all computerized… I think this is a change Obama wanted to do in the US.
Public transportation- nice.
Lots of things to see- nice, but rude service personnel in all areas of Germany we have visited..
Germany- more environmental conscious? maybe in some way, but turns a blind eye at other things ( cigarette butts and dog poop everywhere…)
I am sure there are other good things: play areas for kids at stores, some offices, and kids get gummy bears for free at check out in many stores.
Kids go to school on regular buses, alone.. there are no school buses, except for maybe some private schools.
And here are the stressful things I run into EVERY DAY,… sorry, guys, but that’s why this blog exists, so some of us can vent and maybe others will learn from our experiences.
I would like to mention that I speak German, but not the Franconian dialect, so I am struggling trying to understand the locals… I learned hoch Deutsch as a kid, so I thought in a couple of months of speaking, I will be fluent… well, not so much.. but I get by.
1) The first shock for me was how people drive here: where the hell is everyone rushing so fast? soup is getting cold?? when you are on the roads in Nuernberg, it’s a rat race… who can get the fastest to the next RED stoplight!! My blood pressure goes to the roof every time I am on the road because these people are in such a f—g hurry.
Then you get the “hot shots” wanna be, who speed through parking lots full of cars and people, just to make sure they get out of the parking lot in front of you… geez!!
Oh, and where the hell is the police to catch these bastards? no, they get me for going 36 km/hr on a 30km/hr speed limit… I got 4 tickets on the same street within 6 months: 15 euros each time, but no points.
2) The traffic rules here were made by imbeciles: if you are in a neighborhood, on the main road within that neighborhood, get this: you have to stop and give way to the cars coming from your right, even if they change directions and you are on a main road… how dumb is that?
If you need to make a left, most of the time you do not have your own green light to turn left- you get the green with the traffic going straight through, including the traffic coming from the opposite direction. Cycles are short, so if you have several cars in front of you, it will take a while… why the hell can’t the city do something about it? no one is happy about it, but no one does anything about it because this society hates change and is VERY inflexible.
Rudeness on the roads: god forbid you make a mistake on the road!! they will give you the look, hunk their horns like you killed their mama.
Busy bodies: some American friends stopped in a parking lot in front of a store this Summer, one got out and the other stayed in the car with the kids, engine running to keep cool inside because it was hot as hell. A couple of minutes later, some busy body women OPENS their car door to tell them to turn the engine off… can you believe this? wtf??
Rudeness in stores and offices: someone already addressed this, but thought it was maybe a regional thing ( Berlin or something). Well, not sure about the rest of the country, but in Bavaria, and especially in Franconia, there are some rude folk. I had to go to the insurance office ( HUK), and I walk in, expecting to be at least greeted by one of the people behind the desk- nothing…same at the bank, at car dealerships, stores. Geez, don’t they know that these businesses would not survive if they lose customers? The pay system is faulty, in my opinion. Most of them are on salaries, so they could care less if they sell a car, an insurance policy, a shirt, a suit or a new bank account. Hence the attitude that they are doing you a favor by showing up at work. They should all be on commissions.. pay commensurate with the work.
Oh, and if someone gets a cold… they stay home two weeks… and no work gets done, so if you are waiting for something to be processed, good luck to you.
Oh, and when they do work, they make so many mistakes, because, just like in traffic, they are rushing to get whatever it is done as quickly as possible, without proof reading or checking for mistakes because their lips are burning for that stupid cigarette!!
I swear, I have never seen so many smokers in my life. When you have to enter an office building, a restaurant, or a store, you first have to go through a cloud of smoke… they don’t care that you have children with you and they inhale that nasty smoke.
Good thing smoking in public places has been banned, otherwise I would not have moved here… well, knowing what I know now after living here for one year, since I cannot grow that thick skin like one the bloggers said, I would have never moved here. In the States, I live in the South, where people are polite, they open doors for you, they say Hi, excuse me, please, sorry… etc.
When we decided to move to Germany, I was looking forward to the cool Springs and Summers, when we could sit outside on a terrace for a glass of wine downtown in the old city… yeah, you can forget that!! now all terraces have been taken over by smokers. So, if you sit outside, you thought you will be getting fresh air? no, you will get a mouth full of smoke, no matter which way you turn your head.. Think of your kids, too… so if we do want to eat at a restaurant, we hope to sit inside somewhere near a window, because even if they do have air conditioning, they will not turn it on because they are afraid of catching a cold… ah ha ha ha!! The fear that cold air in the Summer and iced drinks will cause them to get sick… these are the same people who chain smoke…yeah, that’s healthy!!
The rush at the grocery store: WTF?? shoppers will mow you down with their grocery carts.. and when they do hit you, by mistake I suppose, they don’t say sorry or whatever… and you know what? it’s the old ones who have no manners… go figure.
There is so much aggression here, in every aspect of life: from the roads, to shopping, at work, on the playground. Yes, German kids are much more aggressive than American kids. I see their mothers chatting and not paying attention to their kids at playgrounds, and basically allowing them to misbehave and do whatever they want…
Water and air- short supply in Germany.. literally…
I tried to play tennis indoor twice and both times I came home and got really sick. It turns out that Germans are afraid of air flow… yeap, so they much rather be in a stuffy environment than open a couple of windows to get some air circulating. So, if they work out in a stuffy room full of people, they breath each others’ CO2. YOu can imagine how low the Oxigen percentage is in an unventilated room full of people, who also sweat… blahh.. Again, they think they can get sick if there is a draft… such as two windows open, but opposite from each other… ?? how dumb!! when I politely ask them what about being outside when it’s windy… they say well, that’s different… how? no one can explain… You catch a cold because you or people you came in contact with did not wash their hands! not because of some air that you actually need to breath.
Water: I gave up on asking for tap water at restaurants… boy, they give you that look… yes, you idiot, I refuse to pay 4 dollars ( 3 euros) for a glass of water from a bottle that you bought from the grocery store for 25 cents… Waters here could care less if you tip them or not… they are on salary, so service is bad.
In the US, if you ask for iced water, it’s FREE… so what if it’s from tap? If you want bottled water, then you will pay maybe a couple of bucks, but no more.
No drinking water fountains in Germany- oh, and forget about water coolers, like the ones we have in the States in front of EVERY bathroom in stores, malls, offices, etc… Germany has NONE!! not even in schools. Yes, as they like to believe they are environmentally conscious, but I think Germans use up a lot more bottle water than Americans because they cannot just walk to a fountain to get a drink of water anywhere. So, think how many plastic bottles are being purchased…
Toilets- when I first came here, it shocked me how smelly the bathrooms were-I noticed bathroom fans, but they are never on. Bleach is not used to clean toilets and bathrooms, just some sort of fragrant detergent that only masks the odor… Unless the building is new, all toilets have old seats that are so stained that make you sick. The nastiest bathroom is the one at Burger King in Nuernberg main train station… yuck!! oh, and sometime there is a bathroom attendant sitting on a chair next to a table, where there is usually a plate for tips!! yes, they do such a “good” job on keeping that urine smelling bathroom clean that they think they deserve tips.
Bathrooms in the malls are also smelly. Oh, and you know how in the States every department store has their own bathrooms, not here. They only have the mall bathrooms, which can get so crowded around X-mas time.
Shopping hours- I hate the shopping schedule here. You know how in the States most everywhere ( maybe except for some blue law counties), you can keep your store open when you want and how long you want? In Germany the labor unions or labor laws…not sure which.. have so much power that they basically dictate how much you need to pay the workers and what your hours of operation must be… Except for bakeries and gas stations, stores are closed on Sundays, and during weekdays they close at 8pm. There is no 24 hours open grocery store, or stores open until midnight like back home. Here everything shuts down at 8pm. So, on Saturday evenings, it’s like the day before Thanksgiving in the States, but still I think it’s worse. It’s so funny: in the Southern US, most stores close only two days per year: Thanksgiving and X-mas… and some Americans even bitch about that… how spoiled we were in the States. I could run up to Lowes Foods or Harris Teeter at 11pm, if I wanted to…
Grocery shopping: ok, so when I first got here, I did not realize that you have to empty your own grocery cart and and noone puts things in bags for you. It was so funny: the cashier was looking at me and I was looking at her, wondering how from where she is sitting is she going to get to my cart to take my things out, ring them up, and then bag them for me. Then I looked around and saw what others where doing. It’s sort of like Walmart, where you have to put your own things on the belt, but at Walmart the cashier bags your things.
Here you also have to put your own things in bags and in your cart. And if you are not fast enough, the people behind you will give you the impatient look. So, I ended up dumping everything back in the cart and bagged them when I got to the car in the parking lot. Oh, and when the cashier is done ringing your things, people waiting in line behind you, crowd you even more, even though you still have to pay for your groceries. Some old guy has gotten so close that he was blocking the debit card machine, so I asked him politely if he would like to pay for my groceries, since I could not get to the debit card reader… he laughed.
Then you have to try to keep your cart full of stuff from rolling sideways because here the wheels on grocery carts all swivel. So, they kind of have a mind of their own…
Cash society- when I first moved here, opening a bank account and receiving a debit card took forever, so we tried to use our US Visa- but wait!! you can starve to death if you don’t have cash. Yeap, with only a few exceptions, bakeries and a good percentage of restaurants only take cash… and they like to believe Germany is high tech. One thing I like is that you pay your bills via e-transfer like in the US, but also instead of writing a check, you can wire transfer an amount to anyone at no cost within Germany… But then you run into situations in restaurants, when you assume they accept debit cards, and they actually don’t… how frustrating!!
The German businesses do not know what “cost of doing business” is. Oh, well. I am used to it now. ATM machines are kinda scarce in the suburbs, so you have to go to the center to get cash, and parking is always a problem. Banks here do not have their own parking- if there are any spots, you have to pay for parking, which would not be a big deal, but most of the time parking is full. The parking permit machines only take cash…so you go to the bank to get cash, because you ran out, but you need cash to park BEFORE you get to the bank… well, you get my point.
You have to pay to park at malls also- so they don’t grasp the concept that if you come in and shop and give them your hard earned money, shopping should be free… no way.. but still the malls are always packed because of the hours of operation, which makes shopping a nightmare. I barely found anything to buy in the mall… mostly toys at Mueller’s. Not even before X-mas would they keep the stores open longer… back home in the States our local Mall would open at 7 am and close at midnight during the holiday shopping… But again, here the German laws say that if workers work past 8pm, they have to be paid double… or some nonsense like this. And even so, pay them double, and you would double your business… but again… they don’t grasp the concept of “cost of doing business”. Twice a year here some stores open on Sunday from 1 to 6pm… and oh, my God… the whole town is out shopping… well duhh, local government… take notice.
Handicap parking- I guess I can get used to the impertinence, but you see able bodies parking in handicap parking, and it does bother me. But, there is no sign mentioning a hefty fine or towing if you park there, so it’s up for grabs.
Someone earlier mentions how Germans like to do things by the book- maybe in some sense, but the rules are constantly broken but everyday Germans.. I know Americans do it also, but nothing like here.
You know in the States, at least in the South, it would be viewed as rude and inconsiderate to stop your car on the street blocking one lane, and inconveniencing everyone around you. Here in Germany, I see it everywhere we go: someone, truck or car, stops on the main road, they double park, and put their hazard lights on…so they can run to the ATM machine or post office to get stamps or whatever the f–.
Housing: geez, what a nightmare that was. When you look at places to rent, you have to go when the current tennants are home, so it takes for ever, and then if you see something you like, chances are 10 other families are interested. If you are a buyer or a tenants looking for something to buy, you are NOBODY, have no leverage-it’s completely opposite than in the States. You pay out of your ass to rent a place- get this: you have to pay for your agent’s and the listing agent’s commissions. Here in Germany just getting to rent a small apartment costs as much as closing costs would be to buy a medium size house in the States. Why? the agents’ commissions are like 3 times the monthly rent, plus you need 3 months deposit, plus, most of the time you need to BUY YOUR OWN KITCHEN!! yeap, they take it with them when they move out, either home owners or tenants. You could negotiate to buy the current kitchen, and then you can sell it when you move out. But renting a small apartment can be about 9 thousand euros in just initial cost, easily… and you rent, not buy…
Ok, I am done for now. I hope you got a good laugh; these were my own observations and opinions- I am not asking anyone to agree with me. We can agree to disagree.
November 10th, 2011 at 10:31 am
Since I have bitched a lot earlier, I do want to add a couple of positives about life in Bavaria: I watch how the farmers pick their crops, load it on trucks, and then deliver the produce straight to grocery stores- food is very fresh. Why can’t we do that in the US at the same scale as they do it here? I know there are farms that do this in the States, but only sporadically.
Produce here goes bad very fast… so many times I have thrown away stuff that usually in the States lasts longer in the fridge. I guess they use less pesticides here, which is a good thing.
Friends- have some foreign and some German friends. I live in a very German neighborhood, and when we first moved in, we were waving at people and smiling… some were waving back… now most of them are. We met lots of them from the block, but it’s funny, how one neighbor who has been living on this street for over 10 years, said he never met his neighbors… nice guy, though. And these are townhomes, not single family homes, so we are on top of each other… how the hell can you not meet your next door neighbors in 10 years?
November 10th, 2011 at 10:40 am
Privat and personal information
Last year I had to get a German cell phone number, and it’s a pain in the add because they want you to sign a contract, although I had my Iphone from the States, which I jailbroke. I can use it anywhere. Ok, so I finally decide on a carrier, and just to open a cell phone account, the clerk needed my birthday and birth place ( not just the country or state… they needed the city!!) How stupid is that? have they never heard of ID theft, which happens a lot more than you think? On our US passports you don’t see the birth city… The US government who issues our passports does not even care to put such personal info in our passports, but the sorry ass cell phone store in some godforsaken place in Germany wants to know your very personal information, just so he can give you a stupid sim card. How ridiculous!!
November 15th, 2011 at 10:33 pm
I think there might be a distinction to make here. Although it is not always true, being a tourist in a country mostly will show you how nice a country can be. As long as you got money, they will want to help you.
I have been a tourist and live here in Germany.
On my second day here as a tourist, my friend and I were in the Bahn office (train) in Berlin and looking at pamphlets, when we saw one about trains on the counter. My friend picked it up and the later, instead of telling us why (she spoke with us in a manageable English earlier), slapped his hand harshly and yelled “NEIN!”. Apparently, this one was not free (we later discovered). We left.
But then, we were visiting months later, the river Rhein and arrived late at night a St-Goar after walking for 6 hours and then taking the train (it was beautiful, and walking doesn’t scare us), but then it started to snow and get dark quickly and we needed a place to stay. Lots of the small hotels seemed closed, but we knocked at one anyway. The owner was out, but the daughter let us in (daughter of about 40) and said we could pay tomorrow when her mother would be back and she was so nice and welcoming!
But living here, has been hell. First of all, I was told by a youth program that Germany speaks English (an that it was all I needed to find a job (working-holiday visa for a year to experience something new), which is not true. The way it works, only people from the Gymnasium (intelligent people school as they would refer) will likely speak English. These people are allowed to go to university unlike the 2 other schools (normal, and stupid). So most people you see at grocery stores and customer service areas, unless they are students, will not speak English and will most likely treat you as a waste of time. This is most true of hotlines customer services (which is not even free!). I have had a hard time dealing with people because not only do they lack English knowledge, the few who do, won’t even try (Of course there are exceptions). Unless you live directly in the big cities, forget it, and even then, it does not mean you’ll get good service. I’m married to a German guy who speaks an amazing English and he’s always pissed when people refuse to help me or don’t even try. He calls it the “desert of customer service”. He wants to leave for Canada, he’s fed up of Germany. They always try to rip you off of your money. There’s always a bill coming out of nowhere. I closed my bank account sent me a letter a few weeks later asking for money. My account is closed and I owe them nothing! And seriously, the Arbeitagentur (work agency (governmental)) is impossible! On thing a few things learned from living and working in Germany, Germans are always on time, they are not all friendly and they are totally chaotic as opposed to the famous belief that they are well organized. I worked for a small company that hired mostly people from other countries because of our language skills (Spanish, Italian, French, English, etc), but then went bankrupt. They kept us in the dark and told us 2 weeks prior they were bankrupt, the last paycheck would be at the end of the month and to not come to work the next month. They even tricked my co-workers to take they vacation time that month so they wouldn’t have to pay them more money (lucky me, I used them up before that). Working with the work agencies was hell. They forced us to go through the paperwork to see if we were illegible for any money when we all knew we were not as most of us didn’t have a full year there. Basically, we were all fucked. Most of them except the Spanish guys (Apparently, there is no work in Spain, but Spanish is in high demand in Germany) went back to their country at their own expense. I could not go. They had fucked me over and didn’t reimbursed me for things we had agreed they would and because they are bankrupt, can’t go after them (they also made me sign a contract in German that was different from the English one they made me read…). And so, I was out of work and had lost the working permit I had (sponsored sponsored one as the working-holiday one had expired - was only one year, and I only found work after 3 months). I went to the job agency so they could help me find work and I met a lady who met with me (consultation) and told me half the people on her list required I spoke German, the other half that I at least have working visa already (can’t be sponsored by Zeitarbeit which are some sort of agencies that “sells” you over to an employer). Alright, I could marry my German boyfriend (we planned to anyway) and get a visa that way. We do that, I come back and another lady says I can’t have a appointment with a counselor because I didn’t go to a certain 1 hour information meeting which is in German (I tell her I can’t understand German well enough and she says it’s not problem) and that I was better off looking by myself. Fine. I do that for a few months, nothing. Discouragingly nothing. I go back with my husband (my German is not so great, even less for German bureaucracy) and we agree for that 1 hour info meeting. The very same lady tells us I can’t because I don’t speak German (wait, wut? But she said it was okay before!), I argue and push my husband to tell her I want it and no question about it. She goes to her boss who agrees to let me go, and we register my name for the one next week. My husband comes with me and the meeting starts. 5 minutes later, it ends. I ask why and my husband, shaking his head in disbelief says that it’s all there is. That they said “do what they tell you to do and everything will be fine.” which I was already planning to. My husband has to take time off EVERY time for their stupid little circus dance. We went back to the job agencies, gave them our papers, and then I could meet with someone. All this until I got an appointment took months. The guy looked at my profile and said not to hope. I haven’t received a call from them and it’s been 3 months. So helpful indeed. I am unemployed an play the housewife role while I whiter in our apartment. We’re leaving next year and I can’t wait. I’m so disturbed by the general bad behaviour towards immigrants that I don’t even feel like leaving the apartment. Even the idea of a walk makes me uneasy. I just don’t want to see Germans anymore. I’ve been here for 2 years… I can’t take it anymore. I could tell you more horrible stories, or how even the health insurance is running after me for money while I was unemployed I had to pay 144 euros per months! just to be insured (has to be by law) and I have accumulated quite a nice debt which I live on donations from friends and my mom abroad to meet the monthly minimal payment. Even McDonald’s don’t want to hire me because I don’t speak German… They act as if you need a degree to make a burger. I was working in security even was promoted desk officer in a demanding high class building and now I am reduced to this. I feel like I am worth nothing in this country and it’s making me very very depressive. I’m lucky to have a very nice husband though. Cudos to those rare pearls. But I would never try to live in Germany again. Visiting a country and living in it are two entirely different things.
Oh and, they cancel trains without offering an alternative to customers (no buses, shuttles, or extra trains)?? When you live at the end of the line, it sucks to have to wait a few hours for them to send a new one…Deplorable! And it costs so much to take the train, I was insulted. Yep, that’s generally how I feel about Germany. I feel they have insulted me. I used to be open-minded and now I feel like a damn racist with a close mind and it makes me feel awful. Germany change people. They don’t like strangers and they will make you feel it.
November 16th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
@Kaylee
u mustnt think its because ur in immigrant.
as posted earlier german folks tend to not even like their fellows either. most (not all) are not that good at treating people well. especially the arbeitsamt will and did drag u down..
but - usually its highly recognized when people are willing and able to work. try a few other zeitarbeit firms, try those who “sell” people over to big hotels, working there in service. its tedious at times since u will be on your feet long hours. but ull find more sense in staying around.
i would recommend “gvo” as one of the bigger zeitarbeit in the field of hospitality. try it, u wont need perfect german at all. plus they will train people to be skilled enough since u dont have an ausbildung, which really doesnt matter.
get in touch if u like.
cheers,
M.
November 17th, 2011 at 10:37 pm
Having lived here for more than 25 years I am constantly astounded by the fact that the Germans actually don’t give a shit what other nations think about them. Most countries either have ugly OR unfriendly citizens (UK for example, not beautiful, but very friendly to make up for it) but Germany excels both in ugliness AND utter moroseness of its people. Try taking a bus and sitting on the aisle side. When the passenger next to you on the window seat wants to get off he/she will not speak to you (heaven forbid) but make various gestures (half getting up, nestling with handbag) in the hope that you are a mindreader. Speaking to you would just be too… I don’t know… human?
November 19th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
GERMany
November 23rd, 2011 at 5:28 pm
Today I was attacked by a very angry German man, while I was waiting in traffic. He blew his horn loudly to get my attention, then GOT OUT OF HIS CAR, came to my car trying to open the door, and when he could not (thank goodness for that), he beat on my window with his fist.. blurring out obscenities… and something about “two lanes”… of course, there was no indication that there were two turn lanes, because traffic signs and lights here make no sense most of the time, so I probably cut in front of him, since I had to make a left after turning right…. Here they block many roads to avoid traffic trough residential areas of blocks, so many times the routing is complicated, and if you are unfamiliar with the area, you are most likely to screw up without even knowing it. And, boy, they will let you know. Here is his license plate: ERH-PU123, a black GLK Mercedes- the angry driver was German, in his thirties… who probably had too much nicotine this morning. Studies have shown that smokers exhibit more of an aggressive behavior, and also kids of smokers are likely to be aggressive.
So, I am shaking out of my skin, counting my blessings that my car doors were locked, otherwise that man would have dragged me out of the car and beaten me. He got back in his car, then traffic move, I pulled over in front of an Aldi’s, to re-compose myself and called the Police. They did nothing over the phone, but took note of the man’s license plate, and they said I should file a report.
A few hours later I went to the Police, to find out that they could care less about the incident, and that we are lucky nothing happened. What the fuck??? yeap, the policeman on duty basically discouraged me from filing a report on this man, because he did not have enough officers to write the report for me or whatever…
So, even if aggressive driving is illegal in Germany, it is largely tolerated, and people can get away with assault, attack, etc.. but I am not giving up..I am still shaking inside, and I may go back to the police tomorrow…
I had to tell someone about it. I am counting the months until I get the f… out of here. Oh, and ArvidPersson , Fuck off…
November 23rd, 2011 at 5:36 pm
SunMan, you are so right…. when my car was attacked ( with me inside), it was in plain daylight, in traffic, at 9 am in the morning, and NO ONE came to help… no compassion from anyone, not even the police… that man could have beaten me to deatch, and no one would have given a damn. What the hell are they made of? ’cause mammy’s here stay home with their babies for years- you think they would get some hugs or something to make them more compassionate and more loving toward their fellow man.. bunch of f— robots, if you ask me.
November 23rd, 2011 at 6:21 pm
Notes on your windshields from busy-body neighbors!!
Have you ever gotten one of those?
I was visiting a friend a while back, and as usual, parking is a problem in Germany. So, I parked on the street, half way on the sidewalk, leaving room for cars to drive by- I thought I was actually being considerate by not taking up the whole lane. My car was only taking up half of the width of the sidewalk. Well, forget about me being considerate. The old man in front of whose house I parked left a long note on my windshield, telling me not to park on the sidewalk, and that there is plenty of room for cars to drive by, if I just park on the street. Mind you there were no parking restrictive signs or any other kind of signs anywhere… This is how old folks are here… they have too much money, living off fat government pensions, in nice old houses for 40 years, and with nothing to do, but to spy on other people…And they sure don’t like foreigners.
Here is something they could do: go play Bingo, get out of your f… house and actually enjoy the days you have left. I have never seen more busy bodies like in Germany.. oh, and I speak 4 languages since I was a kid, including German, so I have some what knowledge of other cultures.
November 30th, 2011 at 10:51 pm
You know what? what I have described are facts from day to day life… has nothing to do with where I come from… and what I am…why? you think that if I had been some huge guy sitting in the driver seat, that idiot would not have attacked me?, oh, and ArvidPersson, I did not say FU, I said F off… there is a difference- because this is not a hobby… this website gave us a chance to gripe about things when there is not much we can change. And you think you are better? your comments were sexist. Done.
December 9th, 2011 at 2:19 am
hmmmm germans….
well obviously many are very nice …but there are the rude , cold arrogant ones …that seem typical to that german stereotype.i’d have to say that generally i prefer them to americans ….(stupid loud vacuous) . id rather live among germans than criminal aggressive black people definitely.
german women are often ugly and have very strange laughs….if german women are together they can get hysterical and laugh very high pitched. the men seem often to be well built , and often have very large handsome penis’s ….i’ve never met an attractive german gay for some reason….they must be out there , the ones i’ve met are ugly/slutty/druggy and are kinky (nothing wrong with kinky) but a bit dirty with it or something.
i’ve met some lovely freindly germans too …the nice ones are some of the warmest people i’ve ever met ….
theres something about them that is very simlar deep down to english people….we are linked historically…its a very emotional link ….like a diifficult family relationship …where you fight but then want to have a cry and a hug.
it’s interesting looking at group/country mentalities…..
December 9th, 2011 at 4:31 pm
Germans might be rude but, they are people.
not all Germans are the same, they could be good.Don`t judge all Germans because some are rude.That would be racist. And believe it or not, most countries in the middle east are like that.
December 9th, 2011 at 7:08 pm
Most Germans I have encountered are polite enough and not know-it-all. People from Cologne are friendly and welcoming, Bavarians are even warmer, People from Hamburg and the North west tends to be more hardworking and organized but open to other people’s opinions…
Berliners on the other hand are a totally different animal and I for one do not consider them Germans at all…They are rude and they are know it all fuckwads or I may just have been unlucky in my encounters with them, so far are the only ones that only stopped to lend a hand when you yell at them in english, the rest were ok when I spoke with my little german knowledge and helped me out.
December 11th, 2011 at 12:41 am
I dont even know what to say to this. How can you just judge a whole country like this?!i like german people way more than americans. Germans are telling the truth. They are really straight and they will tell you if they dont like your clothes or your hair etc. If you are to sensible for that it is YOUR problem and not the problem of the germans. And not the fault of them. The difference between germany and the USA is that germans know that it is shit what people say about a whole country and that everyone is individual and americans just live in their little world and dont know anything about other countries. But i will tell you smtg. the USA is not the world its not even whole america (how the most people from the USA think) its a little place of the WORLD. You think your culture is the only one who excist but thats wrong. you shouldnt dare to judge other countries. And to be serious. The USA killed the same amount over the years germany did. But US americans overplaying everything AND JUDGING OTHERS?! i mean really WTF. IF you want to judge people than you should start with you your family and YOUR fucking country!
December 22nd, 2011 at 6:32 am
I have been married to my german wife for 20 years. She started out nice, compasionate and sweet. She is very loyal committed and dedicated. but as time progressed, I am noticing that she has very little emotion and she is a rude Bitch. One thing people want in life is to be happy an enjoy life since we are only on this earth once and time is priceless. What is the point in being rude and bidder when others are being nice and respectful. Buyer beware, do not expect to get any sensitivty out of a German female. forget it, it will not happen. oh yeah, the rest of her family has the same traits.
December 27th, 2011 at 9:45 am
Reading all these entries has made me laugh hilariously, you guys are all so funny. Oh gosh I feel so much better now!!! Seriously everyone, I come from a German family and I’m living here in the States as an American. I have seen warm, loving Germans who did everything they could for me and those who were a little rough around the edges. On this forum there is some truth here and some stereotyping. It depends on the person, their upbringing, their attitudes, values, etc. You’ll find rude, thoughtless people and those who are kind and compassionate in every race, ethnicity and country. God bless all of you. May you all find peace and light and have the strength and courage to reach out to others and find bring out the best in our brothers and sisters here on Earth as we move into the new realm of 2012. Love and Light To All of You!!!
December 27th, 2011 at 10:03 am
Hey guys - just to clarify, I was born and raised in the U.S., however my ancestors are German. Sometimes the complexities of the German people can be hard to understand, sometimes even for me. I doubt some of them don’t realize how they appear. Once again, it comes down to the individual person and their own life experiences as to why they behave the way they do. Try to find the best in every person wherever you go, and when you can’t, sometimes it’s best to just move on. Peace and Light to All of You and Happy New Year 2012!!!
December 27th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
I think Germans are rude, stupid asshole, cold hearted SOB, arrogant prick, sex crazed (just see german porn), sadistic, thinks them self knows better than anybody else, robot-with-flesh
fuck Germans
January 4th, 2012 at 12:57 pm
man i am so confused!! i just appilied to a german university and am waiting for my offer letter, but after reading majority of the comments here i am in a really big dilema!! i dont know whether i should go there to complete my studies or not!!!
January 4th, 2012 at 12:58 pm
p.s i am from Nepal, the land of Mount Everest
January 5th, 2012 at 12:46 am
Germans are a rude and abnoxious people.
I was in Germany for sometime and experienced nothing other than one-upmanship and rudeness all the time. I hope their whole nation is destroyed forever and Germans are ethnically cleansed out of Europe.
We want Europe to be free of these German roaches who deserve to be killed in the millions.
We also want to target first generation Germans in US and sink all of them in the Atlantic.
January 5th, 2012 at 5:00 am
it would be a great help if someone was courteous enough to answer my queries!!!
thank you
January 5th, 2012 at 5:00 am
p.s i am from Nepal, the land of Mount Everest!!
January 5th, 2012 at 6:20 am
I’ll tell you about Nazis. Germans are, and always will be those psycho hellbent on controlling the world and everyhting in it, Nazis. My Dad married an American-German bitch, and she was a psycho. She was really like a Nazi. My dad had to by a Harley to cruise around on to get downtime from here because she was such a retarded control freak. He divorced her eventually. I’ve met Germans in college, that were liars and total pussy bitches, that loves power, authority and the ability to tell someone what to do and how to do it. These effers are and were serious backstabbers, as their national history indicates. Germans are so dumb, they didn’t appreciate the fact that Jews built the what Germans called their empire. Then they slaughtered all the Jews in Europe because they didn’t wan’t the Jews to continue being good at what they do. Germans in America, absolute psychopaths. Ken Castle? Controlling human beings like their your remote control cars to play with? You mofoing Aryans have effed around for the last time. You don’t know that the Angel felt sorry for Germans, that Soviets wanted to slaughter your entire nation wholesale, after you killed 20,000,000 Soviets. 6,000,000 Jews. Probably a few million French. Millions in Europe and Asia all died because of Germany. And even after all that shit, you effers were spared. Only to do the same exact shit to the world and human race again, with EMF sorcery. America and CCCP should every last fucking German their was after WWII. All of this shit would have never happened. I’m sick and tired of this Aryan shit, and it has to be destroyed for good this time. Satan and Archangel Michael are going to give free reign to anyone that wants to destroy these Aryans. It’s enough. You fuckers cry over your failed German Empire, and you keep fucking everyone because of it? People who had nothing to do with your bullshit, people who weren’t even alive then? It’s time for the liquidation of ANY nation that calls themselves Aryans. The second you people thought you could start playing GOD with the human race, is the day you united Archangel Michae and Satan, again. Now we have to destroy you effers.
January 6th, 2012 at 1:26 am
Ram: I am seriously advising you not to go to Germany for studies even if it is free.
These scum-German-roaches will make your life miserable and you being from the land of mount Everest could easily get killed there by some racists punk Germans.
Then you family in Nepal will weep over your dead body which the Germans will not even bother to ship back to Nepal.
The most sinful and hateful people in this world are the German people and without exception.
A good German is a dead German.
There is nothing in that country for you.
Try going to England or America if you want to live.
January 6th, 2012 at 4:06 am
I a posting message 432 on this forum and this is the last message:
Die Letze warnung ! as they say in German.
Unless the Germans know what the world is thinking of them and rectify their behaviour and learn to be polite not matter what. WWIII will be waged against Germany very soon and this time we the citizens of the world will get rid of Germany and the German people for god.
Here are a few jokes about the German people:
Where do Germans go to after they die ?
Answer: Hell.
Here is another one:
If you want to experience heaven, you do not have to die.
Live in Germany for 6 weeks and go back to America.
You will truly experience heaven.
Have a good laught folks.
Peace out.
January 26th, 2012 at 6:40 am
To judge a country, you must know the language and culture. Not the superficiality is the measure of assessment, but the understanding born out of profundity.
February 2nd, 2012 at 11:24 am
Im proud of my jewish german heritage, and after living in 3rd world countries, asia and the US I can tell you that the germans,asians and israelis are the most amazing people on earth.
I can spend hours talking and interacting with intelligent people like them.
If u are mad at smart people is probably because you have realized it would be impossible for you to become like us.
Once you will become a man you will blame nature for making you stupid, not the germans.
XD
February 2nd, 2012 at 11:31 am
But hey, plz follow Vishnu Sharma advice, if you are a mental midget like him, suffer from a inferior complex and are planning to live on welfare like in the states; plz do not come to germany, israel, korea or japan.
We certainly dont like useless parasites.
First have an iq test, if you score more than 100 then you will have a greater chance of integration.
XD
February 4th, 2012 at 5:07 pm
phew…generalizations, where would we be without them..my feelings are mixed…having recently had a few weeks in a hotel with 80% middle aged straight Germans, I am trying to keep an open mind:- one day there I was observing a nice friendly young couple and was pleased to overhear them speaking German, as I was trying not to condemn the entire nation for the sour-faced, loud, pushy, personal-space-invasive characteristics of the majority.
Yes there are many really nice people in Germany, but when I go there, I find an oasis of friendliness in the Turkish fast food shop, and ask myself why the Germans can’t be like that; I’m used to the smiles disappearing from the faces of the people in the bakery when I start to speak accented German:- they do not like foreigners.
Nazism suited the Germans: they love order and correctness and uniformity, and would rather stand waiting at a red “no-walk” sign, even when there is no car traffic, rather than use their senses and look, then cross.
We’ve enough distance from 1945 now for historical revisionism to be a danger, and it’s getting common to find the opinion that WWII was an even playing field and that both sides were as bad as each other. Also it was the Allies vs the Nazis, not the Germans.
A neighbour of my German son told me about the bombing of the city in a way that I (Brit), was expected to apologize….they still don’t get it…ht did they expect-they started the bloody war!
I think there is a huge confusion about war-guilt…as far a I can reason it, the war generation that voted for the Nazis bear the guilt 100%, and the succeeding generations 0%, but the Germans haven’t really laid this ghost to rest yet; they want to be proud to be German, but WWII is too big a blip on the curve to be able to ignore.
Germany is a sick country; it needs acupuncture or something; at the very least it needs less bitterness and darkness: why have they got black in their flag?
And they’re bad losers, still whingeing about the 1966 world cup, whereas the Brits have forgiven the Hand of God…
I could start on about the unforgivable habit of booking the hotel pool sunloungers all day by putting their towels on them….nah fuck it, they just wouldn’t understand….
peace and love to the very very many nice Germans I know, keep working at it and the nasty Germans might die out, eventually….