By Anna Sadiku
Bronx Journal Staff Writer
Germany has been saddled with very negative stereotypes since World War II. But to the contrary, my country it is actually a very liberal, hedonistic and hospitable place. Seeking political correctness, Germans profess a profound interest in almost any culture other than their own. They worship native cultures and they are the first to condemn other Western nations for “ruining” original cultures.
Common among Germans is their everlasting faith that the Native American Indian culture was pure, noble and pristine.
Nevertheless, unfortunately, many Americans believe Germans are anti-Semitic.
“My history lessons were all about the second World War and even today many Americans can only relate the typical German to a radical right-wing type,” says Darleny Rosario, a student at Lehman College.
In fact, the majority of Germans will deny any knowledge of Jewish jokes and make all efforts to publicly condemn them as the absolute epitome of poor taste.
There have even been trends in the language to prove their efforts in political correctness. Jews are no longer known as Jews in Germany. Officially, they are Jewish Co-Citizens. Likewise, other foreign and ethnic groups have received this title — Turkish Co-Citizens, Foreign Co-Citizens, Asylum Co-Citizens, etc.
Furthermore, the second World War is not even a big deal in Germany anymore. Yet, old stereotypes die hard and their ultimate demise is often prolonged by a small minority of pathetic people with wrong values who unfortunately exist in every country.
Further proof of Germans’ loyalty to diversity is the fact that among all European countries, Germany absorbs by far the largest number of immigrants and refugees.
Germany is for the most part a freedom-loving nation. The Germans did not participate in the cruel and unjustified Iraq War. Their obligation in the Iraq War consisted of sending reserve units to provide food and medicine.
After hosting the World Cup in 2006, Germany is now known as a fun, hospitable and joyful place.
The Germans are crazy about soccer and all kinds of competitive sports events and after the World Cup, Germans were no longer seen as “Nazis” or as “frozen-faced-engineers,” but as people who love the idea of comradeship, sports and big events.
It isn’t always easy to date changes in popular mood, but with the World Cup, all doubts about whether Germans could throw a decent party suddenly disappeared.
Instead, the 2006 tournament turned out to be one of the most fun World Cups ever. “As an American, I wasn’t actually that crazy about soccer,” says Michael Lynch, of Manhattan. “But after spending a summer in Germany I fell head over heels in love with soccer and the crazy German people who were celebrating excessively.”
More than this, the tournament marked something else: The moment that the world discovered that Germans were actually nice and outgoing people.
Old clichés about the second World War, Hitler and racialism belonged to the past.
Besides the devastating stereotypes that some people still have of Germans, there are funny ones as well.
For example, New Yorker Elizabeth Miller thinks German people “are serious perfectionists and hard working. They are craftsmen. Germans feel strongly about their opinions to a point of being seen as stubborn.”
Andy Rendell, of Brooklyn, also has one specific portrait: “All Germans drink beer, sing and listen to folk music and walk around in those funny clothes … The Germans who came to America worked very hard to make their living.”
Most of the stereotypes – good and bad — about Germans that Miller and Rendell named were created in the past. And they were made in America, not by visiting Germany but by observing the Germans who immigrated to the United States.
These stereotypes are found very often in history books too.
Some Bavarians who came over and tried to continue their traditions created another stereotype about Germans. Cincinnati was flooded by a German immigration wave during the 19th century. Therefore, many Cincinnati citizens have German ancestors, and most of them are proud of that. They try to continue their tradition.
However, over the years, the Bavarian folklore has been adapted and accepted as the “German tradition.” So now, the beer-drinking behaviour, the Oktoberfest celebration and their way of dressing like the Germans who came over more than 100 years ago stands for the “typical German“ in the mind of many Americans. Once this stereotype was created, it never changed — as it is usually the case.
I experienced this myself when I was in America. People do believe in these things. They were surprised that I would not drink beer and that I do not like Bavarian music. “What kind of German are you?” they asked me.
Of course, as a native German, I am likely to see things differently than someone who is not. However, while admitting to a bias, it does not mean I cannot try to be objective.
Stereotypes are oversimplified generalizations about a group of people. These characteristics may be partly true or false. But they can lead to prejudice.
People should be careful with negative and devastating stereotypes. In the end, we are all individuals who should be judged for our own specific behaviour.
Page designed By: Miosoti Tejeda
Originally Published Spring 2008
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