Which German stereotypes do you think need to be ditched for good? And are there any particular clichés about your own country that get on your nerves?

"Das P in Deutsche Bahn steht für pünktlichkeit" was the best german joke i ever heard.

I've worked in tourism for many years in Copenhagen, Denmark. German tourists are usually the most friendly and kind... but they are a bit like "fish out of the water". They are very cautious and nervous about little things that's not clearly marked or signed. A usual catchphrase we often would get; "Is the tour also in German?", even though we have signs in German saying it is. One thing you can be sure of with German tourists is " there's no bad weather... only bad clothing" The weather can change 20 times within a day, yet somehow a German tourist is always prepared and can flip their attire within seconds.

German: We aren't pedantic! Also German: Allow me to introduce you to our wide range of regional glassware.

"Well, whoever decided that forgot to tell the trains." As a German who has to use those every day, I just burst out laughing at how accurate this is xD

German humor is so efficient, people start laughing before the joke has been told

Hey, we do want to break up with bureaucracy, it just takes time for the registry office to process the divorce papers

I live in Sweden. The Queen of Sweden is German. The Archbishop of the Swedish Lutheran Church is German. When growing up our closest neighbour was a German man named Ernst. From my childhood I remember him as an angry man, but as an adult I found out that Ernst is really funny with a really drastic humour! The mother of one of my best friends is German too. I have also studied the German language for five years in school, so I would say that there are no place left for stereotyping Germans. I find Germans in general to be quite similar to us Swedes.

I was like: "Im not dry, mean old lady! .. but than i was "uh she called me smart, well i guess i forgive her" :)

I love the way Rachel Stewart speaks in German.

Humor often gets lost in translation.

"How many germans do you need to change a light bulb?" "One, we are efficent and don't have humor!"

My grandfather came to Mexico from Heilbronn, Germany in 1926. He WAS a German stereotype! My mom would invite him for dinner at 7pm. 6:55 pm grandpa would arrive. If dinner was not served by 7:15pm he would say auf wiedersehen and leave! He was also very serious. Worked very hard and very productively. Maybe it was a generational thing? Germans of my grandfather's time were really like that and the stereotype remained even as Germans evolved themselves in Germany. Great show, I love seeing all your videos Rachel!

My grandma in-law has enough food reserve in the basement to feed a village. She's almost 90, lives alone, but still keeps them "just in case"

The way I percive "German efficiency" is that they love to make rules for everything. They have a plan for everything, but suck at executing it because their plan clashes with some other existing rules.

"That the German language sounds aggressive" It almost feels like a threat when the guys says it.

I live in Germany for 30 years now. Germany is a big Country and there are heavy differences between north and south east and west and even regionally there are some remarkable differences. I like Germans. Germans are mostly polite and and have a deep sense for duty and me personally learned a lot of the German culture. Speaking about stereotype is always wrong because it will be thrown all kind of people in the same jar. But, there are some traits that the most Germans shares: they tends to believe to know things better that others. Germans have humour but is a kind of sarcastic one, if you have the same one everything is fine. If you have an ironic one, well in this case it may be a problem. What I have learned in the time being here is to clearly and always manifest what your intentions are, if you want to tell a joke, say it before you tell it. And this is a very helpful habit for every situation, not only in Germany.

I know he was trying to make a joke, but when Christoph Waltz was talking about Germany and the German language on Conan's show, I thought to myself, "You know the prejudices aren't true, you don't need to reinforce them. The Americans will probably believe you tell the truth."

I've lived in Germany for more than 30 Years and I fully agree with the conclusions in this "Clip". I live just outside Cuxhaven and have taken (or been granted) German Citizenship. This prevents my being sent back to the UK after "Brexit" ! I love it here 😍😍😍 I will be 77 in two Weeks.

Germans 🇩🇪💞 Sending love from the Philippines 🇵🇭

Gayle did not mention Heinz Erhardt! In my opinion the greatest comedian in the 1960's in Germany! He played with words better than anybody else

I have served in Germany on two occasions; once for 3 years in my early 20's, and the second time for 18 months in my late 30's. I absolutely love the country. My regrets are, The first time I was there I never really left Sennelager/Paderborn, I never made any real attempt to learn the language after meeting an aggressive Dr in one of the local hospitals. Second time I served there, I was older and more mature, I did do some travelling, got to Berlin, Koln, etc, but the job I was doing was really restrictive so the opportunities weren't there like the first time round, I did learn a little of language and made a couple of German friends. I have a 5 year old son and I am going to ensure that he learns a second language and he has the opportunity to travel. Once we can all travel again, I intend to visit regularly and with my son. In truth, I absolutely love the country.

The stereotype that irritates me the most about Italians is that we are supposed to eat lots of spaghetti while there are: maccheroni, linguine, penne, mezze penne, rigatoni, pipe, pipe rigate, reginette, fusilli, bucatini...without counting: tagliatelle, fettuccine, pappardelle, trofie... come on! 😁🍝

Great video as always, and great words and explanation from Gayle! Happy to see Loriot mentioned. He perfectly embodied subtle German humor, finding those weird quirks in our day-to-day life and just slightly exaggerating them.

I've worked for Bayer for four years now, and one of the cultural shifts we saw after the acquisition of Monsanto was the efficiency culture. Before I didn't notice this German inefficiency until American efficiency came by. Now I think I prefer the German way. Even if it's a little bit slower, it's far more planned and aligned, and sets a good baseline for work later on.

It's so entertaining to watch this as a german! Another stereotype about germans that is kind of true in some cases (especially german grandmas): Einkochen or einmachen! Which literally means canning your own food. The most typical thing to can yourself is most likely jam and juices, but also vegetables or even sometimes meat. I remember when I was a kid in the late summer or early autumn, my grandma used to harvest all the fruits we had in our garden and make jam and different types of juices for weeks. When she was done, we had almost our complete basement filled with shelfs or jam.

Wow, I'm amazed that none mentioned the German in "sandals and socks" stereotype. At least, that's the dominant stereotype of Greek people about Germans.On the positive side of stereotypes about Germans, there's the "hard working and quality guaranteed" image.

Excellent program and very, very well narrated. You did a great job.

I just love your videos, Rachel. Informative and entertaining at same time.

Speaking of stereotypes or myths from your own country. The first one that comes to mind for Iceland is that we're all related and we have to have an app so that we don't accidentally do the horizontal mambo with a relative.

Some very common stereotype of my country Brazil: Samba, Carnaval all the time, party all the time and really attractive woman and men. Just stereotypes that, like in germany, don't reflect the real culture of a country

I am from Saudi Arabia and i have german friends .. their sense of hospitality is quite spectacular , very generous , very polite and you truly enjoy conversations with … people usually roast germans for being racist , but that is not true at all .. they have very remarkable and honorable ethics that many nations lack 😃

Outstanding video: creatively produced, well narrated and your message is interesting and to the point. You have a natural talent for public speaking/ performing in front of camera and, you a beautiful.

I wanted to visit Paris. But a trip to Germany with my choir change my perspective. I learned German in High school for singing purposes. So I pretty much had those ideas of Dirndls and lederhosen, but i knew they were Bavarian related. But as a culture i just thought the Germans would be like that SNL Mike Meyers Sprokets character. When we arrived, in Berlin, i was hesitant because of a couple on the plane told us where not to go so I thought they were going to be mean. It was the complete opposite. Everyone was warm and friendly. Especially when i spoke German. I didn't see one Dirndl. Only in Austria. That was a whole different experience. Still great, but different.

What I love the most about Germany is the respect for erudition as reflected in the attention to details. Of course genius can be annoyingly inflexible and often overthinks itself. Hopefully in the future Germans will find more balance without having to dumb down. 2010 was the year I visited Germany as a Nigerian exchange student studying in Asia. It broadened my imagination all the complexities of nationhood

Excellent presentation once again Rachel!!!! I am on my way to Germany so these are really helpful for me!

Another great video, Rachel and DW Euromaxx team! Excellent job!! 😃

After spending 2 years in Germany Stuttgart area in particular I think the the stereotypes are starting to go away. In the Stuttgart area it seems as though there is a division between Germans and Americans and rightfully so as with the American bases there it has actually hindered the economy. If you look at a glance you will disagree but speak with the average German who no longer can afford to rent a decent home and it is mostly due to the flux of Americans having the money to pay extra for accodomaditions. I absolutely loved living on the economy in Germany and would return in a heart beat. What some call rules are actually common sense. Germans will be frank which is absolutely lacking in the US. Trust is almost non existent in the Us because we fail to say what we actually think until it becomes inappropriate. I thank Germany for the 2 wonderful years that we were there and 1/4 of that time was during the Virus.

Rachel I just love you and everyone of your Meet The Germany-episodes! I am German with polish roots and thanks to you I learn so much about my own country, my culture and my identity. Your videos keep getting better and better, I wish everyday was Rachel-Day! Greets from Berlin, where we've seen it all! :D

I've been to Germany many times and find the people to be thoughtful and kind. I have enjoyed every visit.

As an older U.S. Army Brat I grew up in Germany through the 60's and the 70's. A lot of those stereotypes were real back in those days! I loved the German culture and was sad for their history at the same time. When I was in 3rd grade I visited "Check Point Charlie" in Berlin. The M.P.s stamped my cast.

I am so excited for new episodes. I use them for my German classes and the kids LOVE it!

In Spain, as in Germany, it’s the southern part that is taken as the general image for the whole country (bar the Canary Islands). And as German humor, for me it is/was Das Wochenshow, so witty and crazy.

This is so enlightening. Thank you!

Nuanced and informative, as always. Thanks :)

There was once a joke in my country where they say if the train is 15 minutes late, then its "early" and if it's 30 minutes late, it's "on time"😂 Thankfully this has changed

Not sure... but I think the problem with the efficiency is everything state-related nowadays... if it is a public project, then that project usually takes ages... but if you then go into the industry or so... then you probably find a lot of optimization and efficiency thanks to f.e. robots.

My grandfather (my mother's father) was a German horse soldier during World War I. He was 17 at the time. He came to the States in 1923 with his pregnant wife, and my mother, who was two at the time. They settled in Chicago where he worked for Archer Daniels Midland, all through the Great Depression and beyond. He had a wonderful sense of humor. Whenever they had friends over (and most of them were German-American), the laughter would continue until everyone went home. BTW: Both sides of my family are from Hannover. My mother was born there.

Eine neue Folge - endlich! Ein YT-Kanal mit hintersinnigem Humor und viel Sachwissen, das man manchmal selbst als Deutscher noch nicht kennt. Dazu eine bestens gelaunte Rachel. Es ist einfach wunderschön, wie sie mit spitzer Zunge ihre kleinen Lästereien vorträgt. Was beweist: eigentlich liegen Briten und Deutsche mit ihrem Humor gar nicht so weit auseinenader; im Gegenteil. Vielen Dank an das DW-Team für diese Reihe :-). Und komme keiner auf die Idee, aufzuhören...

Every time I go on a bike camping trip, I always end up running into a German also camping with their bikes.

Lovely Rachel Lovely work!! Like your german tours..haha so well equipped with humor and Fact

I discovered this when I was watching a video from Get Germanized. Thank you very much for this, it was very informative and explains so much!

I absolutely adore you! Keep up the great work!

I loved how the woman with the red hair described the Rheinland. Oh well.. I miss carnival and all the other good stuff that we are known for.

Rachel, my first visit to Germany came only in 2019 and I was not disappointed with my experiences with the locals. You comment about German “efficiency” (i.e. the new Willy Brandt airport) is well founded and the parocial attitude (we spent some time in Koeln and were mindful of ordering only Kolsch beers) was also very evident. My family came from Germany many years (19th century) ago and I was indoctrinated to “always be early for an appointment”..... I had a bit of a giggle when you mentioned that. I’m looking forward to getting back there very soon, perhaps travelling south this time. Also brushing up on my German - during my last visit, the staff also started speaking to me in German when booking in and at that stage, they appeared to be quite disappointed with the standard of my German response. Tschuess aus Australien.

This was very informative. Thank you. I’m all for breaking down stereotypes.

One of my German teachers (who teaches me German) has a humerus character and he enjoys telling jokes. He is truly the funniest teacher I have ever met. Another German teacher is so serious in oral exam that I would call it “horrifying” with respect. So I think it’s more about personal character than national stereotype.

I think the idea of German efficiency and precision comes more from the manufacturing culture than it does the actual governance of the country. German-made PRODUCTS are always considered to be very high quality. The "Germans are always on time" probably comes from a history of Germany being associated with clock-making, as well.

Guten Morgen Liebe Rachel, Diese video wãr sehr komisch. Absolutely spot on after my experience of living & working in Germany last year especially with the trains. Perhaps they could take a lesson in that from the swiss. I still loved being there in Düsseldorf though & going out into the altstadt for eine kleine bier after the work day. Bleib gesund und geborgen auch. Vielen danke.

Great times being stationed in Germany. First time was at Memmingen west of Munchen by an hour. The next time was in Roedern, Rhineland Pfalz an hour west of Frankfurt. Now, both bases I was stationed at are closed (Peace dividend). My wife is from Ebersbach, jetzt Oberguenzburg. We went on many a volksmarsch and to all the local fests to include Oktoberfest and visited many castles and abbeys. My favorite is Andechs with its great views and church and the best beer in Germany. Freistaat Bayern, Do bin I dahoam.

love the conclusion on efficiency, so very true that German precision drags down the overall efficiency in many occasions from my personal experience. example: I was dealing with an government agency and they asked for the Meldebestätigung. My application was not processed until ~10 days later, and they asked for another Meldebestätigung not more than 3 months old: when they start examining my application mine was 3 months and a few days old. i.e. my Meldebestätigung was valid (< 3 months old) when upon submission, but due to the officers taking their time it exceeds the 3-month old rule, no exception can be made for those extra few days, my application get rejected and I have to start all over again...

She looks great in this dirndl

I agree with everything that was said in the video, especially about German efficiency. I would add that Germans really seem to like pointing out people’s, even strangers, faults and failings. The story I most remember is that a friend of mine was visiting Frankfurt from the US. He was in a bar and a guy came up to him and said, “You’d be really attractive if you got better eye glasses.”

I lived in Augsburg (Bavaria) for 2 1/2 years from 72 to 74 and absolutely loved it.

It's great, she presents any topic in an interesting way. Danke schon to the presenter and her team.

I want to visit Germany and Austria so bad. My great granfather was from Germany, he came to the US at 16 by himself in the late 30s. I'm learning to speak German. I would love to learn more about him and visit the area he was from.

There’s a stereotype that it’s difficult to make friends with Germans. That they stick to their Freundkreis and rarely invite others. I didn’t find this to be true, especially in Munich. But I will say, being able to converse in their native German, definitely helps bridge that gap!

2:22 that’s so cool! I live in Sweden, but I’m one quarter German on my father’s side, and I’ve heard that saying about having to be five minutes early to be on time for something my whole life!

what a great piece - never really thought about what may have influenced the change in "humor" of our people. Makes complete sense!

I love this series! As a native Bavarian with a lot of British friends: is there something similar like "meet the British"? Thank you 😊

Most of the people you see wearing a Dirndl dress or Lederhose are tourists trying to fit in to supposed manners of the region. In the countryside of Bavaria you might see local people in these outfits on Sundays in church or other local festivities. Some will have this dress code announced for a wedding. But it is not an everyday outfit. And only in the south and Austria ... and Switzerland.

Have you considered Canada's Okanagan Valley? A Canadian vacation destination, with lot of German cuisine, wine and beer. We even have a Lake Monster (Ogogpogo)!

This is so rich. Thank you Rachel!

My first time in Germany: - Wait, it's not all Bavaria?

I'm so cofused right now. You're presumably British but your German sounds almost like you're a native speaker! I've never in my life heard a better-sounding German than yours! What sorcery is this? Please do elaborate!

I'm a German and live in Australia! We had friends our neighbours from the UK, they lived and worked for 6 years for the British Army in Germany-Monchen Gladbach. He was a big fan for the Borussia even when they played vs an English Club. Nice people, what I didn't understand after all this years they didn't speak any German !

I honestly adore the sheer quality of these videos; it speaks to Rachel's prowess that she's able to promote Germany to foreigners while simultaneously engaging locals as well. At the risk of stretching it a bit too thick, I'd compare her to a

"...forgot to tell the trains about" H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S 😂😂😂

the lady said about the humour (that there is such in Germany!☝️) with such a tone,I almost got scared from her 😂😂😂😂😂

I lived in Germany 8 years, married a German and love the culture. I am Latino so even more different than a full blooded American! I fully agree that these stereotypes been the most common. I speak the language, and truly understand and can live great among them, fantastic people. Yet they do have humor but one that even understands the language I hear the jokes and I see them laughing their guts out and they really have a very subtle compared to my culture when it comes to sense of humor. Sometimes they laugh and laugh at something and I say to myself saying “ for real!” I just don’t get it. But they do have it their own way!

This show is getting better and better every time

Lol...if there is something Germans are good in, its laughing about themselves. That's the very core of our humour. See Loriot, whose whole style was to take a regular situation and then show the absurdity of it (or to take an absurd situation seriously). And he is usually considered the greatest of Germans commedian.

Studying Engineering in the late 1970s, I learned punctuality from the bottom. One professor even locked the doors on time (c.t.) for his tutorials. You would only miss it once! But there is a twist to that: From my parents, I learned NOT to be early on private invitations, rather be five minutes late so the hosts would have time to fix the last bits. Same may apply to private calls - one minute late may be politer than one minute early. Concerning humour: The main problem may lie in translation. It's so difficult to translate the (double) meaning and the pun of a joke. On several occasions, friendly talk with a bunch of English people went well and I understand that they have a similar dry sense of humour to mine, but it was difficult to understand many jokes and even more difficult to tell them, translated.

I'm a Dual Passport Brit/German... I've been here for 22 years... and have still to find the German sense of humour 'funny' - especially stand-up! Plus efficiency? Have you not experienced typical paperwork here? Over efficient! 😆👍 Germany is however, A1 with hospitality and one of the most friendly places you can visit!

My original impressions were formed on holiday - towels on the sunbeds closest to the pool at 5 a.m. and trying to push in at the bar shouting "Ein bier". Not at all like that when I worked over there.

Zeit ist Geld 💰 und wir Deutschen sparen gerne 💰💰💰😂🙏🏻

The dirndl was actually invented in Munich in the 19th century as a leisure clothing for the female upper class to be worn in summer retreats. It is loosely based on folk dresses and working clothes the maids in the big houses did actually wear but is more 'open-hearted' (in the physical sense) and was thought to allow mingling (or rather to pretend it) with the "simple folk" in the countryside. So it is and was ever a tourist's costume. The apron however relegates still to the origins as a maidens working cloth.

Many modern stereotypes came from post war occupation. American occupation zone was Bavaria. British zone was northern Germany. Russian zone was the east.

I like how this piece does not avoid the war or try to paint an overly rosy picture of Germany. I enjoyed it very much.

Brilliant clip!! Thanks so much, Rachel! One thing I find particular about us Germans is change - we avoid change at all costs. Let's say a new version of MS Office comes out - Germans will complain and scream - why change, I need to re-learn or change my ways.....while others would say: hey, cool a new version, show me the new features, maybe I can use them.....

Excellent and straight to the point! I often say to folk! the south of Germany is like the North of England in so many ways! I live in Bavaria but come from Yorkshire and find the character, attitude and humor has much in common!

Rhe video is great!!! I think that as years go by , stereotypes fade out worldwhile! As a guy with friends and relatives in germany, whos visiting in annual basis, I'd say that most of the stereotypes stand until today, I've seen people dressed traditionally walking the streets and of course Germans drink beer...a lot! I actually like the German humour although my favorite is the British... I love the fact that Germans (and their trains) are on time. As for efficiency... You could say that they are efficient because the agreed tempo of work is too slow, when they work i feel they move in slow motion, but their result is very good!

This show can’t get enough likes. Very creative. Thank you,

Very true...lots of stereotypes! When I first lived in Germany...I initially found it so clean and beautiful. No trash anywhere, bottles separated, everything seemed done with military precision. One quick example. If there is a pothole or crack on a German Autobahn...they will shut down an ENTIRE section and literally replace the road. In the US/UK...we just fill in a pothole with patch. And those "Blitzers" will cost you big bucks if you get zapped (electronic tickets) speeding through a construction zone. HUGE fines.

Honestly, none of these stereotypes come to mind when I think of Germany. Maybe the one about humor... but not so much that “Germans don’t have a sense of humor” but “Germans have a very dry sense of humor”. Even then, I didn’t think of it as a stereotype because I, myself, have very dry sense of humor. I mean, come on. How could a people with SO MANY idioms for going #2 be considered humorless??

I enjoyed experiencing most of these stereotypes while living in Bavaria for almost ten years. Things you have missed are the Germans' habit of regular cleaning: Kehrwoche! We lived on the ground floor of a new 3-apartment house. Upon moving in, we were presented with a little wooden plaque that said "Kehrwoche." We had no idea what it meant, but we soon learned! Every third week, it was our turn to wash the marble stairway from top to basement, mop the laundry room, wash the marble entryway and exterior steps, as well as sweep the curb! We didn't know! We thought the Kehrwoche plaque was a welcome trinket! We became good and faithful cleaners. Second thing: windows! At least in Stockstadt a. M., windows on every house were washed weekly. In the States, not even close to that often!!! However, the windows on our house and most of the others accommodated easy cleaning: They opened inwards, so one did not have to go outside but could wash both sides from the interior. Upper floors did not need ladders! And, there were no screens to get in the way. Rolladen are rolling shutters that can block out all light if a dark room is desired. Finally, curtains!! I was instructed (nicely but firmly) of the right place to go in Aschaffenburg to get the "right" curtains to cover my windows. When it comes to curtains, at least in my experience, Germans are conformists. All of the curtains that I ever saw (and the ones I finally invested in) were white or ivory. When one walked down the street, one saw the same type of curtains at every window as well as the red tile (with an occasional black tile) roofs. Quaint and charming. Don't forget feather beds airing in windows every morning as well as providing one's own kitchen cupboards, appliances and light fixtures! I loved northern Bavaria; could live there forever just for the bakery!

Hello Rachel, interesting video and excellent presentation. There is one small detail that caught my attention: the German and Austrian traditional costumes might have started out as work clothes (1:06) but for people living in towns being members of a trade, a craft and a guild (going back to medevial times and to a "Kleiderordnung"). What we know these days as a "Tracht" used to be people's Sunday finery. Take the "Schwarzwälder Tracht" and the Bollenhut (which originated in three protestant communities being introduced around 1800). A lot of traditional costumes are in fact not that old and were certainly not worn while working. Many pictures depicting Black Forest girls at the village's well in their dress were staged for the photographer. I hope you forgive my nitpicking, here is why: I am a tourguide living in Freiburg and did some research for work some years ago. By the way, your comments on German efficiency are ... so true :) Christoph

I'm amazed already.

I moved to Germany in 2015 and I am still shocked how difficult basic, everyday tasks are, for example when buying a car and registering it. Or dealing with address change. There is no efficiency there. In my homeland we do everything online in 5 minutes.

Sehr gutes und unterhaltsames Video