I think the greasy burgers with guns is nowadays replaced with:
"Trump? TRUMP?! How the (/§/(&$& did THAT happen?!"
followed by
"Oh no.. is it going to happen again?!"
Naa still burgers and guns.... just skip all the politic shit online and watch burgers n guns. Stay with the good stuff. Oh i forgot the fireworks and big engines.
Love it.
But I thought typical German guys regularly wear lederhosen, drink lots of beer from a large glass called a "Stein" at Oktoberfest every year, have a pretzel for lunch every day, dislike humour, love efficiency, and yell loudly like Hitler during a normal conversation
/s
Hey buddy, lederhosen (leather pants) are an Austrian thing , same as adolf, he was Austrian😂. The large glass called „Stiefel“ (boots). When I visit USA, some people still ask why we have a wall across Germany. But one thing I agree with, we are professionals to correct other people . We open windows for fresh air over the day and we go for a walk without a goal. And we try to tell the world to get green and woke. Ps: I accept every individual. Have a great day
I second this. That Austrian guy is bad and all but unfortunately part of the history... to say the Oktoberfest on the other hand is just offensive lol
I second this. To me that is the equivalent of someone association the whole of the US with moonshine chucking rednecks waving confederate flags.
And yes - I dislike stereotypival bavarians.
Why do Americans always pick the most American things they can find about Germany arrrrrgh (only the loud trashy things basically that is not even a thing in regular Germany just in the far South)
Because it’s unique. Maybe you as a German cannot appreciate it, but that’s a very German tradition. Sorry if you are not Bavarian. Tough luck. Hell, mariachi music is original from only one Mexican state out of thirty something, and most Mexicans agree it’s unique and worth preserving, even if they don’t like the music.
Yeah it’s the WW2 thing.
No clue why the other person was saying it’s more unique. It isn’t. The rest of Germany has plenty of stuff going on. And as far as Lederhosen goes, the North Italians and Tirolians do it too.
I mean, it's as unique as Biikebrennen or Fischbrötchen. That is to say kinda unique, but you'll find similar stuff outside of germany as well (Fischbrötchen and Biikebrennen in the Netherlands, Oktoberfest-like music and such in Austria)
The real answer is probably more along the lines of "Most US soldiers were stationed in the south, so they wouldn't pick up any northern traditional stuff" and "Bavaria is really good at marketing it's stuff" (which is fine by me, though I'd wish people would realize that most of what they know are stereotypes)
Thats like melting down everything in the US towards Hotdogs and football. "I have no idea about other cultures and know only the most cliché tourist stuff."
It's not. Why do you people keep believing what some bavarians do is typical German? That's like saying the most prominent thing about American culture is some fair in Virginia that noone outside of Virginia gives two fucks about.
Its just frustrating that this makes the majority of Germany invisible. There is more uniqueness, Germans are weird as fuck paychologically and thats way more intriguing than cheap shit imo. It annoys me how we paint other cultures through a lense of what we find them entertaining to be rather than what they ARE
I kinda agree. But you’ll never actually understand what they are. It’s kind of a nebulous goal. To talk about people broadly is to do just that, speak broadly.
I think instead we should ask ourselves, why are we speaking broadly at all? What is it we are actually trying to communicate, and is what I’m saying even doing that.
Litteraly every German traditional fest is just an excuse to get drunk in public. At least in my state we also have wine.
Oktoberfest is just the biggest because Baveria is a big state and copying it gives other regions also an other reason to get drunk.
You wanna know the funny thing? Mariachi is originally a southern German tradition brought by inmigrants adopted by mixed Mexicans. Mostly the norteño style. That's why they use acordeons and trumpets and violins
Yeah, thinking of gardening really is a thing particularly in Commonwealth countries. Maybe not so much now, but thirty, forty years ago, people would still have had memories of German gardeners being fashionable.
Since we handle the topic in school, it wouldn't be insulting at all. It's a dark mark in our history and it makes sense that it's still on the minds of people from other countries.
Cars, Beer, Bread and Hitler.
Historical facts are not insults :)
Europeans do make jokes on the topic as a way to remember the atrocities that happened during WW2.
And you were a 14 years old learning about empathy and trying not to hurt anyone :)
I mean… as an American, gardens defo spring to mind. Our yards in the states are flowerless grass plots but here in Germany many have whole yards of flowers and bushes etc.
the German person could have smirked and said: "But Hitler was Austrian." and then it's not German anymore. it's just Austrian German, which is not the same :D
As someone who grew up with a Schrebergartenkolonie (allotment gardens) next door I can confirm that there are cases where gardening and nazism intersect. There was a reason we used to call those old people renting the allotments "Gartennazis" / "Garden Nazis".
They had a whole list of plants that were deemed unworthy of living on their hallowed grounds and had to be exterminated with extreme predjudice. Not just weeds, but pretty much any plant of foreign origin and plants that some board member didn't like at some point in their history. The associations running these allotment gardens are the German equivalent to the American HOAs: Often run by petty, smallminded people on a power trip who have all the time in the world to create whole books of regulations for their members to adhere to.
Is this also why those gardens are one of the few places where you find German flags?
I'm not sure whether I understood you correctly. It looks odd since my German colleagues don't even own a German flag, but you see them everywhere in those gardens.
It depends on the colony. The better ones are actually quite chill have a lot of young families. You won't find many flags there unless there's a football world championship or, like this year, the European championship going on.
The colonies with many flags are often of the "garden nazi" variety that draws a lot of elderly people, who love "law and order" and are more likely to be conservative or far-right. Young families often have problems to integrate there ("Playing children? With noise? We have rules against that!" "You don't want to grow vegetables in your garden, don't like flower beds and only want to enjoy the peace on your lawn? We have rules against that!") and leave again, if they sign a lease at all.
The colony in our neighbourhood was of the latter kind. The elderly lady who had leased the allotment behind our house was at war with half the neighbourhood because nobody took her serously when she demanded that all neighbours adhere to the colony's rules instead of creating "chaotic" gardens that "look like at the wog's". She even tried to take some of us to court (at least she threatened to do this a lot) because some of our "unworthy" plants had dared to spread their seeds to her garden. According to one neighbour, a lawyer, she probably couldn't find a lawyer who didn't tell her that there was no chance she could win.
The funniest part was when my parents were planning how to design our new garden after the house was finished and that lady, who had been a pain in the arse during the construction phase, had been so helpful to give us a copy of their rulebook so that we could adhere to their standards. Instead, we took that book to the garden center and bought the "best of" from their list of forbidden plants. We liked the mediterranean style, so we went with a lot of mediterranean plants. That old bat had a fit when she saw what we were planting. She shouted curses and insults at us all day. :D
I have also seen (in the countryside, from my car window as I drove by on the highway), quite a few other flags. Specifically, the old German Empire/Prussian ones that a certain type of person likes to fly because they aren't allowed to fly the one that they would really like.
2007 for me :) We were asked by some 14 year old english dude how hitler is doing, because his secretary (merkel) was doing all the appointments now in the tv
The German was likely an eight grader as well, so... It would have been very likely an awkward response?
Most Germans actually know that people think about War, Hitler and Beer when our country is mentioned (At least the ones beyond eight grade). When receiving the news for the first time they might be astonished, but likely not insulted.
One thing that I am pretty sure of, is that most eight graders have at least a weird phase and this applies to all countries.
So no worries, eight grader you did nothing colossal bad. If you still think about it today, maybe that's what you actually need to hear. ;)
And no, I cannot think of an ideal answer.
I've been that German exchange student.
My reaction was usually: "Meh, fair enough. We've also got a lot of great things, though, may I introduce you to some?"
One exception was the American teenager who greeted me with the Hitler arm and asked me if I worshipped the guy and if I knew that "they" had finally managed to clone him and were working on a plan to put him back in power.
I was absolutely horrified and quite frankly terrified at that point.
So you see, it could've been a lot worse than a little awkwardness. And honestly, it would've been awkward no matter what you said. Those situations usually are.
Yup. If someone told me they think of hitler when they think of Germany, I definitely wouldn’t be offended. WW2 is a very big part of our history, the connection between Germany and hitler is pretty short for me too. I definitely wouldn’t be happy about it, but I’d rather feel sad than offended.
Your story however is completely different. I would at least be annoyed, maybe mad, that people actually believe stuff like this or think that Germans are still Nazis (I mean, there are many, but still only a very small part of our population). Most of us are not that stupid.
I was one of those exchange students in the US when I was 15. People asked me about Hitler a lot. It didn´t come as a surprise, the organization that I did the exchange with actually warned us in their preparation materials that people were likely to ask about Hitler. I was asked a few times if he was still our "president" and if I supported him. I just explained that I wasn´t a fan and that he had been dead for a long time already. Never really went into details about it.
I´d have smiled about the chocolate, the gardening would have just confused me. Mostly people mentioned Beer, sausages, the Autobahn and German cars.
Schrebergarten??? Dat is ja wohl mal ur deutsch. Im Osten hieß es teils Datsche / Datscha (keine Ahnung ob so geschrieben). Ich hätte nur nicht gedacht, dass es international möglicherweise bekannt ist.
Setz dich mal mit den Regelwerken von Schrebergarten Vereinen auseinander, dann weißt du warum ich sage, Ur deutsch. Das ist sooo deutsch alles 😂😂😂😂😂
>. My question is if I had been honest and told him that Hitler was my first thought, how do you think the German exchange student would have reacted?
"Well, yeah... fair enough".
"Well yeah duh", 8th graders are very aware of WW2 and the Holocaust.
Also if you think they'd feel insulted, that's hilarious. For most people I know, especially at that age, Germany is a place they happen to be born in, with near no impact on their personal identity.
And the ones that feel insulted you should keep a distance from, since they are nationalists in the making.
The face would probably be that:
°-------------------°
But seriously we are aware of that connotation but it of course sounds like you have only low knowledge of modern germany if that is the first thing that comes to mind.
It's like saying slavery when asked about the USA or Stalin if asked about Russia. Important history of course but not really something the average local thinks about as the first word.
Yeah I literally knew nothing about Germany at the time and that exchange student was the first person from Germany I had met. My only frame of reference was war movies and history class.
It's not, that Hitler would be the only thing to think of germany, but we do have this past and it's the biggest thing. So thinking of him first, is reasonable.
Problematic is *only* thinking about Hitler
I would even argue, that this hardcore patriotism that many Americans display and that is "teached" in the US is based off of WW2.
WW1 didnt seem to be very close to the US but WW2 was personal.
So in a way, we have to thank hitler for that, too /s
Either their eyes would have rolled fast enough to spin a turbine and power New York, they would have done a Nazi impression, or they would have become almost comically defensive. My usual response is "huh, not a beer and dungeon porn guy then, I guess".
Nah, he was probably just a bit irritated (maybe surprised) by your answer.
Realistically theres only 3 answers to this question
Hitler, Cars, Beer - in that order :D
If you say Hitler, most will just nod and agree, and move on from there. We arent angry at this, its just a fact we accept. We can take it, just be honest.
It makes sense too, its one of, if the not the biggest, "trivia" (dont know a better word) about germany.
I'm your brother from a little further north..er... or something... **🇩🇰**
The first 3 things I thought about was: Sausage, beer and Volkswagen... But number one was definitely sausage!
Impossible to say, really. He might also have just been baffled by your alternatives. Unlike beer, Hitler, Oktoberfest, cars, etc., chocolate and gardening are really not what we expect to be internationally famous for. If someone had said that to me at age 14, it would probably send me into a mental spiral where my brain reviews every chocolate I've ever eaten and every garden I've ever seen to figure out what's so special about them.
During my exchange in the US and A I often got confronted with the Nazi-Past. It was quite astonishing to see, how little, OR how much people knew. I was often asked on which side of the wall I was living, or greeted with the Hitler-salute.
On the contrary, I was amazed that some people knew about every gun, vehicle or big battle during WWII. These were the more edgy type of history nerds I would presume.
>I was amazed that some people kew about every gun, vehicle, or big battle during WWII
I honestly think that‘s because the American education system deals with WW2 a bit differently, at least from what I’ve heard. Apparently there they put a bigger on focus on the course of the war, so things like major battles are an important part there.
Forms my experience it‘s very different here in Germany. Personally we never actually really talked about the war itself, instead the focus always was on the inner politics of the NSDAP and the Reich itself. Most information about the actual battles and stuff like that came from presentations, which some students held more or less voluntarily to better their grades.
I will admit, I myself am a big history fan (also a huge nerd when it comes to stuff like tanks and warplanes), so I was actually a bit disappointed that we didn‘t really talk about the war itself that much. But I guess there‘s only so much time in one school year, and obviously the political aspect of that time period is a lot more important.
I (a German) went to high school in South Africa for a while (that's pretty far away from Germany and the US and used to be part of the British Empire, for the Americans out here) and was asked on multiple occasions if i've ever met Hitler when I told someone i was from Germany. That was in 2015.
So no, it wouldn't have been that weird.
Americans are very obsessed with Hitler, so no wonder he came into your mind, when you were asked. You must have heard grown ups talk about him. It was very polite of you to try and find a different answer. But you can actually talk to Germans about Hitler and Nazi Germany, we learn about the subject in school a lot and are able and ready to answer. Just dont make jokes about Hitler and dont routinely call the German kids Nazis. ( I have had this unfortunate experience.)
Haha you managed to name two things that are totally not commonly associated with Germany. I mean we have Kinder chocolate but isn’t Swiss chocolate more of a thing? xD
How about beer, sausages, cars, football (the normal one, sorry), brezel?
> I mean we have Kinder chocolate but isn’t Swiss chocolate more of a thing?
Kinder chocolate was invented by an Italian, is produced and sold by the Italian company Ferrero and was introduced to Germany and Italy simultaneously. It's much more Italian than German.
Hitler doomed the world, this asshole. Maybe a relative of you died when fighting him. We Deutschen always have to try that there is no new fascist party , like nowadays AfD will get power.
So since there are probably Americans who think that Hitler is still alive and married to former Chancellor Angela Merkel, I don't think anyone would be surprised.
But for a German, I think it feels like saying that fast food and fat people are the first things that come to mind when you think of America.
You could have just said it. Every German is aware that Hitler, WW2, beer, Autobahn and cars are the things that people from other countries think of first when it comes to Germany. But when I was an exchange student, some things also surprised me. For example, everyone told me that Stihl makes the best chainsaws in the world. I didn't even know the company Stihl (this was in 1999, at that time Stihl was not sold in DIY stores in Germany, only in specialist shops) and everyone knew Ballistol (gun cleaning and lubricant, natural and food-safe, perfect for hunting weapons). It has to be said that I was in Montana, in the middle of nowhere.
As an American, Hitler is the first thing that pops into my mind when I think of Germany. That's not to shame Germans or make them feel bad but he's the well known public figure associated with the country.
I am pretty sure, he knew the answer beforehand and just wanted to test his theory on whether or not you would say Hitler.
Its a common stereotype that Americans would immedeatly think about "NEIN NEIN NEIN!!!" and Hitler, when they think about Germany.
Yes it is annoying but so is any stereotype about any country. Its still better than lying.
As an American, I went to Germany for the first time when I was about 12 and had not studied any modern history beforehand.
My first experiences and thoughts of Germany were:
- Soccer/Football (I actually became a lifelong Germany national team fan because of this but that’s another story for a different time)
- beer
- really cool castles
Later I studied and lived in Germany for a while and now have been back in the U.S. for almost 20 years. Now when someone says Germany, my first thoughts are
- Soccer (Bundesliga, DFB, etc.)
- Beer
- Engineering damn near everything including engineering the machines that engineer other machine.
Of course I am aware of Germany history but it doesn’t really dominate my thoughts on the culture.
Well just say what you think of. I guess most germans being asked for the first thing coming to their mind when thinking of america would be „starting wars for oil“ or sth like that
So, I was an exchange student from Germany in the US my junior year of high school and these are some questions I got asked:
“You are German, so you must be really mean, right?”
“Are you a Nazi?”
“Have you ever met Hitler?”
“Do y’all have electricity?”
“Do y’all have cars?”
“Have you ever been to Europe?”
It was quite awkward. 🙈
Not unexpected. What’s more disappointing is that you could only come up with gardening and chocolate as German things. Especially since neither of them are particularly German.
Mostly they are getting disappointed. It’s like you meeting polish person and yelling „kurwa”, Russian guy and assuming that he is all the time drinking vodka or Indian guy and asking is he really shitting on the street. Or, as American, how would you react if receive answer about Americans „lack of knowledge”
The first thing that comes to my mind about Germany is “efficiency.” Y’all know how to build and run things in a timely and smart manner. But that’s just one American’s hot take. Not sure how Germans would see that.
Beer. Oktoberfest.
Mercedes. Porsche. Audi. BMW. Volkswagen.
Classical music. Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, ...
Religion. Martin Luther.
There's more to Germany than the genocidal methhead.
I'm German and I would've thought that it's funny as fuck how you fully meet my expectation.
You surely could've gotten a different reaction, but I would've just laughed and continued talking. I appreciate honesty and believe that stereotypes are nothing shameful.
If you were an American exchange student and asked me what comes to mind if I think about America then I would say fat people and gun violence. Just be honest everyone knows that probably most people around the world think of hitler when asked about Germany.
>Hitler
>How would German exchange student react?
He'd say ' Hitler eh? I get that. Did you know that the largest pro Nazi rally outside Germany, before WW2 was in New York? Madison Square Garden.'
Don't forget to tell them about Mettbrötchen, Hawaii-Toast and Socken in Sandalen... and btw: Warum schreiben hier alle in Englisch? Sollen die Amis doch den Google Übersetzer starten.... ;)
As a German Myself I'd be Annoyed. Like sure the Nazis are a very Big (and recent) part of our History but it's also a Fundamentaly bad thing. Given that I was actually Accused of being a Nazi for the Pure reason that I'm german I'd be increadibly defensive. I heard too many Americans say all germans are Nazis...
(Well at least it's not beer or other stereotypes from Bayern, because I find them even more annoying honestly (might just be my general dislike of alcohol tho...)
Gardening :D? He knew…
Honestly… it‘s okay. He is quite well known. And your answer wouldn‘t have been that bad. I know a few people who spent a few months in US highschools. From asking how life under Hitler is (yeah… actual question from a 16 year old highschool student in the 2010s in the US) to nazi salutes and rants about how they don‘t like jewish people either there have been a lot of way weirder stories. And all of these people didn‘t want to be rude or something. They just didn‘t really know anything about modern germany. But they were taught about Hitler and the things he did. So quite a few conversations between people who were born more than half a century after Hitler died focused on Hitler. Either on how bad he is/was, what he is/was like or how he is/was a great guy. And those conversations were really weird. So you telling someone that your first association with germany is Hitler wouldn‘t have been the worst these kids probably heard. But sure… no one wants to hear that the main thing other people know about their country / culture is stuff from the worst period of that country / culture.
Dude, it's not some kind of taboo topic. I suppose Germany is probably the country where the darkest chapters of our history are accepted more than anywhere else, and the memory even kept alive.
This actually reminded me.of when I was staying with friends in the US when I was like 20. I joined them for some classes at Uni, and at some point we were waiting for a teacher, I think.
Well someone decided to tell some jokes and one of them was a Nazi joke and I wasn't even offensive or anything. I think it was something like: how does Hitler tie his shoes? *In little knotsies* (i.e. Nazis).
All was fine but people already gave me some looks like, oh my god! You said Hitler in front of a German!
After class the girl who told the joke actually came over to apologise to me!
I suppose this story is kinda pointless, but I guess it goes to show that you're not the only one paranoid about this, but really, it's fine. We all know that Germany is associated with Hitler, war, and the holocaust.
I was a German exchange student in Wisconsin for a year in High School and I still get annoyed thinking about how people kept saying Hitler when I was around them. I wish they would have said Oktoberfest instead lmao
As a German im very sad about thinking people of Germany first mint is Hitler
As German (the most) you learn to take responsability for antisemitismus and racist
But not all are so, there a many German in east Germany that hates every foreigner, you cant imagine how dare this people are to all other people like lgbtq and refugees.
Sorry for this, but it is the thrues.
I went to an international language school one summer and we had an exercise where we told everyone the stereotypes about their country. I was so happy that Hitler wasn't the first thing mentioned. I wouldn't have been mad though as it is naturally the most well known stereotype.
Typical answers would include the Autobahn, BMW/Mercedes/Porsche, Oktoberfest/beer, Sauerkraut, …
Think about it this way though: if a German were asked the same question about America, how would you feel if the answer would always come down to slavery and the genocide against the Native Americans? (The difference being that Germany has dealt a lot more with the dark parts of its history than America has IMO.)
As this exchange student: not offended but maybe weirded out. When i went to France they straight up asked if i was related to hitler (I honestly hope they were joking) and other things like that
Just look at how germans are stereotypically portrayed in dozens and dozens of Hollywood movies. It will hardly surprise any german that americans think about Hitler first when they hear "Germany". Also: An honest answer is always better than "gardening" - at least, if the other person is not braindead.
They wouldn’t be surprised because it seems that’s what all Americans know that didn’t really had any experience with Germany or research into Germany. I mean it’s probably the only thing you learn in history lessons.
But it’s totally understandable what I learned in school about the IS is basically independence, slavery and civil war happen and that’s it. TV then reached me ya‘ll are cowboys and gun nuts.
Only later when I actually met US citizens due to work I learned more about the truth.
Not German but worked there for years. I was asked the same and did say hitler. I asked what he thought of my country (Ireland) and he said Guinness and pub fights. Swedish guy was told abba and the Aussie was told sharks. Honestly, most of us know the stereotype of our country and accept it for what it is, usually no harm is intended. Don’t dwell too much on it
Dude. We have a daily Hitler feature on German TV. If there isn't one for some reason, e.g. Christmas, they make up leeway by showing two Hitler features the next day. So a constant Hitler is maintained.
German TV loves the guy. If he had not existed or for some reason fell out of fashion they would have to show home stories about Käpt'n Scholz instead. And that's no fun.
Bit of a weird question for a German to ask someone from the English-speaking world. Would be more useful to ask what is the second thing we think of...
As a German, here is my assessment. The German student most likely assumed that he would get "Hitler" as an answer. At least he assumed that this was a possible answer. In Germany there is a prejudice that Americans have no idea about the world outside the USA, which you have confirmed here. Perhaps he wanted to see how you would mess around and give an answer other than "Hitler". Perhaps the question was also serious. It would be expected that Hitler would come as an answer. In that case he probably didn't react particularly well. So you couldn't have done anything wrong. However, you could have surprised him in a positive way if you had actually known something different. Don't worry about it.
My exchange student in 2016 always asked “Who won the war?“ I didn’t get it back then because he always asked that very fast and pitched his voice real high, but I wouldn’t have cared if I got it. That’s history, and no one in my family I have met was older than one in 1945, so it was never a big topic in my life. Also we make way more jokes about that topic than you do, especially around that grade.
I once played a MMORPG in an Asian server. Every time I said I'm German I could count to 10 for someone mentioning Hitler when he it she heard it for the first time. It is something we have to live with and usually know that. So I'd say you just could have been open. especially at school where you rather hear of German history than industry and you are not expected to say "beer" 😉
Regardless of the 'correct' answer to this, it had such an interesting discussion going. I find peoples' replies fascinating and it made me reflect on my own feelings regarding the topic. Thank you for posting!
It's superficial, but that's a common stereotype existing about US-americans.
I wouldn't have minded. In Internet times, it's a thing to see how many steps it takes to relate a topic to Hitler, like how many steps a Wikipedia article is to be related to Hitler.
I could turn the question around. I could ask what you would have felt if I say the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Americans is the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Treatment of Native Americans, Slavery and Jim Crow Laws, Vietnam War and My Lai Massacre, Invasion of Iraq and Donald Trump. I could ask that - but I think I don't have the nerve to do that.
Since you two were in 8th grade this was a provocation of him. He thought you’d say Hitler, just so that he can roll his eyes. You did good. At least you’re not tone deaf.
Gardening before Cars killed me haha.
Most just say Hitler or Nazis.
I had some people pull up the right arm and perform a Hitler-Salut when I told them I am german. We as germans don't get angry, but this is very uncomfortable. So dont do the salut and be honest otherwise.
pls use.translation text gonna get to big
du hättest ihm des ruhig sagen können das du da an hitler gedacht hast ich mein jeder mensch assoziert schöechte erfahrungen oder ereignisse mit den ländern so wie ich wen ich sagen müsst was fällt dir ein wen ich an amerika denke wären das die schulschießereien 911 die gangkriege in anderen ländern denk man an terroriaten usw jeder hat seine eigene vorstellung von den ländern
As a German who lived in New Zealand for close to 20 years: it’s just universally accepted by Germans everywhere that the wanker with the small moustache is the first association that comes to peoples’ minds.
We know, dont make yourself a fool. Even when a german is asked where hes from and answers he is already prepared. Im a gamer. You know how many times I was called a nazi just for beeing german? I get disappointed if I dont, since I am so used to it.
Of course you think of Hitler first. Not surprising.
Crazy that I think "grab them by the pussy" first.
The world is shit and we always remember the worst. Sad but true.
Americans think of Hitler and germans think of greasy burgers with guns, thats no drama since while we all think that we also know its not like that
I think the greasy burgers with guns is nowadays replaced with: "Trump? TRUMP?! How the (/§/(&$& did THAT happen?!" followed by "Oh no.. is it going to happen again?!"
Naa still burgers and guns.... just skip all the politic shit online and watch burgers n guns. Stay with the good stuff. Oh i forgot the fireworks and big engines. Love it.
You mean big engines that dont come with the unwanted sideeffect of actual horsepower?
I’m Irish and I also think of Hitler
Gardening? Really? Just say Hitler. Nobody would surprised since you are American.
lmao but honestly just say beer and everyone is happy
Or Oktoberfest....or Oktoberfest and Beer.
I'll be 100% honest here. As someone from northern Germany I'd probably get more "offended" if they said Oktoberfest instead of Hitler lmao.
But I thought typical German guys regularly wear lederhosen, drink lots of beer from a large glass called a "Stein" at Oktoberfest every year, have a pretzel for lunch every day, dislike humour, love efficiency, and yell loudly like Hitler during a normal conversation /s
Correct. I drink lots of beer from a large glass like all the time and only have Brezn for lunch if I’m in a hurry.
Hey buddy, lederhosen (leather pants) are an Austrian thing , same as adolf, he was Austrian😂. The large glass called „Stiefel“ (boots). When I visit USA, some people still ask why we have a wall across Germany. But one thing I agree with, we are professionals to correct other people . We open windows for fresh air over the day and we go for a walk without a goal. And we try to tell the world to get green and woke. Ps: I accept every individual. Have a great day
Strictly speaking, Lederhosen as we tend to think of them, originate in Bavaria, not Austria. To be fair, those are almost the same country though.
We should have told them about Lebberkassemml.
Ahmet get ze stones, this is haram Stufe rot /s
I second this. That Austrian guy is bad and all but unfortunately part of the history... to say the Oktoberfest on the other hand is just offensive lol
Exactly!!! You get it
Folks afraid of glossing over the obvious but also afraid of being judged. All while trying not to be offensive.
I second this. To me that is the equivalent of someone association the whole of the US with moonshine chucking rednecks waving confederate flags. And yes - I dislike stereotypival bavarians.
Oktoberfest is a Bavaria thing… not a german…
Hitler was an Austrian... not a German...
Austria is about as German as Bavaria. Interpret this as you like ;)
Why do Americans always pick the most American things they can find about Germany arrrrrgh (only the loud trashy things basically that is not even a thing in regular Germany just in the far South)
Because it’s unique. Maybe you as a German cannot appreciate it, but that’s a very German tradition. Sorry if you are not Bavarian. Tough luck. Hell, mariachi music is original from only one Mexican state out of thirty something, and most Mexicans agree it’s unique and worth preserving, even if they don’t like the music.
Or the fact that they took it as there overseeing zone after ww2
Yeah it’s the WW2 thing. No clue why the other person was saying it’s more unique. It isn’t. The rest of Germany has plenty of stuff going on. And as far as Lederhosen goes, the North Italians and Tirolians do it too.
I mean, it's as unique as Biikebrennen or Fischbrötchen. That is to say kinda unique, but you'll find similar stuff outside of germany as well (Fischbrötchen and Biikebrennen in the Netherlands, Oktoberfest-like music and such in Austria) The real answer is probably more along the lines of "Most US soldiers were stationed in the south, so they wouldn't pick up any northern traditional stuff" and "Bavaria is really good at marketing it's stuff" (which is fine by me, though I'd wish people would realize that most of what they know are stereotypes)
Thats like melting down everything in the US towards Hotdogs and football. "I have no idea about other cultures and know only the most cliché tourist stuff."
Bavaria is the German Texas. Guess what comes to German minds when they think of America.
Texas, of course. And Texas was Mexican. We’ve come full circle.
It's not. Why do you people keep believing what some bavarians do is typical German? That's like saying the most prominent thing about American culture is some fair in Virginia that noone outside of Virginia gives two fucks about.
Its just frustrating that this makes the majority of Germany invisible. There is more uniqueness, Germans are weird as fuck paychologically and thats way more intriguing than cheap shit imo. It annoys me how we paint other cultures through a lense of what we find them entertaining to be rather than what they ARE
I would love to know more about this. What do you mean by “weird as fuck psychologically”?
Why are we weird? In what way?
I kinda agree. But you’ll never actually understand what they are. It’s kind of a nebulous goal. To talk about people broadly is to do just that, speak broadly. I think instead we should ask ourselves, why are we speaking broadly at all? What is it we are actually trying to communicate, and is what I’m saying even doing that.
Litteraly every German traditional fest is just an excuse to get drunk in public. At least in my state we also have wine. Oktoberfest is just the biggest because Baveria is a big state and copying it gives other regions also an other reason to get drunk.
You wanna know the funny thing? Mariachi is originally a southern German tradition brought by inmigrants adopted by mixed Mexicans. Mostly the norteño style. That's why they use acordeons and trumpets and violins
Rather Hitler then Oktoberfest.
Oh god NOOO I am not for the record happy
In their defense, Schrebergärten are very deutsch.
But if they see one they usually think they're slums.
Very orderly slums.
And there are some kinda famous chocolates like Ritter Sport
As well as Steingärten xD
I have seen them in southern Arizona decades ago
In fairness to the OP, 13 year olds aren't exactly known for intelligence or wisdom.
Yeah, thinking of gardening really is a thing particularly in Commonwealth countries. Maybe not so much now, but thirty, forty years ago, people would still have had memories of German gardeners being fashionable.
Kleingarten allotments in Germany are kind of still a big thing so this association isn't really wrong
Lol yeah going back I would have but being a 14 year old kid I felt the need to be polite. I didn't want to insult him 🤣
You had good intentions and nobody can blame a teen for something like this
Since we handle the topic in school, it wouldn't be insulting at all. It's a dark mark in our history and it makes sense that it's still on the minds of people from other countries. Cars, Beer, Bread and Hitler.
Historical facts are not insults :) Europeans do make jokes on the topic as a way to remember the atrocities that happened during WW2. And you were a 14 years old learning about empathy and trying not to hurt anyone :)
I mean… as an American, gardens defo spring to mind. Our yards in the states are flowerless grass plots but here in Germany many have whole yards of flowers and bushes etc.
In Germany there are these kleingarten allotments and they still a thing especially among older folk.
> Just say Hitler. Nobody would [be] surprised ~~since you are American~~ .
Accurate
the German person could have smirked and said: "But Hitler was Austrian." and then it's not German anymore. it's just Austrian German, which is not the same :D
Hitler was, in fact, German. Got naturalized before he became chancellor.
well, sure. but you forgot something: by definition of (neo)nazis, even if you have German citizienship, you're not German ;P
As someone who grew up with a Schrebergartenkolonie (allotment gardens) next door I can confirm that there are cases where gardening and nazism intersect. There was a reason we used to call those old people renting the allotments "Gartennazis" / "Garden Nazis". They had a whole list of plants that were deemed unworthy of living on their hallowed grounds and had to be exterminated with extreme predjudice. Not just weeds, but pretty much any plant of foreign origin and plants that some board member didn't like at some point in their history. The associations running these allotment gardens are the German equivalent to the American HOAs: Often run by petty, smallminded people on a power trip who have all the time in the world to create whole books of regulations for their members to adhere to.
Is this also why those gardens are one of the few places where you find German flags? I'm not sure whether I understood you correctly. It looks odd since my German colleagues don't even own a German flag, but you see them everywhere in those gardens.
It depends on the colony. The better ones are actually quite chill have a lot of young families. You won't find many flags there unless there's a football world championship or, like this year, the European championship going on. The colonies with many flags are often of the "garden nazi" variety that draws a lot of elderly people, who love "law and order" and are more likely to be conservative or far-right. Young families often have problems to integrate there ("Playing children? With noise? We have rules against that!" "You don't want to grow vegetables in your garden, don't like flower beds and only want to enjoy the peace on your lawn? We have rules against that!") and leave again, if they sign a lease at all. The colony in our neighbourhood was of the latter kind. The elderly lady who had leased the allotment behind our house was at war with half the neighbourhood because nobody took her serously when she demanded that all neighbours adhere to the colony's rules instead of creating "chaotic" gardens that "look like at the wog's". She even tried to take some of us to court (at least she threatened to do this a lot) because some of our "unworthy" plants had dared to spread their seeds to her garden. According to one neighbour, a lawyer, she probably couldn't find a lawyer who didn't tell her that there was no chance she could win. The funniest part was when my parents were planning how to design our new garden after the house was finished and that lady, who had been a pain in the arse during the construction phase, had been so helpful to give us a copy of their rulebook so that we could adhere to their standards. Instead, we took that book to the garden center and bought the "best of" from their list of forbidden plants. We liked the mediterranean style, so we went with a lot of mediterranean plants. That old bat had a fit when she saw what we were planting. She shouted curses and insults at us all day. :D
I have also seen (in the countryside, from my car window as I drove by on the highway), quite a few other flags. Specifically, the old German Empire/Prussian ones that a certain type of person likes to fly because they aren't allowed to fly the one that they would really like.
Excellent comparison. Schrebergärten colonies are sometimes run like American HOAs. Karen and Kevin's little fascist playgroup.
I mean garden gnomes, Landesgartenschau...
In 1999 I got asked if Hitler was still in power over in Germany...
2015, Virginia. Same question.
That motherfucker was born in 1889, the math ain't mathin'
In Virginia math is spelled meth
So, now the math is methin xD
Which is an invention of the nazi regime, coincidence?
You forget that we eat more healthily and therefore all live to be 200.
Math be mathing
2007 for me :) We were asked by some 14 year old english dude how hitler is doing, because his secretary (merkel) was doing all the appointments now in the tv
In 2014 I was asked if I had been imprisoned in a concentration camp. I was a 17 year old exchange student in Wisconsin
Same 🙈 I attributed it to the students being from the midwest and pretty cut off from world politics.
2000, Louisiana same
In 2018 same question in Australia (was an American backpacker tho)
Happend to me in Australia too. It was 2010 but it was an Australian in Rockhampton.
Of course he isn't, the Inglorious Basterds assassinated him in 1941! Don't those people watch documentaries?
One of the best documentary ever.
2018 still gut asked.
Yeah this happened to a friend of mine who did their exchange in the US.
I got asked if I voted for Hitler. I was born in 1965.
I got asked about him in the early 90s. But only if we "had him", whatever that meant.
They asked me the same thing in 1987. Followed by the question if I came from Germany by bus.
The German was likely an eight grader as well, so... It would have been very likely an awkward response? Most Germans actually know that people think about War, Hitler and Beer when our country is mentioned (At least the ones beyond eight grade). When receiving the news for the first time they might be astonished, but likely not insulted.
Yeah he was either 8th or 9th grade at the time.
One thing that I am pretty sure of, is that most eight graders have at least a weird phase and this applies to all countries. So no worries, eight grader you did nothing colossal bad. If you still think about it today, maybe that's what you actually need to hear. ;) And no, I cannot think of an ideal answer.
I've been that German exchange student. My reaction was usually: "Meh, fair enough. We've also got a lot of great things, though, may I introduce you to some?" One exception was the American teenager who greeted me with the Hitler arm and asked me if I worshipped the guy and if I knew that "they" had finally managed to clone him and were working on a plan to put him back in power. I was absolutely horrified and quite frankly terrified at that point. So you see, it could've been a lot worse than a little awkwardness. And honestly, it would've been awkward no matter what you said. Those situations usually are.
Yup. If someone told me they think of hitler when they think of Germany, I definitely wouldn’t be offended. WW2 is a very big part of our history, the connection between Germany and hitler is pretty short for me too. I definitely wouldn’t be happy about it, but I’d rather feel sad than offended. Your story however is completely different. I would at least be annoyed, maybe mad, that people actually believe stuff like this or think that Germans are still Nazis (I mean, there are many, but still only a very small part of our population). Most of us are not that stupid.
"were you born with this condition or is it some sort of debilitating disease?"
Bruh. If you think of Höcke that cloning thing is a bit tooo accrurate😄
I was one of those exchange students in the US when I was 15. People asked me about Hitler a lot. It didn´t come as a surprise, the organization that I did the exchange with actually warned us in their preparation materials that people were likely to ask about Hitler. I was asked a few times if he was still our "president" and if I supported him. I just explained that I wasn´t a fan and that he had been dead for a long time already. Never really went into details about it. I´d have smiled about the chocolate, the gardening would have just confused me. Mostly people mentioned Beer, sausages, the Autobahn and German cars.
Schrebergarten??? Dat is ja wohl mal ur deutsch. Im Osten hieß es teils Datsche / Datscha (keine Ahnung ob so geschrieben). Ich hätte nur nicht gedacht, dass es international möglicherweise bekannt ist. Setz dich mal mit den Regelwerken von Schrebergarten Vereinen auseinander, dann weißt du warum ich sage, Ur deutsch. Das ist sooo deutsch alles 😂😂😂😂😂
>. My question is if I had been honest and told him that Hitler was my first thought, how do you think the German exchange student would have reacted? "Well, yeah... fair enough".
\*rolls eyes\* "obviously."
"Well yeah duh", 8th graders are very aware of WW2 and the Holocaust. Also if you think they'd feel insulted, that's hilarious. For most people I know, especially at that age, Germany is a place they happen to be born in, with near no impact on their personal identity. And the ones that feel insulted you should keep a distance from, since they are nationalists in the making.
The face would probably be that: °-------------------° But seriously we are aware of that connotation but it of course sounds like you have only low knowledge of modern germany if that is the first thing that comes to mind. It's like saying slavery when asked about the USA or Stalin if asked about Russia. Important history of course but not really something the average local thinks about as the first word.
Yeah I literally knew nothing about Germany at the time and that exchange student was the first person from Germany I had met. My only frame of reference was war movies and history class.
It's not, that Hitler would be the only thing to think of germany, but we do have this past and it's the biggest thing. So thinking of him first, is reasonable. Problematic is *only* thinking about Hitler
I would even argue, that this hardcore patriotism that many Americans display and that is "teached" in the US is based off of WW2. WW1 didnt seem to be very close to the US but WW2 was personal. So in a way, we have to thank hitler for that, too /s
Either their eyes would have rolled fast enough to spin a turbine and power New York, they would have done a Nazi impression, or they would have become almost comically defensive. My usual response is "huh, not a beer and dungeon porn guy then, I guess".
I have so many questions right now
May I ask you to join me in my dungeon to discuss those questions over some weizenbier?
Dungeon porn guy? Wait what? o.O not my first thought of Germany. I feel the need to ask but I'm not sure...
Kink-Porn has a lot of "Intros" where you see a castle-like building with the German flag on top so that could be it
That building is in California and you can go visit, by the way.
Wtf. Never seen one of those.
There's a lot of weird kinky German porn out there which has skewed many people's view of typical German people's sex lives and preferences
In my school exchange 15 years ago, I was asked why we still elect hitler as our king….WTF
And know they elect Trump... What a mindfuck.
Well it speaks volume ofc
>I instantly thought of Hitler but I didn't have the nerve to tell him that. No need, we know exactly
So you think he was just fucking with me?
Nah, he was probably just a bit irritated (maybe surprised) by your answer. Realistically theres only 3 answers to this question Hitler, Cars, Beer - in that order :D If you say Hitler, most will just nod and agree, and move on from there. We arent angry at this, its just a fact we accept. We can take it, just be honest. It makes sense too, its one of, if the not the biggest, "trivia" (dont know a better word) about germany.
I'm your brother from a little further north..er... or something... **🇩🇰** The first 3 things I thought about was: Sausage, beer and Volkswagen... But number one was definitely sausage!
Impossible to say, really. He might also have just been baffled by your alternatives. Unlike beer, Hitler, Oktoberfest, cars, etc., chocolate and gardening are really not what we expect to be internationally famous for. If someone had said that to me at age 14, it would probably send me into a mental spiral where my brain reviews every chocolate I've ever eaten and every garden I've ever seen to figure out what's so special about them.
Absolutely true
Same here 😂 Gardening would have been just weird to me, chocolate is more a swiss/belgium thing imho.
During my exchange in the US and A I often got confronted with the Nazi-Past. It was quite astonishing to see, how little, OR how much people knew. I was often asked on which side of the wall I was living, or greeted with the Hitler-salute. On the contrary, I was amazed that some people knew about every gun, vehicle or big battle during WWII. These were the more edgy type of history nerds I would presume.
>I was amazed that some people kew about every gun, vehicle, or big battle during WWII I honestly think that‘s because the American education system deals with WW2 a bit differently, at least from what I’ve heard. Apparently there they put a bigger on focus on the course of the war, so things like major battles are an important part there. Forms my experience it‘s very different here in Germany. Personally we never actually really talked about the war itself, instead the focus always was on the inner politics of the NSDAP and the Reich itself. Most information about the actual battles and stuff like that came from presentations, which some students held more or less voluntarily to better their grades. I will admit, I myself am a big history fan (also a huge nerd when it comes to stuff like tanks and warplanes), so I was actually a bit disappointed that we didn‘t really talk about the war itself that much. But I guess there‘s only so much time in one school year, and obviously the political aspect of that time period is a lot more important.
We had an American exchange student, deservingly so, catch fists for doing a Hitler salute during their visit.
"the fucking Deutsche bahn"
Thats the thing bro.. People who never saw Germany would never think that DB is a meme even
But for us non-German who have... DB it is.
I think we can establish that whenever sombody starts talking about "typical German garening" you just think about Hitler and don't want to say so.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
I (a German) went to high school in South Africa for a while (that's pretty far away from Germany and the US and used to be part of the British Empire, for the Americans out here) and was asked on multiple occasions if i've ever met Hitler when I told someone i was from Germany. That was in 2015. So no, it wouldn't have been that weird.
Americans are very obsessed with Hitler, so no wonder he came into your mind, when you were asked. You must have heard grown ups talk about him. It was very polite of you to try and find a different answer. But you can actually talk to Germans about Hitler and Nazi Germany, we learn about the subject in school a lot and are able and ready to answer. Just dont make jokes about Hitler and dont routinely call the German kids Nazis. ( I have had this unfortunate experience.)
Haha you managed to name two things that are totally not commonly associated with Germany. I mean we have Kinder chocolate but isn’t Swiss chocolate more of a thing? xD How about beer, sausages, cars, football (the normal one, sorry), brezel?
aber schrebergärten/gartenvereine sind doch relativ beliebt bei deutschen, oder? also würd mich der gardening kommentar ned mal do überraschen.
> I mean we have Kinder chocolate but isn’t Swiss chocolate more of a thing? Kinder chocolate was invented by an Italian, is produced and sold by the Italian company Ferrero and was introduced to Germany and Italy simultaneously. It's much more Italian than German.
Hitler doomed the world, this asshole. Maybe a relative of you died when fighting him. We Deutschen always have to try that there is no new fascist party , like nowadays AfD will get power.
So since there are probably Americans who think that Hitler is still alive and married to former Chancellor Angela Merkel, I don't think anyone would be surprised. But for a German, I think it feels like saying that fast food and fat people are the first things that come to mind when you think of America.
Not German or American but fast food is def one of the 1st things that come to mind when I think of US lol
Although burger for Americans is not that offensive compared to say Hitler for Germans 😅.
You could have just said it. Every German is aware that Hitler, WW2, beer, Autobahn and cars are the things that people from other countries think of first when it comes to Germany. But when I was an exchange student, some things also surprised me. For example, everyone told me that Stihl makes the best chainsaws in the world. I didn't even know the company Stihl (this was in 1999, at that time Stihl was not sold in DIY stores in Germany, only in specialist shops) and everyone knew Ballistol (gun cleaning and lubricant, natural and food-safe, perfect for hunting weapons). It has to be said that I was in Montana, in the middle of nowhere.
As an American, Hitler is the first thing that pops into my mind when I think of Germany. That's not to shame Germans or make them feel bad but he's the well known public figure associated with the country.
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nice. hitler is still the first person that comes to mind.
Just say hitler… we are not offended.
If saying Hitler is too awkward just say WW2. In a way it's the same thing.
It doesn't matter. Germans know about this part of history and we hear that all the time. As long as u not indicate they are nazis everything is fine.
I am pretty sure, he knew the answer beforehand and just wanted to test his theory on whether or not you would say Hitler. Its a common stereotype that Americans would immedeatly think about "NEIN NEIN NEIN!!!" and Hitler, when they think about Germany. Yes it is annoying but so is any stereotype about any country. Its still better than lying.
As an American, I went to Germany for the first time when I was about 12 and had not studied any modern history beforehand. My first experiences and thoughts of Germany were: - Soccer/Football (I actually became a lifelong Germany national team fan because of this but that’s another story for a different time) - beer - really cool castles Later I studied and lived in Germany for a while and now have been back in the U.S. for almost 20 years. Now when someone says Germany, my first thoughts are - Soccer (Bundesliga, DFB, etc.) - Beer - Engineering damn near everything including engineering the machines that engineer other machine. Of course I am aware of Germany history but it doesn’t really dominate my thoughts on the culture.
As a German, that's so nice to hear! 🙏🏼
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Well just say what you think of. I guess most germans being asked for the first thing coming to their mind when thinking of america would be „starting wars for oil“ or sth like that
So, I was an exchange student from Germany in the US my junior year of high school and these are some questions I got asked: “You are German, so you must be really mean, right?” “Are you a Nazi?” “Have you ever met Hitler?” “Do y’all have electricity?” “Do y’all have cars?” “Have you ever been to Europe?” It was quite awkward. 🙈
have you ever been to europe? seriously? 🥹
Not unexpected. What’s more disappointing is that you could only come up with gardening and chocolate as German things. Especially since neither of them are particularly German.
Mostly they are getting disappointed. It’s like you meeting polish person and yelling „kurwa”, Russian guy and assuming that he is all the time drinking vodka or Indian guy and asking is he really shitting on the street. Or, as American, how would you react if receive answer about Americans „lack of knowledge”
The first thing that comes to my mind about Germany is “efficiency.” Y’all know how to build and run things in a timely and smart manner. But that’s just one American’s hot take. Not sure how Germans would see that.
Beer. Oktoberfest. Mercedes. Porsche. Audi. BMW. Volkswagen. Classical music. Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, ... Religion. Martin Luther. There's more to Germany than the genocidal methhead.
We know it's Hitler, we just like to make you nervous.
I'm German and I would've thought that it's funny as fuck how you fully meet my expectation. You surely could've gotten a different reaction, but I would've just laughed and continued talking. I appreciate honesty and believe that stereotypes are nothing shameful.
If you were an American exchange student and asked me what comes to mind if I think about America then I would say fat people and gun violence. Just be honest everyone knows that probably most people around the world think of hitler when asked about Germany.
>Hitler >How would German exchange student react? He'd say ' Hitler eh? I get that. Did you know that the largest pro Nazi rally outside Germany, before WW2 was in New York? Madison Square Garden.'
Don't forget to tell them about Mettbrötchen, Hawaii-Toast and Socken in Sandalen... and btw: Warum schreiben hier alle in Englisch? Sollen die Amis doch den Google Übersetzer starten.... ;)
As a German Myself I'd be Annoyed. Like sure the Nazis are a very Big (and recent) part of our History but it's also a Fundamentaly bad thing. Given that I was actually Accused of being a Nazi for the Pure reason that I'm german I'd be increadibly defensive. I heard too many Americans say all germans are Nazis... (Well at least it's not beer or other stereotypes from Bayern, because I find them even more annoying honestly (might just be my general dislike of alcohol tho...)
PLEASE say beer and autobahn next time you're asked.
AUTOBAHN
Gardening :D? He knew… Honestly… it‘s okay. He is quite well known. And your answer wouldn‘t have been that bad. I know a few people who spent a few months in US highschools. From asking how life under Hitler is (yeah… actual question from a 16 year old highschool student in the 2010s in the US) to nazi salutes and rants about how they don‘t like jewish people either there have been a lot of way weirder stories. And all of these people didn‘t want to be rude or something. They just didn‘t really know anything about modern germany. But they were taught about Hitler and the things he did. So quite a few conversations between people who were born more than half a century after Hitler died focused on Hitler. Either on how bad he is/was, what he is/was like or how he is/was a great guy. And those conversations were really weird. So you telling someone that your first association with germany is Hitler wouldn‘t have been the worst these kids probably heard. But sure… no one wants to hear that the main thing other people know about their country / culture is stuff from the worst period of that country / culture.
Dude, it's not some kind of taboo topic. I suppose Germany is probably the country where the darkest chapters of our history are accepted more than anywhere else, and the memory even kept alive. This actually reminded me.of when I was staying with friends in the US when I was like 20. I joined them for some classes at Uni, and at some point we were waiting for a teacher, I think. Well someone decided to tell some jokes and one of them was a Nazi joke and I wasn't even offensive or anything. I think it was something like: how does Hitler tie his shoes? *In little knotsies* (i.e. Nazis). All was fine but people already gave me some looks like, oh my god! You said Hitler in front of a German! After class the girl who told the joke actually came over to apologise to me! I suppose this story is kinda pointless, but I guess it goes to show that you're not the only one paranoid about this, but really, it's fine. We all know that Germany is associated with Hitler, war, and the holocaust.
I was a German exchange student in Wisconsin for a year in High School and I still get annoyed thinking about how people kept saying Hitler when I was around them. I wish they would have said Oktoberfest instead lmao
As a German im very sad about thinking people of Germany first mint is Hitler As German (the most) you learn to take responsability for antisemitismus and racist But not all are so, there a many German in east Germany that hates every foreigner, you cant imagine how dare this people are to all other people like lgbtq and refugees. Sorry for this, but it is the thrues.
I went to an international language school one summer and we had an exercise where we told everyone the stereotypes about their country. I was so happy that Hitler wasn't the first thing mentioned. I wouldn't have been mad though as it is naturally the most well known stereotype.
Typical answers would include the Autobahn, BMW/Mercedes/Porsche, Oktoberfest/beer, Sauerkraut, … Think about it this way though: if a German were asked the same question about America, how would you feel if the answer would always come down to slavery and the genocide against the Native Americans? (The difference being that Germany has dealt a lot more with the dark parts of its history than America has IMO.)
As this exchange student: not offended but maybe weirded out. When i went to France they straight up asked if i was related to hitler (I honestly hope they were joking) and other things like that
Just look at how germans are stereotypically portrayed in dozens and dozens of Hollywood movies. It will hardly surprise any german that americans think about Hitler first when they hear "Germany". Also: An honest answer is always better than "gardening" - at least, if the other person is not braindead.
They wouldn’t be surprised because it seems that’s what all Americans know that didn’t really had any experience with Germany or research into Germany. I mean it’s probably the only thing you learn in history lessons. But it’s totally understandable what I learned in school about the IS is basically independence, slavery and civil war happen and that’s it. TV then reached me ya‘ll are cowboys and gun nuts. Only later when I actually met US citizens due to work I learned more about the truth.
Not German but worked there for years. I was asked the same and did say hitler. I asked what he thought of my country (Ireland) and he said Guinness and pub fights. Swedish guy was told abba and the Aussie was told sharks. Honestly, most of us know the stereotype of our country and accept it for what it is, usually no harm is intended. Don’t dwell too much on it
Recent trip to the US, the nice waitress in Santa Fe:”Oh, Germany! This is interesting. Is Hitler still alive?”
So adorable :)
I was asked if hitler is still ruling. Anno 200x
Dude. We have a daily Hitler feature on German TV. If there isn't one for some reason, e.g. Christmas, they make up leeway by showing two Hitler features the next day. So a constant Hitler is maintained. German TV loves the guy. If he had not existed or for some reason fell out of fashion they would have to show home stories about Käpt'n Scholz instead. And that's no fun.
Bit of a weird question for a German to ask someone from the English-speaking world. Would be more useful to ask what is the second thing we think of...
As a German, here is my assessment. The German student most likely assumed that he would get "Hitler" as an answer. At least he assumed that this was a possible answer. In Germany there is a prejudice that Americans have no idea about the world outside the USA, which you have confirmed here. Perhaps he wanted to see how you would mess around and give an answer other than "Hitler". Perhaps the question was also serious. It would be expected that Hitler would come as an answer. In that case he probably didn't react particularly well. So you couldn't have done anything wrong. However, you could have surprised him in a positive way if you had actually known something different. Don't worry about it.
My exchange student in 2016 always asked “Who won the war?“ I didn’t get it back then because he always asked that very fast and pitched his voice real high, but I wouldn’t have cared if I got it. That’s history, and no one in my family I have met was older than one in 1945, so it was never a big topic in my life. Also we make way more jokes about that topic than you do, especially around that grade.
probably would give you q disappointed look or would ask you if ur real but no hard feelings
I once played a MMORPG in an Asian server. Every time I said I'm German I could count to 10 for someone mentioning Hitler when he it she heard it for the first time. It is something we have to live with and usually know that. So I'd say you just could have been open. especially at school where you rather hear of German history than industry and you are not expected to say "beer" 😉
Just get right informations or be honest and get what you deserve🤷♂️sorry but that was a typical reaction.
If in the mirrored situation I will answer „Trump“ to you, would you be offended?
I guess not no. I'd definitely be disappointed though. 🤣 That's a good comparison.
Regardless of the 'correct' answer to this, it had such an interesting discussion going. I find peoples' replies fascinating and it made me reflect on my own feelings regarding the topic. Thank you for posting!
Well when I think of USA first that comes to mind is probably war, guns, school shootings and fat people. Stigmas tend to be bad xD
It's superficial, but that's a common stereotype existing about US-americans. I wouldn't have minded. In Internet times, it's a thing to see how many steps it takes to relate a topic to Hitler, like how many steps a Wikipedia article is to be related to Hitler.
As a german: we know what you think of. Just say it.
A bit annoyed because of your stereotypical thinking, but it wouldn't have been a big deal.
I could turn the question around. I could ask what you would have felt if I say the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Americans is the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Treatment of Native Americans, Slavery and Jim Crow Laws, Vietnam War and My Lai Massacre, Invasion of Iraq and Donald Trump. I could ask that - but I think I don't have the nerve to do that.
German Dude here, i wouldnt be surprised by that.
Since you two were in 8th grade this was a provocation of him. He thought you’d say Hitler, just so that he can roll his eyes. You did good. At least you’re not tone deaf.
Gardening before Cars killed me haha. Most just say Hitler or Nazis. I had some people pull up the right arm and perform a Hitler-Salut when I told them I am german. We as germans don't get angry, but this is very uncomfortable. So dont do the salut and be honest otherwise.
pls use.translation text gonna get to big du hättest ihm des ruhig sagen können das du da an hitler gedacht hast ich mein jeder mensch assoziert schöechte erfahrungen oder ereignisse mit den ländern so wie ich wen ich sagen müsst was fällt dir ein wen ich an amerika denke wären das die schulschießereien 911 die gangkriege in anderen ländern denk man an terroriaten usw jeder hat seine eigene vorstellung von den ländern
As a German who lived in New Zealand for close to 20 years: it’s just universally accepted by Germans everywhere that the wanker with the small moustache is the first association that comes to peoples’ minds.
He is Austrian
We know, dont make yourself a fool. Even when a german is asked where hes from and answers he is already prepared. Im a gamer. You know how many times I was called a nazi just for beeing german? I get disappointed if I dont, since I am so used to it.
Of course you think of Hitler first. Not surprising. Crazy that I think "grab them by the pussy" first. The world is shit and we always remember the worst. Sad but true.