German Stereotypes

                A topic that struck me was the movement that the German humanists worked to remove the negative connotations associated with the word “German.”  In the first chapter we learned that the term German was given to barbarians from Northern regions of Europe. The association of Germans and barbarians did not seem to diminish throughout the years. Rumors circulated of German’s being drunken barbarians in Europe and scholars had a difficult time standing up to these vicious words. But, once the German humanists starting standing up for German’s as a people and a culture, it gave way to the ideals of German superiority.

Roman historian Tacitus wrote a history of early Germania. The German humanists used his writings to fuel improving the German name and culute.
http://www.historytoday.com/sites/default/files/tacitus.jpg

            One reason I found this small section worth thinking about further is that the negatives attached to being German back in the 15^th century and the same negatives that exist in today’s world. I think back to the first meeting we had as a group. Dr.Wolf asked us to describe what we thought of when we heard the word German or Germany. The negatives were drunks and Nazis. It would seem over thousands of years that Germany has not been able to shake the negatives, despite having a rich culture and a thriving pulse in the technology industry.

            The ideals of German superiority also continued to live on and came to a head during the rise of the Nazi party. The Germans wanted to be thought of as a strong people who deserved more than they were getting out of life. In order to feel superior and regain a name in the eyes of the world after WWI, the Nazis blamed someone else. It is easy to feel superior when you blame someone else for your troubles and take no responsibilities for your actions. That is exactly what happened in Germany. The Nazis also wanted to build Germany into a country rich with culture. However, they went about that by robbing fine art and artifacts from all of Europe. The Nazis did not find a way to make the German name strong once more. All they manage to do was reinforce the negative stereotypes that followed the name for so many years.

It is interesting to think that no matter how hard a group of people try to shake stereotypes, something always happens to reinforce those stereotypes. The German people continue to be haunted by their past and their origins. Whenever I share that I am studying German I am given a few responses; I am told it is an ugly, harsh language, someone makes a joke about beer, or someone brings up Nazis. But, that is why I study German because I want to teach people that Germany is more than its stereotypes.