Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [30]
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The Culture
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THE NATIONAL PSYCHE
LIFESTYLE
POPULATION
SPORT
Football
Tennis
Other Sports
MULTICULTURALISM
MEDIA
RELIGION
ARTS
Literature
Cinema
Television
Music
Architecture
Visual Arts
Theatre
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THE NATIONAL PSYCHE
The German state of mind is always a favourite for speculation – two 20th-century wars and the memory of the Jewish Holocaust are reasons. Throw in the chilling razor’s edge of Cold War division, a modern juggernaut economy that draws half of Europe in its wake and pumps more goods into the world economy than any other, and a crucial geographical location at the crossroads of Europe and this fascination becomes understandable.
Often, though, it pays to ignore the stereotypes, jingoism and those occasional headlines at home describing Germany in military terms – and maybe even forgive Germans for the systematic way they clog up a football field or conduct jagged discussion. Sometimes it helps to see the country through its regional nuances. Germany was very slow to become a nation, so, if you look closely, you will begin to notice many different local cultures within the one set of borders. You will also find that it’s one of Europe’s most multicultural countries Click here, with Turkish, Greek, Italian, Russian and Balkan influences.
Around 15 million people today live in the former GDR, a part of Germany where, until 1989, travel was restricted, the state was almighty, and life was secure – but also strongly regulated – from the cradle to the grave. Not surprisingly, therefore, many former East Germans – particularly males – are still coming to terms with a more competitive, unified Germany. According to one poll conducted by the Emnid research group, 49% of eastern Germans say the GDR had more good sides than bad, and 8% say they were happier or lived better at that time (see the boxed text, opposite).
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GERMAN HUMOUR
‘According to a study by the Forsa-Institut, one in 10 Germans has no problem with the idea that the Germans are dying out. Maybe after Germany loses the (football) match against the USA tonight it’ll be one in five.’
FROM THE GERMAN CULTURE PROGRAM KULTURZEIT (2006)
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The former East Germany continues to lose people hand over fist. In the past, badly affected regions have even tried to lure their youngest and brightest back from cities like Munich and Stuttgart with novel ideas such as a ‘returnees package’ – containing things like mouse pads, internet links, and local newspaper subscriptions – but the trend is irreversible. According to some estimates, Saxony-Anhalt and the Chemnitz region can expect to lose a quarter of their population by 2030, and Thuringia will shrink by about 20%.
Germans as a whole fall within the mental topography of northern Europe and are sometimes described as culturally ‘low context’. That means, as opposed to the French or Italians, Germans like to pack what they mean right into the words they use rather than hint or suggest. Facing each other squarely in conversation, firm handshakes, and a hug or a kiss on the cheek among friends are also par for the course.
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Better than the reputation? About two million Germans can expect to suffer from an obsessive-compulsive disorder in their lifetime.
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Most Germans look fondly upon the flourishing tradition of the apprentice carpenters who travel throughout Germany and Europe on Wanderschaft (wanderings) to acquire foreign skills, or the traditionally attired chimney sweeps (some of them women these days) in towns and villages dressed in pitch-black suits and top hats. Even an otherwise ordinary young Bavarian from, say, the finance department of a DAX (Deutscher Aktien Index; German stock index) 30 company might don the Dirndl (traditional Bavarian skirt and blouse) around Oktoberfest time Click here and swill like a hearty, rollicking peasant. On Monday she’ll be