What do Germans think of the British?

[Dari]

Americans are familiar with how the British think of Germans. We have many British actors in our entertainment industry and British shows typically make it over the Atlantic. It typically boils down to jealousy. The British royal family (and other European royals) is composed of Germans. They call the Germans many names. At the height of the global economic growth and German stagnation in the mid 2000s (the Germans were reforming their economy) they accused Germans of still bashing metals to make money while the British were peddling fancy financial products (look at how well that turned out...). Also, the Germans tried many times to take the leadership position of Europe from Great Britain and failed. Their third time, via the European Union, is succeeding. The British, confused on how to deal with Germany's more legal approach, tried to join and ruin everything. Failing that, they've decided to take their ball and go home (the British Prime Minister recently promised to exit the EU if he is reelected in 2015 if he does not get his way).

So, this is what Americans see. What about the other side? How do the Germans see the British?

 

[Gibsons]

They are united in hatred of the French.

 

[ViperXX]

The world has changed. The French now have more balls than The Americans, English or the Germans.

 

[FallenHero]

The world has changed. The French now have more balls than The Americans, English or the Germans.

 

[brigden]

Germans are big fans of elements of British culture (heritage, class structure, charm, and humor) and would admit hating the food, but their idea of what it is to be British is quaint and out-of-date.

 

[Newbian]

They are united in hatred of the French.

Nah they love the place.

They use it as a vacation spot even if the French don't want them there.

 

[BladeVenom]

Isn't it about time for Germany to invade France again?

 

[Colt45]

Sort of how they think of americans, except not entirely devoid of class. just close.

:awe:

 

[mikeymikec]

Americans are familiar with how the British think of Germans. We have many British actors in our entertainment industry and British shows typically make it over the Atlantic. It typically boils down to jealousy. The British royal family (and other European royals) is composed of Germans. They call the Germans many names. At the height of the global economic growth and German stagnation in the mid 2000s (the Germans were reforming their economy) they accused Germans of still bashing metals to make money while the British were peddling fancy financial products (look at how well that turned out...). Also, the Germans tried many times to take the leadership position of Europe from Great Britain and failed. Their third time, via the European Union, is succeeding. The British, confused on how to deal with Germany's more legal approach, tried to join and ruin everything. Failing that, they've decided to take their ball and go home (the British Prime Minister recently promised to exit the EU if he is reelected in 2015 if he does not get his way).

So, this is what Americans see. What about the other side? How do the Germans see the British?

A better (yet still not very representative, how the hell can you sum up x million people with one sentence or many?) summary of what British people think of Germany is "Don't know. I hope we win in the next England vs. Germany football match".

I'm sure that many British people call Germans names and vice versa. Many people have many stupid opinions on many things. How is this representative of a nation?

The British PM did not "promise to exit the EU" at all. A referendum regarding our membership of the EU is on the cards (but my guess is it won't happen), that's it. Considering how tainted the last referendum in the UK was, it just sounds like another one would be a giant waste of money, except that a "Yes" majority vote would be political gold dust.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%22david+cameron%22+promise+exit+EU&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GBfficial&client=firefox-a

Do you realise that the 'leadership' of the EU is passed from country to country on an organised and regular basis?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_European_Union

How exactly did the UK "try to join the EU and ruin everything"? How ill-informed are you exactly? Was there a "focus on Britain" bit on Fox News or something? The only grain of accuracy that I've noticed in your post was that the UK hasn't helped itself very much by letting our primary and secondary industries go to waste, IMO, and after the financial crisis we still haven't done much to hold the banking sector to account.

IMO we don't handle our relationship with the EU well, I think that's largely because politicians keep having to walk an impossible tightrope between "we don't need or want the EU" and "we need and want the EU" because it's a very divisive issue in the UK, and instead of leading, politicians spend their time weasel-wording and trying to please everyone (except the far left or right).

Who cares about where members of the royal family come from? We don't. Surely if we had a problem with Germany we wouldn't want German-descended people in the royal family? A significant percentage of the UK population wants to get rid of the royal family, then I'd say the rest is divided between liking the royal family or seeing it as a useful source of income regarding tourism. Even the BNP / Neo-Nazi-type crowds don't generally have anything to say about the royal family as far as I'm aware.

 

[steve wilson]

Americans are familiar with how the British think of Germans. We have many British actors in our entertainment industry and British shows typically make it over the Atlantic. It typically boils down to jealousy. The British royal family (and other European royals) is composed of Germans. They call the Germans many names. At the height of the global economic growth and German stagnation in the mid 2000s (the Germans were reforming their economy) they accused Germans of still bashing metals to make money while the British were peddling fancy financial products (look at how well that turned out...). Also, the Germans tried many times to take the leadership position of Europe from Great Britain and failed. Their third time, via the European Union, is succeeding. The British, confused on how to deal with Germany's more legal approach, tried to join and ruin everything. Failing that, they've decided to take their ball and go home (the British Prime Minister recently promised to exit the EU if he is reelected in 2015 if he does not get his way).

So, this is what Americans see. What about the other side? How do the Germans see the British?

This is just not true... the PM has promised a referendum on EU exit. (A vote by the public)... very different from saying we are going to exit the EU.

 

[_Rick_]

While I am half-german, I think I'm not the right person to ask, as I tend to study other cultures.
What I do notice though, is that Britain is very isolationist, compared to other European countries, and has a lot of cold war baggage in regards to the ties with the US.
While some may still see the romantic image of the British gentleman, I have seen too much, to hold much hope for that still being prolific.

Still, by summer I will probably apply for some positions in the UK (among others), even if the weather there won't be as good as in France, and nor will the food be.

The common stereotype is that of a slightly bizarre island isolationist, who vainly clings to tradition. In many ways, they are perhaps seen as a more chivalrous frenchman, without the supposed malodorous tendencies?

 

[Murloc]

The world has changed. The French now have more balls than The Americans, English or the Germans.

actually if you study the history of the last century you can see that the French have always switched between arrogance and submission.
See Versailles treaty (arrogance), appeasement and collaborationism (submission), and see their arrogance now. This time they're gonna be raped by socialism and the looming crisis.

 

[mikeymikec]

While I am half-german, I think I'm not the right person to ask, as I tend to study other cultures.
What I do notice though, is that Britain is very isolationist, compared to other European countries, and has a lot of cold war baggage in regards to the ties with the US.

Admittedly I don't see any benefit of the UK-US relationship. As far as I can see, the US ask us to side with them when they feel the need to start a war, and that's about it.

The common stereotype is that of a slightly bizarre island isolationist, who vainly clings to tradition. In many ways, they are perhaps seen as a more chivalrous frenchman, without the supposed malodorous tendencies?

Like a lot of British people, I don't see the point in having a European bureaucracy on top of our country's bureaucracy, it simply devolves democratic power further away from the citizen. I don't know whether adopting the Euro would be good for us in the long term, but not adopting it has certainly helped in the short term. If we keep the pound then our relationship with the EU is always going to be complicated, but then I think a trade agreement is much better than a political union because the EU is simply too large and diverse a continent to rule with one set of rules, and more sets of rules as part of a union just makes things unnecessarily complicated.

I also think the leadership of the UK (or "the powers that be") haven't quite got out of a "British empire" mindset, which I would summarise as "keeping the UK fat and happy by enslaving other countries". Of course we can't literally do that any more, but I think "the powers that be" still believe in something for nothing, or at least making someone else pay for it. It's time we reinvested in our own capabilities, become more self-sufficient and seek out alliances with mutual benefits. At the moment I feel that we're slaves to our financial sector, pure consumers of other countries' goods with a service sector as a growth on the end of it all.

Personally I think just about every developed country should be self-sufficient or form a symbiotic relationship with another country. The way that most developed countries rely on China and Japan (not that I have anything against them) simply promotes instability.

 

[K1052]

Admittedly I don't see any benefit of the UK-US relationship. As far as I can see, the US ask us to side with them when they feel the need to start a war, and that's about it.

The longstanding close economic and political links (only interrupted by the Revolution and War of 1812) have been of enormous benefit to both countries. The US-UK also enjoys access to each others top line military equipment even including the Trident system, which nobody else will ever get, saving the UK vast sums of R&D. The UK is also the primary partner in the F35 development and the only foreign country ever invited to participate so heavily in such a program.

 

[JTsyo]

actually if you study the history of the last century you can see that the French have always switched between arrogance and submission.
See Versailles treaty (arrogance), appeasement and collaborationism (submission), and see their arrogance now. This time they're gonna be raped by socialism and the looming crisis.

Just waiting for them to surrender to the Mali rebels. Though I guess they do have the regular Mali army with them.

 

[JTsyo]

The longstanding close economic and political links (only interrupted by the Revolution and War of 1812) have been of enormous benefit to both countries. The US-UK also enjoys access to each others top line military equipment even including the Trident system, which nobody else will ever get, saving the UK vast sums of R&D. The UK is also the primary partner in the F35 development and the only foreign country ever invited to participate so heavily in such a program.

I see it kind of like a parent-child relationship

Colony years - childhood
2 Wars - teenage years, rebellious and seeking freedom.
20th century - parents retire and US is all grown. Able to talk to each other in equal terms. They ask us to help with rowdy neighbors, we ask for help babysitting the kids.

 

[Dari]

There is no point in holding a referendum unless you know the outcome. It isn't about giving the British people a choice. They had that choice when they joined4 decades when Britain was on her knees and badly needed to join the European Community. Now that they have benefitted tremendously (a lot of European Union institutions are in London) with a shared marketplace and banking system, the British are crying for more (nevermind the silly rebate they get). If they don't get what they want they want out. IMHO, getting out is far worse than staying in and trying to change the system, but what the fuck do I know...

 

[Vdubchaos]

Whatever they think of British, it's fine. Especially since Brits are some of the most arrogant and self absorbed people out there.

I work for a British company and they still seem to hold a grunge about the revolutionary war. They treat us like 2nd hand citizen/sub human (to an extent).

 

[Dari]

I see it kind of like a parent-child relationship

Colony years - childhood
2 Wars - teenage years, rebellious and seeking freedom.
20th century - parents retire and US is all grown. Able to talk to each other in equal terms. They ask us to help with rowdy neighbors, we ask for help babysitting the kids.

Yeah? Will you put up your tax dollars when England, up to its neck in debt (like in the 1970s) comes begging for money? I wouldn't give it to them. The Europeans have been kind to the British and this is how they repay them.

For those who forgot, England, a first world country, had to go begging to the IMF for a loan in the 1970s.

 

[_Rick_]

Personally I think just about every developed country should be self-sufficient or form a symbiotic relationship with another country. The way that most developed countries rely on China and Japan (not that I have anything against them) simply promotes instability.

And that's one of the reasons why the EU is so important. The wider our interior market is, the more the EU can become somewhat independent.
For the Brits, the EU isn't quite as convenient as for mainland Europeans, where Schengen et. al mean you can live in one country, and work in another, while conducting business in a third, all without any of the bureaucracy that is needed to normally handle that kind of thing.
The EU introduces a lot of bureaucracy, but it also removes some, by making binding decisions for all member states. This means that each member state does not have to assign quite as many resources to an issue, if a European guideline exists.

Also, interoperability/compatibility is important, and still not completely obtained. I'd really like to see a European tax system, so that businesses can no longer exploit tax havens, while doing business all over Europe. Luxembourg and Ireland come to mind.

The real challenge with regards to the EU, is how to balance the "world government" tendencies with the need for local independence and flexibility. On the other hand, how this can be done is seen in many non-centralist countries, like Germany and the US, where many levels of government exist, with separate competencies and obligations. Extending this to another level should be feasible, if people weren't so afraid of the new.

One of the worst things happening currently on the EU level is that many people feel like they are governed by an entitity they have no control over. This is shamelessly exploited by national governments, to pass unpopular measures, simply be passing them on the European level, where it's "not their fault", and then implementing them locally. In fact of course, the national governments are in many ways involved in the process of European legislation, as are the MEPs, which are directly elected. One of the major issues is probably a lack of reporting on the EU legislative. National debates and politics are often televised, and reported on, but on the European level such reports are rare, and it seems to be enough to complain about absenteeism and otherwise shed a negative light on the EU.
Lack of media attention also means that whichever level of transparency exists (and the EU is probably more transparent than national governments) is not worth a dime, as the fact that anything important is being discussed is often not disseminated, until the final vote has passed.

The EU is mostly a media disaster, in my eyes.

 

[monkeh624]

There is no point in holding a referendum unless you know the outcome. It isn't about giving the British people a choice. They had that choice when they joined4 decades when Britain was on her knees and badly needed to join the European Community. Now that they have benefitted tremendously (a lot of European Union institutions are in London) with a shared marketplace and banking system, the British are crying for more (nevermind the silly rebate they get). If they don't get what they want they want out. IMHO, getting out is far worse than staying in and trying to change the system, but what the fuck do I know...

The only thing you've ever said that we can all agree on.

 

[mikeymikec]

There is no point in holding a referendum unless you know the outcome. It isn't about giving the British people a choice. They had that choice when they joined4 decades when Britain was on her knees and badly needed to join the European Community. Now that they have benefitted tremendously (a lot of European Union institutions are in London) with a shared marketplace and banking system, the British are crying for more (nevermind the silly rebate they get). If they don't get what they want they want out. IMHO, getting out is far worse than staying in and trying to change the system, but what the fuck do I know...

Yeah? Will you put up your tax dollars when England, up to its neck in debt (like in the 1970s) comes begging for money? I wouldn't give it to them. The Europeans have been kind to the British and this is how they repay them.

For those who forgot, England, a first world country, had to go begging to the IMF for a loan in the 1970s.

Again, WTF? Citations needed. You've made so many completely untrue statements in this thread so far and haven't once admitted your mistakes that it's not worth trying to argue anything with you.

The only thing I can recall so far that you've even got vaguely correct is this:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/sterling-devalued-imf-loan.htm
IIRC the UK's lending commitment to the IMF is currently just under £30bn and is set to increase in case ailing EU zone countries need more bailout cash. Before you bandy expressions around like "up to its neck in debt" you might want to check out a heck of a lot of first world countries' debt versus GDP. The reason why the EU is in a lot of trouble right now has absolutely nothing to do with the UK.

@ Rick

I'm not sure a unified tax system would work at all well for the whole of the EU, there are extremely varying levels of wealth, income, and demands on the state throughout.

Whatever they think of British, it's fine. Especially since Brits are some of the most arrogant and self absorbed people out there.

I work for a British company and they still seem to hold a grunge about the revolutionary war. They treat us like 2nd hand citizen/sub human (to an extent).

"I met some <insert people from whatever country you like> and they were horrible!". Insightful opinion there.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Whatever they think of British, it's fine. Especially since Brits are some of the most arrogant and self absorbed people out there.

I work for a British company and they still seem to hold a grunge about the revolutionary war. They treat us like 2nd hand citizen/sub human (to an extent).

Load of BS. I lived in London and never had a problem.

Why the hell would they have a grudge about a 250 year old war anyway? That is ridiculous.

And another thing, the food in the UK is great. People need to stop with the tired old stereotypes and actually travel.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Yeah? Will you put up your tax dollars when England, up to its neck in debt (like in the 1970s) comes begging for money? I wouldn't give it to them. The Europeans have been kind to the British and this is how they repay them.

For those who forgot, England, a first world country, had to go begging to the IMF for a loan in the 1970s.

Yeah it's not like the UK ever did anything for Europe or anything.

Oh wait, apart from freaking WW2.