What is „typically German“?

There is a number of (partially quite amusing) surveys and essays, which deal with the question, what „typically German“ means. One of the most felicitous examples is definitely this essay  (http://www.livhambrett.com/everything-i-know-about-germany-germans/what-i-know-about-germans/) issued by the Australian writer and teacher Liv Hambrett, who lives for some years in Kiel (Northern Germany). Beyond this the survey results pubished by the German Goethe Institutes provide some interesting insights, how Germany and the Germans are perceived from foreign nation’s people point of view (http://www.goethe.de/ins/gb/lp/prj/mtg/typ/deindex.htm).

The subsequent list comprises a potpourri of 100 terms (companies, characters, characteristics, products, buildings, festivals …), which should prompt a discussion about the the question, what „typically German“ means. Additions or comments are (as always) cordially welcome.

1. Cars and/or the automobile industrie (VW, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Audi, Opel, Continental)
2. German machine building and plant engineering industry (Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, Jungheinrich, Kuka, Krones, Dürr, Claas, Voith, MAN)
3. Chemical and pharmaceutical enterprises (Bayer, BASF, Beiersdorf, Fresenius) – Germany was „the drugstore of the world“ at the beginning of the 20th century
4. Defense industry (Wegmann, Rheinmetall, Krauss-Maffei, Heckler&Koch)
5. German munitions/weapons (submarines, main battle tanks, ships, machine guns)
6. Steel industry (today: thyssenkrupp, formerly: Krupp, Thyssen, Hoesch)
7. Electrical Engineering industry (Siemens, Bosch)
8. German inventors and Nobel price winners (Albert Einstein, Gustav Hertz, Werner Heisenberg, Max Planck, Fritz Haber, Robert Bosch, Robert Koch)
9. Insurance companies (Allianz, Munich Re)
10. SAP
11. Deutsche Bank
12. Deutsche Lufthansa
13. Deutsche Telekom/T-Mobile
14. Deutsche Post/DHL
15. Deutsche Bahn
16. Food store chains (ALDI, Lidl)
17. Sports goods companies (Adidas, Puma)
18. The „Deutschmark“
19. The German Bundesbank
20. German Engineering
21. German medium-sized businesses („Mittelstand“)
22. German handcraft („Handwerk“)
23. Dual professional education
24. Protection of the environment
25. Ecology (waste separation/recycling, renewable energies)
26. Data Protection&Information Security
27. Highways („Autobahn“) without speed limit
28. Citizens‘ action committees (against technology, progress, Stuttgart 21)
29. Beer (Becks Beer, Bavarian Beers)
30. Sausages and cold meat
31. Broad variety of breads (particularly whole-grain bread)
32. Bratwurst&Currywurst (can this be translated?!?)
33. Knuckle of pork with sauerkraut&dumplings
34. Potatoes
35. Soups&Stews
36. German lebkuchen
37. Black Forest cake with cherries
38. Marinated beef
39. Clubs/Associations (sports clubs, choirs or singing clubs, marching bands, hiking clubs, traditional shooting clubs, firefighters, pigeon or dog fanciers)
40. Football (German National team, FC Bayern, Borussia Dortmund)
41. Athleticism (football, handball, ice hockey, track and field athletics)
42. Order&Structure
43. Disciplin
44. Thoroughness&conscientiousness
45. Reliability
46. Punctuality
47. Allegiance
48. Obediance to state authorities
49. Smugness
50. Arrogance/Sense of mission („Am deutschen Wesen soll die Welt genesen“)
51. Rule and law conformity
52. Efficiency/Effectiveness (veeeeeeeery important!)
53. Precision
54. Aversion to risk
55. Austerity (saving money for worse times)
56. Renting, instead of buying
57. Cleanliness
58. Straightforwardness/Openness („Germans hate smalltalk“)
59. Direct eye contact to conversational partners („Germans stare at you“)
60. Humourlessness
61. Hospitality
62. Enjoy travelling and exploring other countries or regions
63. Block sun loungers with bath towels
64. Sandals with white socks
65. Nudism („FKK“)
66. Love Parade&Summer Fairy Tale 2006
67. Poets (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, Heinrich Heine, Berthold Brecht, Friedrich Hoelderlin, Heinrich von Kleist, Jakob&Wilhelm Grimm)
68. Philosophers (Immanuel Kant, Friedriche Nietzsche, Karl Marx, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Arthur Schopenhauer, Martin Heidegger, Theodor W. Adorno)
69. Composers (Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Wagner, Georg-Friedrich Haendel, Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Robert Schumann)
70. Painters/Actors (Albrecht Duerer, Caspar David Friedrich, Max Liebermann)
71. Kings and emperors (Karl I. the Great, Friedrich I. Barbarossa, Friedrich II. of Prussia („Friedrich the Great“, „The old Fritz“), Kaiser Wilhelm II.)
72. Politicians (Otto von Bismarck, Adolf Hitler, Konrad Adenauer, Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt, Helmut Kohl, Angela Merkel)
73. Johannes Gutenberg (Letterpress printing)
74. Martin Luther (Reformation)
75. Second World War
76. German Wehrmacht
77. Holocaust
78. Tagesschau (German news broadcast)
79. Tatort (German whodunit)
80. Derrick (German whodunit)
81. Toys (Steiff teddy bears, Playmobil figures, Fischer Technics)
82. North and East Sea
83. Islands of Sylt and Ruegen
84. German Streams (Rhein, Elbe, Donau)
85. The Alps
86. Castles, Churches and Landmarks (Neuschwanstein, Dome of Cologne, Church of our Lady in Dresden, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag)
87. Munich Beer Festival („Octoberfest“)
88. Grimm’s Fairy Tales
89. Christmas Markets
90. Carnival/Mardi Gras
91. Folk Music („Heino“)
92. Electronic pop music (Kraftwerk)
93. Lederhosen
94. Skat (German card game)
95. Garden Gnome („Gartenzwerg“)
96. Allotment Garden („Schrebergarten“)
97. Home Handyman/Building Supply Stores
98. Barbecue
99. Roofed wicker beach chair („Strandkorb“)
100. Dogs (German Shepherd Dog, Dachshund, German Mastiff, Doberman, Rottweiler)