# I say "Germany." What's the first thing you think of? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 24, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507 "2012-01-24T16:24:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/81 "2012-01-25T01:49:26Z")
“Efficiency.” I know it’s not true that all Germans are efficient about everything, but that’s what comes to mind. I have a friend who is German who I routinely mock for his very inefficient way of existing. For example, he’s late to everything. What kind of German is that? I (half-seriously) joked to him once that he needs to get his shit together, and is a bad German due to his punctuality issues. No worries – I’m late to everything too, but I expect more out of my white friends, particularly the Germans! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/82 "2012-01-25T01:56:16Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > The first thing that springs to mind when you say, “Germany,” to me is: Germany. Yeah, me too. The first thing that pops into my mind is, well, Germany. The whole thing: the country, its language, its culture, its music, its customs, its geography, etc. etc. But, Gott help me, the _second_ thing that pops into my mind is: _Springtime for Hitler and **Germany** …_ ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/83 "2012-01-25T02:04:23Z")
War. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/84 "2012-01-25T02:07:28Z")
The first thing that popped into my head this time- Wilco. Normally, probably Merkel, the Euro, or the general shape of the country. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/85 "2012-01-25T02:31:01Z")
First thing? My old t-shirts with “Germany” or “Deutschland” under the German eagle, or “Pleitegeier” (bankrupt vulture) as I learned actual Germans had nicknamed it. I went through a Germanophile phase. 😃 Hitler was a Bavarian born in Austria, and an eccentric who took expansionist _Geopolitik_ way too seriously; not representative of Deutschland overall (though he was a strong German nationalist, and his party was very big on a national German identity). ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/86 "2012-01-25T02:33:32Z")
I think of the small town I lived in there. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/87 "2012-01-25T02:45:26Z")
[That _other_ Austrian.](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oC8TwXe4PF0/SrwCJNx2kuI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/stVc7bUpxpQ/s400/1943-North-Star-Erich-von-Stroheim-as-Dr_-von-Harden-by-Margret-Bourk%2520%2520%2520%2520%2520e-White-01.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/88 "2012-01-25T02:54:11Z")
What popped into my head when I saw the thread title? German; the language that is. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/89 "2012-01-25T03:14:05Z")
Sauerkraut! \*Polish sausage! Lederhosen! \*\*Beer gardens! \*\*\*PASS! ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/90 "2012-01-25T03:18:24Z")
Hitler. Followed by ♪♫ [would you like some sauerkraut German boy German boy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VwkJBfhX-E)♪♫♫ (Yes, the link is SFW) ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/91 "2012-01-25T03:26:12Z")
Falco’s song Der Kommisar. I’m _assuming_ it’s German? Then sausage. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/92 "2012-01-25T05:14:45Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > [Lahr](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahr), or, more specifically, [CFB Lahr](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Forces_Base_Lahr), followed by vague thoughts of " home" and a bit of sadness and homesickness. > > I spent three of the best years of my life there, and it’s not something I ever want to forget. I think I’d be listing a lot of things before I’d get to “Hitler.” > [@Teacake](#): > > Several thousand memories ranging from my childhood on military bases, through a few months travelling around in 2006/7, to a weekend in Munich about a year ago. Another Army brat here whose mind goes to some wonderfully happy years in that country - really probably the best years of my childhood. I tell you, it’s frustrating to know how great the place is then move back to the States and have everyone only associate it with WWII. Because I can tell you, this poll strikes me as not reflective of general sentiment - unless things have really changed in recent years. IIRC, in 2005 Spiegel or some magazine had a special issue on the 60th anniversary of the war’s end, and included a piece on foreigner’s views of Germany. Overwhelmingly people still highly associated the country with the war, and a surprising number of Americans and Brits told pollsters they would not even be willing to visit the country. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/93 "2012-01-25T05:27:10Z")
When someone says Germany I think of… “Springtime for ‘you-know-who’ and Germany!” ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/94 "2012-01-25T06:39:10Z")
I think of the 3 years I spent there while in the Air Force. ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/95 "2012-01-25T11:18:29Z")
Very conflicting thoughts. At first some mild anger and dislike, which will probably swell to pure hate and bloodlust over the next 5 months; accompanied by a wry smile, while thinking of the good times I’ve been having there the last year…and whether I should take the 8.08 or 10.08 train next time I go. WWII is of no consequence, the real bloodshed was in 1974, 1988, 1990, 1992 and (to a lesser extent) 2004. I still mourn the losses and treasure the victories. ---
**Author:** ![rinni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinni)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/96 "2012-01-25T13:28:41Z")
My immediate thought was Black Forest cake. Immediately after that I thought, “Wait a minute, I should have thought of German chocolate cake, because that makes more sense.” Then just for fun I looked up Black Forest cake, remembering that I ate at a German restaurant called Black Forest, and it turns out that Black Forest cake is also German. Neat! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/97 "2012-01-25T14:19:56Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I have no interest in Europe. > [@Teacake](#): > > This sentiment is absolutely bemusing to me! Quick explanation. I love to vacation. My gf does also. We do a week or so in New Orleans each year (Jazzfest) and two weeks in St Martin. Visiting Europe would, out of necessity, mean missing time in NOLA/Caribbean. Compared to my love of NOLA/Beaches, I have no desire to see Europe other than in my brother’s pictures. /hijack ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/98 "2012-01-25T14:48:25Z")
I think of a little green country with two knobs from my elementary school class. The knobs went where the capitals are, and the Germany piece was made by gluing East and West Germany together, rather than buying a whole new map. Here’s a [modern version](http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbnid=kiwhiNJFBtRmNM:&imgrefurl=http://www.montessori-material.cz/catalog/product_info.php%3Fproducts_id%3D174%26language%3Den&docid=Np5FBS87SsEXYM&imgurl=http://www.montessori-material.cz/catalog/images/Predloha%252520Evropa%252520.jpg&w=2449&h=1615&ei=BRYgT-ilH9GJtwfpmsDBBQ&zoom=1&biw=800&bih=457) of the map we used. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/99 "2012-01-25T14:59:57Z")
I suspect another poll with an age-bracket-of-respondent grouping of those same two choices might show a marked difference between the over-50 crowd and the 50-and-under crowd. As WWII fades more in memory, even some of the older group may have found substitute images and hard-wired reactions. The younger crowd may never have formed such things. But as a 70-year-old, I probabaly won’t outlive my Germany=Hitler bias. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507/100 "2012-01-25T15:44:35Z")
Fucking. But that’s actually in Austria. Anyway, my answer is still fucking. Ask me again tomorrow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-say-germany-whats-the-first-thing-you-think-of/610507.md?page=6)