Germany – Page 67 – understand-culture

“I won’t accept this prize“

In 2008 leading literary pundit Marcel Reich-Ranicki was supposed to receive the German television award for his life’s work. Reich-Ranicki also came to the awards show and listened to the laudation by Thomas Gottschalk. However, in his thank-you address he had little thanks left for the award that he a just been presented with.

Instead, he explained, that he had already received many important prizes in his life, and that it had never been difficult for him to say thank you. But today, he was “in a very horrible situation“, as he was forced to “somehow react” to the prize which he had received, and was asked to be “not too harsh”.

“I don’t want to offend anyone. No, I don‘t want to do that. But I would just like to come out and say that I will not accept this prize. If the prize had come with money I would have given the money back, but it didn’t come with money. I can only fling this object […] away from me, or throw it at someone’s feet. I cannot accept it! And I also found it terrible to have to suffer this event for five hours.”

Reich-Ranicki’s speech left his audience perplexed. During his speech the cameras continued to capture shocked expressions amongst the members of the audience, here and there and embarrassed grin, a few laughs. Reich-Raniki was bold enough to call the German Television award, which many of the attending actors and producers used to sing their own praises, ‘rubbish’. Freely and without restraint. Controversial. Typical Reich-Ranicki.

Be wary. Be happy.

Germans strive to remain clear-headed, to avoid incrementally inflated euphoria, to avoid a step-by-step distancing from a sober assessment of reality. For Germans it’s not “Don’t worry. Be Happy.” But instead “Be wary. Be happy.”

Wary: marked by keen caution, cunning, and watchfulness, especially in detecting and escaping danger.

“Escaping danger.” Dangerous can be thinking too highly of oneself. Dangerous can be misreading a situation. Dangerous is unjustified happy, euphoric.

But, there is another reason to “be wary.” Neid, envy. The Germans themselves speak of their Neidgesellschaft, “society of envy”, of their Neider, the envious.

Public recognition can lead to envy within the team. Envy threatens cohesion. Germans are not comfortable with “stars” or “rainmakers” in their organizations. Neid is one reason. The other is purely rational.

In complex organizations, especially those which are highly matrixed, how can individuals or individual teams be cited as especially successful? As clearly better than others? How can that be measured?

“We want negative feedback”

Statement made by a German working in the U.S.: “It bothers us Germans when our American bosses give is inflated feedback, meaning too positive. Negative feedback keeps us oriented on avoiding mistakes, and it sharpens our ability to remain self-critical.

How is someone supposed to remain clear-headed and self-critical if all they ever hear is great and super. Performance which is clearly suboptimal should not be sugar-coated. Management loses credibility that way.

And feedback loses its key purpose, which is to address primarily things that aren’t working well. At some point this will hurt us. The quality of our work will suffer.”

Talent Shows

Talent shows have been popular in Germany for many years. Amateur entertainers take the stage, perform their act, are then judged by a panel of three.

The most famous judge in Germany is Dieter Bohlen, a former pop singer in Germany in the 1980s. Bohlen is known for the crass, aggressive and insulting way in which he criticizes the amateur entertainers. After ten years Deutschland sucht den Superstar (Germany seeks a Superstar) with – or perhaps due to – Dieter Bohlen remains the most popular talent show.

The clearest contrast to Bohlen is Stefan Raab, currently Germany‘s most popular talk show host. Raab, a member of the jury for the Eurovision Song Contest, provides his feedback just as openly and directly as Bohlen or any other German, but in a diplomatic way, often using self-irony, so that the contestants can laugh at themselves.

Raab praised the Eurovision winner, Lena, by addressing her unique way of breathing: „You sing totally differently than is taught in professional voice schools. Your breathing technique is utterly unique, it‘s nowhere near what is considered standard practice.“ Lena smiled back at Raab and said: „I don‘t have a breathing technique.“

“Schnaps ist Schnaps.”

Dienst ist Dienst und Schnaps ist Schnaps. Literal translation: “Work is work and schnapps is schnapps.” Meaning: There is a clear line between professional duties and personal matters. This saying underscores the German tendency to keep work and personal life (and feelings) separate, especially when giving or receiving feedback.

matter-of-fact

Tatort (since 1970). Context: Germany’s most iconic and long-running police procedural. Illustration: Police officers and detectives routinely evaluate each other’s work, discuss cases, and give feedback in a direct, matter-of-fact manner. Criticism and praise are focused on investigative results and adherence to procedure, not personal attributes.

sachlich bleiben

Sachlich bleiben. Literal translation: “Stay objective.” Meaning: Encourages people to remain neutral, factual, and unemotional, especially in discussions or when providing feedback.

not in all friendship

In aller Freundschaft (In All Friendship). Context: A long-running hospital drama. Illustration: Doctors and nurses provide feedback to each other about medical decisions, teamwork, and patient care. Assessments are clinical and objective, reflecting the real-world culture of German healthcare where performance is evaluated separately from personal relationships.

The Family Lawyer

Die Familenanwältin (The Family Lawyer). This series follows lawyer Hanna Lorenz as she navigates both professional and personal upheaval. Within her law firm, Hanna and her colleagues often face conflicts and differing opinions on cases. The show highlights how the characters handle professional disagreements directly and objectively, while still supporting each other in personal matters.

No Political Correctness

The Germans communicate directly, transparently, honestly. They speak their mind freely. Especially when it concerns critical feedback the Germans try to be clear and straightforward. They avoid the use of euphemisms. Germans reject any kind of smooth-talking. Aalglatte, literally eel-smooth or eel-slippery people are viewed as having questionable character. They are not honest enough to state their opinion openly.

Das Kind beim Namen nennen. To call the child by its name. To describe a situation as it is, directly, in no uncertain terms; without flowery, positive language; to avoid describing a situation indirectly; to communicate clearly; to get to the point.

Kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen. Literally to not put a handheld fan in front of one‘s mouth. To address a subject directly, to state one‘s opinion; from the early days of theater when members of the audience held a type of fan in front of the lower half of their face in order to shout out comments of the play without others attributing the statements to them.