April 2020 – A look at why Germany has been so successful in dealing with the pandemic, and has been able to keep its coronavirus death rate so low, compared to other nations, with Jens Spahn, Germany’s health minister.
The world is reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, and some countries are reeling more than others. But Germany seems to be taking the epidemic in its stride with a high number of cases but a low number of deaths, thanks to a number of factors.
In Europe, while Italy and Spain are the worst hit countries with over 100,000 cases each, as of Friday, Germany has recorded 84,794 confirmed cases but has witnessed just 1,107 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The low mortality rate in Germany, at just over 1%, is far below its neighboring European countries, and this has been put down to Germany’s decision to implement widespread testing of people suspected of having the virus, as opposed to Italy or the U.K.’s decision to only test symptomatic cases.
November 2022. Yahoo Finance. Ways of working in Germany have entered a state of constant change due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in digitalization, making digital transformation to improve employee experience increasingly essential, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.
September 2021. Deutsche Welle. Before devastating floods swept across western Germany in mid-July, killing 184 people, Germany’s Ahr valley was a popular destination for wine lovers and hikers.
But now, there is little left for tourists to explore: Vineyards have been destroyed, trails and roads have been washed away. It will take years for tourism in the region to recover. The flooding could be a wakeup call for other touristic regions in Germany to adapt to climate change — or suffer the consequences.
BBC. 2020. For centuries, Germany has been synonymous with order. So how can a rule-abiding nation also have an anything-goes spirit?
In the nearly four years I’ve lived in Germany, that woman’s reprimand was just one of many examples I’ve experienced of Germans strictly adhering to the rules in the name of preserving Ordnung (order). Because in Germany, as the famous expression goes, “Ordnung muss sein” (“there must be order”). In fact, this proverbial saying is so well-ingrained in the German psyche that it’s become a cultural cliché for Germans around the world, and a way of life for them at home.
“Most of this isn’t particularly unique to Germany (except the famous end of speed restriction on the Autobahn and the standard speed limits in different areas). Germany mostly follows the Vienna Convention standard signs, as opposed to the American/Japanese/Australian ones which have different colors and shapes and often use text instead of symbols.”
“I love that the German word for a traffic sign is ,,das Schild” (“shield”). Makes me think of knights and turtles.”
“I found this very interesting. I wonder how strictly Germans obey das Stopp-Schild. In the USA we have identical stop signs, but most drivers just treat them like a Vorfahrt gewären Schild. They will slow down and check for cross traffic, but won’t usually come to a complete stop unless they see someone coming.
Interestingly, we also have a sign that looks exatly like the Vorfahrt gewären Schild, except that it says YIELD in the middle. It basically means the same thing. However, because most drivers treat the stop sign like a yield sign, some people will be even less careful at a yield sign, which can be very dangerous.
My hometown recently replaced all of the yield signs with stop signs because of this. There is no equivalent to the Vorfahrtsstrasse-Schild in the USA. If an intersection does not have a stop sign (or yield sign or stop-light or similar) then you can assume that you have the right of way, because there will be a stop sign (or similar) on the intersecting road.
The closest thing to a Vorfahrtsstrasse-Schild in the USA would be a green light an intersection. You only see this at intersections with high traffic, where the priority road constantly changes, such as on a highway, or a town’s main street. As for speed limits, our signs look very different, but the speeds are very similar (after the conversion to MPH). I also wonder how strictly Germans obey speed limits, because in the USA you can usually go 5-10 MPH faster without getting pulled over, at least in my experience.”