Germany – Page 51 – understand-culture

Wort halten

Wort halten – keeping your word – is understood literally by the Germans. It means holding firmly to an agreement, whether verbal or written. Commitments made out of kindness are considered empty and are unsettling for Germans – they promise what might not be delivered.

Words are so concrete for Germans that they can be broken – to break your word. Those who do not keep their word commit Wortbruch – literally word break. Agreements in the German context are like stairs. Keeping your word allows you to move up quickly and securely. Weddings are often referred to as giving each other the Jawort, literally the yes-word.

Wortbruch – no laughing matter. In December 2012 the German archeologist Hermann Parzinger accused the Turkish government of breaking their word for not adhering to an agreement made in the 1800s. For Germans, agreements don’t lose their validity over time.

The German Federation of Trade Unions accuses German companies time and again of breaking their word by not creating the amount of apprenticeships they promised. Wortbruch is the accusation. “Those who don’t keep their word, have lost our trust and support.”

Every political party in Germany, large and small, claims in their campaigns Wort gehalten, word kept. Germany’s largest companies are proud to keep their word without even haven given it. German products are known for their quality, for delivering what they promise.

Verlass or Verlässlichkeit – two other terms for keeping your word – mean dependability, reliability. Verlässlichkeit is the foundation for any business relationship. In Friedrich Schiller‘s work Die Bürgschaft (The Bond or The Pledge) Damian keeps his word by returning to the tyrant in order to give his life by hanging for his friend.

Pflicht

Pflicht means duty, obligation, liability, responsibility. Pflicht in Germany is a serious matter. Germans have a high level of Pflichtbewußtsein, literally duty-consciousness. Once they have made a commitment Germans feel obligated to meet it 100%. A Pflicht is like a contract.

Eigentum verpflichtet. With property come obligations. Adel verpflichtet. With nobility (gentry, wealth) come obligations. Wehrpflicht. Duty to serve in the armed forces. Rechte und Pflichten. Rights and obligations. Sich aus der Pflicht stehlen. To steal yourself out of responsibility. Jemanden in die Pflicht nehmen. To obligate someone. Pflichtfächer in Schule und Studium. Required courses in high school and university. Seine Pflicht verletzen. To breach your responsibility.

To be obligated. Rechte (rights) are things which are permitted. Pflichten (duties, obligations) are things which must be done. A German chancellor has not only Richtlinienkompetenz, literally guiding rules of authority or policy direction, she is also responsible for executing those policies.

German companies are not only obligated to pay their taxes. The automobile and chemical industries, for example, feel obligated to abide by voluntary environmental standards.

Employees obligate themselves legally to perform their work duties. Pupils and students obligate themselves to complete required courses and be tested in them.

Those professions which are viewed as important role models, such as medical physicians, civil servants and educators, have even a higher level of duty consciousness. Breaking their obligations is a sign not only of professional failure. It would damage their reputation.

For once you have obligated yourself, you cannot go back. Pflichtbewußtsein – duty consciousness – is the only way out.

Said and done

In general Germans place very high value on reliability. Colleagues who keep their word are considered to be treu (constant, faithful, loyal). A Ja from a reliable person means I really can count on that person.

Germans are particularly aware of the importance of this virtue in their culture. They expect commitments of any kind to be kept. Zuverlässigkeit ist Gold wert – reliability is as valuable as gold.

Ein Mann, ein Wort – one man (person), one word – is a sought-after character trait in Germany, in both the work environment and the private sphere. A quick, but not fully reliable, Ja is considered to be of low value.

Gesagt, getan – said and done. Germans expect words to be put into action. Versprochen ist versprochen und wird nicht gebrochen– promised is promised, and will not be broken. Germans are determined to keep their promises. Ein Ja ist ein Ja – a yes is a yes. Once said, it should be kept.

Not German Know-it-alls

Germans believe in norms. Conformity, uniformity. Rectitude, righteousness. Accommodation, assimilation. Subordination, subsidiarity. If the law states that adults may not ride their bicycles on the sidewalk, then German adults do not ride their bicycles on the sidewalk. Doing otherwise breaches, transgresses, goes against the law, order, against agreements made which are then communicated in the form of a law. The breach demonstrates a lack of respect, of making oneself more important than the others.

In public spaces – such as automobile, bicycle, pedestrian traffic – Germans feel responsible for each other, allowing them, expecting of them, to point out to others what they are doing wrong, which could injure them or others. Just as one would help an older person carry their packages across a busy street, so to one would point out to a parent who forgot to put a bicycle helmet on their child’s head.

Germans believe in having a high degree of collective responsibility. They show concern for, look after, the people around them. Germans do not believe in leaving others alone to suffer the consequences of their own avoidable failures. Both the individual and the group is responsible for the individual. The weak – or less informed – should be supported with “Rat und Tat”, literally advice and action.

Der Deutsch-Franzoser

Not long ago. In a café, talking with a German graduate student interested in doing project work for me. He is intelligent, polite, listening carefully. At the table next to us another guy, same age, drinking tea, eating cake, typing into this laptop, headphones on, on his head a thin woolen cap. It‘s late November. After an hour or so our neighbor pays his bill, packs up his laptop, stands up then turns to me and says: Wissen Sie, es ist sehr unhöflich auf Menschen mit dem Zeigefinger zu deuten.

I was not aware that during my talk with the grad student that I had pointed to him with my index finger. But, wait! Who is this guy to interrupt our conversation and correct my behavior? I was shocked, but then again not surprised. I turned to the grad student – we were discussing differences between cultures – and smiled, saying softly: “There you are. Germans giving unsolicited advice.”

Hardly had I gotten that statement out and my friendly neighbor – not yet finished gathering his things – turned to me again and said: Ich bin Deutschfranzoser. He‘s bicultural, German and French. It wasn‘t worth my time to engage in a debate with him about the matter. It made me wonder, though, if the French also give unsolicited advice.

“Don’t walk around“

Several years ago. Atlanta. A management seminar. One of my first. I have the habit of walking around the room while I talk or listen. Two straight days of sitting is not healthy. And I tend to be wound up.

Day two, just after breakfast, I head to the seminar room to prepare a few flipcharts. Coming down the hall is one of the participants. German. He stops me, clearly angry with me. Sie sollten nicht die ganze Zeit im Seminar aufstehen und herumgehen. Das ist unprofessionell und stört. I should not stand up and walk around the room during the seminar. It is unprofessional. My reaction? Oh, ok. How nice to get such friendly advice.

Bike Helmet

End of a workday. 6:30 pm. Winter. Dark. Raining lightly. I hop on my bike and head home. Turning into my street I ride along the sidewalk on the left hand side of the road. Slowly. Don‘t want the bike to slide out from under me. I also want to be respectful of pedestrians.

I see a woman about twenty-five meters ahead of me. Just before I pass her she suddenly sticks out her left arm like a pole to block me. It works. I brake suddenly, jump off and confront her. “Are you crazy? I could have fallen from my bike and injured myself.”

She stands her ground, looks me in the eye and says very calmly: Sie fahren auf dem Bürgersteig, auf der linken Seite der Strasse und ohne Licht. I was riding on the sidewalk as an adult, on the left hand side of the street and without a bicycle light on.

In Germany, all against the law. I was flabbergasted, not so much at the laws, which make perfect sense, but at the audacity of this woman to play enforcer of the law. I could hardly contain myself. Upon arriving at home I described the scene to my German wife. Her response? Sie hat recht. The woman was right. The marriage didn’t last.

Controversial !

Germans seek out lively discussions. And lively are those involving clear differences of opinion. And the more complex and relevant the topic, all the more interesting the conversation.

Except for topics which are plainly too personal and sensitive, Germans are willing to address almost any controversial topic. They enjoy the intellectual give and take. Controversial discussions are a form of mental chess.

At a deeper level Germans want to demonstrate that they are well informed, are proud of their high level of education, want to show a broad world view, that they are anything but provincial. Most importantly, Germans want people to know that they think independently, critically, do not simply agree with the masses.

“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.

Willing to argue

The dictionary defines streitbar as follows: [constantly] prepared, having the will to, argue, with someone over something, to critically and activelydispute something; to fight for or about something, to take a stand for something or someone, a fighter; [older] prepared for battle; warrior-like, brave.

The adjective streitbar has a very positive connotation in the German language. In recalling famous persons one often reads the sentence Er war streitbar – he was streitbar.

Politicians are ever more frequently characterized as being streitbar. Streitbar does not mean that one seeks out conflicts in a negative sense. Rather, it means to stand up for ones beliefs, and not avoid serious confrontations.