Characterization and Emotional Distance: Works like Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus use characters such as Adrian Leverkühn to embody a distinctly German form of emotional restraint and detachment. Leverkühn is portrayed as a brilliant but emotionally distant figure, unable to connect personally with others. This detachment is interpreted as a facet of the German character, emphasizing performance, discipline, and the suppression of personal feelings in favor of professional or artistic achievement.
restraint and objectivity
Narrative Technique and Reported Speech: German literature often employs reported speech and a narrative style that maintains distance from the characters’ inner emotions. For example, Martin Walser’s Ein fliehendes Pferd (Runaway Horse) uses formal mastery and reported speech to keep the narrative focused on external actions and dialogues rather than emotional outbursts. This technique creates an atmosphere where even intense personal interactions are filtered through a lens of restraint and objectivity, mirroring the unemotional delivery of feedback in professional settings.
Fritz Bauer
The People vs. Fritz Bauer (Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer, 2015): The story of prosecutor Fritz Bauer’s pursuit of Nazi war criminals is told through behind-the-scenes investigation and confidential meetings. The film avoids sensational public hearings, instead focusing on indirect channels and private discussions to resolve conflict and build cases, mirroring the German preference for reducing tension through separation and structure.
Der Vorleser
Der Vorleser (The Reader, 2008). In this adaptation of Bernhard Schlink’s novel, characters confront moral and legal dilemmas in postwar Germany. Courtroom scenes and personal discussions showcase direct, sometimes confrontational exchanges about justice and responsibility, but the characters strive to keep these discussions focused on the issues, not personal attacks.
friendship over time
Nikola. A popular sitcom set in a hospital, Nikola centers on the head nurse Nikola and Chief Physician Dr. Schmidt. The two regularly argue about work-related issues and hospital management, often with sharp wit and directness. However, their professional disputes do not prevent them from developing mutual trust and even a friendship over time.
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.
Are Germans Too Direct?
Learn German with our street interviews: In this episode we deal with a common prejudice, namely: Germans are always very direct! We find out for you on the streets of Berlin whether this is actually always true and in which situations in particular.
YouTube comments:
“I’ll never forget when visiting a friend in Germany for the first time: He was with another friend and they saw a mutual acquaintance at a cafe. ‘We know that man, we went to school together.’ ‘Want to go over and say hello?’ ‘No. Later he became stupid, so we don’t talk to him anymore.’ I loved the blunt honesty.”
“I like how a lot of the people who said no said it very directly, and emphatically. Lol, I have German heritage, and it feels right.”
“Honestly, the directness in Germany as a precise way to tell things that need to be fastly adressed, instead of running in circles (or plainly just not speaking) to avoid offending someone like we in other coubtries do, makes my life easier as in my hometown in Latin America, in that way I find social rules way simpler, gets problems solved faster. On the other side, sometimes people (the least of them) confuse directness with plain aggression, there are things that simply are not needed to be told.”
“Everybody is police”
An Iranian in Berlin complains about being told not to ride his bicycle on the sidewalk. “Everbody in Germany is a police.”
YouTube comments:
“‘Are you hobbylos?’ Only Germans say that.” … “Great way to catch a stick in the spokes, Mate.” … “Is he evidently unaware of traffic rules and in dire need of this reprimand?” … “That’s just called pedestrian safety. Stay on the bike lane or the street.”
For those people tending to sympathize with this guy complaining about Germany and the Germans, see below how traffic is organized in Iran:
principles not feeling
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s dramas, such as Torquato Tasso and Iphigenie auf Tauris, are notable for their exploration of conflict through rational dialogue and the pursuit of objective truth. Characters in these works often engage in intense intellectual or ethical debates, but the disagreements remain focused on principles or duties, not personal animosity. The emphasis is on the matter at hand—be it justice, truth, or duty—rather than on personal feelings.