Germans

1. Germans Das Land der Dichter und Denker

2. Culture • Many notable German philosophers have helped shape Western philosophy since the Middle Ages eg. The establishment of classical German idealism; the formulation of Communist theory & the social theories. • Germany has the largest television market in Europe, with 34 million TV households & 90% of the population has cable or satellite TV. • Germany has been named the world’s most valued nation among 50 countries in 2008. A majority of 61% have a positive view of the country, with 15% having a negative view. • German is the official spoken language of Germany, one of 23 spoken languages. • Christianity is the largest religious denomination in Germany (63% of the population).

4. Traditions Real Germans & their antics Germans like everything pre-planned & organised to a timetable. Germans have an unsympathetic sense of humour, described by the word ‘Schadensfreude’ which translates literally to ‘joy for another’s misfortune’. They are also cleanliness fanatics, wishing everything to be spotless & neat. Germans love big vacations & consider a holiday a given right. They spend their holidays away in the Himalayas, Mediterranean, Cambodia or the Australian Outback. Real Germans are big on education & consider it extremely vital. • Germans like everything they buy to be top quality & are perpetual bargain hunters. • Germans hate anything artificial in their food such as vitamins & preservatives. Germans are very big on cars & most men love their cars more than anything. • Germans love their jobs & a German without a profession is virtually nobody. • They are worry warts & women excel in this, with worrying being almost a second job. • Germans do not like being asked ‘how are you?’ when in Australia & are frustrated with strangers wanting to make conversation.

5. Holidays • Germans love to celebrate holidays & have many traditions surrounding these holidays. • Christmas is widely celebrated in Germany. The Christmas tree originated in Germany & the trimming of a Christmas tree has been a tradition for Germans since pre-Christian Germany; the tree representing the Garden of Eden. Saint Nicholas comes during the night & leaves lollies, cakes, cookies etc in the children’s boot or shoe that is left by the fireplace. • The Love Parade is another big celebration throughout Germany, held annually on the second weekend of July. People from all over the world unite in Berlin to dance & establish peace on Earth. Techno music is hugely appreciated at the Love Parade. It attracts around 1.5 million visitors every year. • Oktoberfest is the beer drinking festival held in Munich every year running from late September to early October, attracting some 6 million people every year.

6. Germans visiting Australia • Germans are important visitors to Australia as they tend to spend more, stay for longer & see more of Australia than the average international visitor. • Tourist numbers from Germany have increased by 18.4% between 2005-2009 & this equates to close to a billion dollars spent by German tourists. • German language consumer brochures have been issued, which include imagery & content on marine, outback, adventure, food, wine, people & lifestyle facts to promote German tourism to Australia, due to their high numbers of travel to Australia & high spending in Australia. • Public relations activities & a media familiarisation program are key to ensure every bit of promotion of German tourism is provided. • German language studies are held around the country, as Germans contribute to the Australian economy greatly. • Germans made up 811 540 (4.9%) of the population in the 2006 census. • In 2008, Germans contributed 3.9% of visitors to NSW. • 69.5% of the German visitors were visiting for the first time, with 17.5% arriving on a travel package. • German visitors to Australia are expected to increase from 161 000 in 2008 to 196 000 in 2018, an average annual growth of 2.0%. • The most popular activities undertaken by German visitors in 2008 were eating out, dining at a restaurant/cafe, sight seeing & going to the beach.

7. Habits To Germans formal means very dressy and informal means dressy. Never use the ‘Nazi Salute’, shout ‘Heil Hitler’ or show swastikas. This is a criminal offense and very offensive to Germans. Always greet someone with their title & surname until you are invited to use their first name. Don’t reschedule appointments unless you have a very good reason. Don’t sit until invited & told where to sit. Try to get immediately down to business & avoid small talk. Avoid being confrontational or impatient. Always try to be specific about what is expected & what can & can’t be done. • Don’t put your left hand in your lap while you eat. • Don’t start eating until someone says ‘Guten Appetit’ or wants to ‘anstossen’ (click glasses) • Most Germans don’t shower every day. • Make sure to turn off lights and close doors behind you when with Germans. • Formal clothing is always preferred by Germans. • Always greet Germans by shaking hands. Bowing is also accepted as a polite way of greeting. • Germans like to be punctual and like everything on time & in the correct order. • Germans do not expect tap water, especially in restaurants. They will want mineral water.