German Culture

The Culture and History of Germany

The definition of culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music, and arts. Derived from the Latin “colere”, the word means to tend to the earth and grow. Constantly growing and changing, culture is never stagnant or set in stone. Culture encompasses anything from food, what people wear, how they act, music, art, food, and beliefs of right and wrong and many other aspects (Zimmerman, 2017).

Being learned, culture is not biological. This means that a certain culture takes bits and pieces of other cultures, and blends into its own culture through a process of learning other cultures known as acculturation. The

This is due to the strict immigration laws that Germany has. The German people place a high priority on structure and privacy, as well as punctuality. They deeply embrace the values of thriftiness, hard work and industriousness, managing every minute detail of their lives properly and accurately. Germans are most comfortable when they have utmost control over themselves (Zimmerman, 2015). Known to be a very direct and serious people, Germans are perceived by other cultures as being very rude, when in reality, they are doing what they know how to do. Even though the Germans might seem standoffish face to face, all of that changes when they watch their favorite sport, soccer. It is almost a country wide celebration when Germany wins a soccer game, and people are much friendlier. Germans love to drink beer as well. Germany is famous throughout the world as being a supplier of great beer to other countries, while keeping the best to themselves. Traditional food has been a staple in the German culture for many years, and it really hasn’t changed much from the 18th century. A few staples in German meals almost every day is sausage, bread and beer. Cabbage is also a staple in many forms in German cuisine, the most popular being sauerkraut, which is a traditional brined cabbage. Religion plays a huge part in the German people’s lives

Known as the Second Reich, it quickly gained power and colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. The empire was subsequently dismantled following their defeat in World War I, leading to economic depression, massive unemployment rates, and the country was verging on civil war for years. Establishing the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler changed this by first taking power in 1933. He and his new Nazi party quickly went on a crusade to conquer Europe and exterminate everyone who he thought were beneath him and not part of the superior race. He felt that these races, particularly Jews, were responsible for their loss in World War I. The Nazis set up internment camps and concentration camps all over Europe and killed over 6 million people. Being dismantled by the efforts of the Allied Forces, the German Third Reich fell. Built shortly after this was the Berlin Wall, separating Berlin into 2 separate parts, East and West Berlin. Communism was the primary governmental system in East Berlin until its fall in 1990 (Sheehan, 2018). Modern Germany, understandably, is not proud of that part of its past, but still acknowledges the mistakes mad by