A “Hybrid’s” Observation on Germany and the US

Observations: An ex Spy Travels Back in Time

This was my fourth trip back to the country of my birth.  This time, I went as a curious observer.  The emotions of being back “home”, whatever that means,  gave way to the natural curiosity of somebody who wanted to find out about people and stuff his entire life.

Summary: 45 days, four countries, 19 cities, 21 hotel rooms, a dozen TV appearances (including Turkish TV and Sky TV), as many personal appearances, and too many interviews to keep track of.

Result: Five-pound weight gain (all beer), German bestseller, EXHAUSTION

And here are the observations, in no particular order (caveat – these are personal observations with no claim to the accuracy required from a scientific study):

Food: The average meal in Germany is both healthier and better tasting than the average meal in the United States.  This has nothing to do with nostalgia and the comfort food of my youth.  Germans are just a lot more careful with how the prepare and present their food.  Particularly their bread is without equal.  Ah, a slice of bread with 50% of the grains cut in pieces no bigger than half a grain.  You can eat a slice without anything on it.  Compare that to the shelves and shelves of mushy pretend bread to be found in our supermarkets.

Taxes: One would think that in the US we take our taxes seriously.  Think again.  In Germany wanted posters that list fugitive criminals are teaming with tax evaders.  In the US tax evasion is treated more like a sport, whoever gets away with the most wins.   The rest of us honest tax payers pay their freight.

Quality: On the whole, Germans do not buy junk.  That seems to be the primary reason why Walmart could not survive there.  However, the Germans take their obsession with perfection to ridiculous extremes.  Each one of the hotel rooms I stayed in had different and brilliantly engineered shower controls.  Annoying and outright dangerous!  I am quite ok with the standard two control (on/off and hot/cold) showers in the US.

The Autobahn: The myth of the free-flowing unrestricted traffic on the autobahn is just that – a myth.  Yes, there are a few stretches where there is no speed limit.  On those stretches it happens often that you might speed along merrily at 100 mph, and suddenly, there is a whoosh, and a Mercedes races by at 150mph.  However, more and more parts of the autobahn are subject to a speed limit of 75 mph, and in a large part of western Germany speed limits are not necessary.  Why? CONGESTION!

Rest Stops: The toilets at the autobahn rest stops are squeaky clean.  Compare that to the unsanitary cesspools that prevail by the roadside of US highways.  The irony: In the US, the country of free enterprise, the state (various highway authorities) takes care (or not!!!) of these facilities.  In Germany, where capitalism is much more regulated, those facilities are maintained by private companies.  I would gladly pay a quarter to be able to visit a clean bathroom, and my wife would go as high as five dollars!!!

Beer: Always good, no matter where you go and what you order.  Long live the German beer purity laws!

Space: It seems that Germans ran out of it a long time ago.  Particularly in central west Germany there is almost no unbuilt land between the many small and large cities.  The population density in Germany is about 7 times bigger than in the US.  Living space per person is 40% less than here, and the average size of an detached single-family home is about half or that in the US.  Everything feels tight!  However, one thing must be said:  Probably because of the limited space, Germans build their houses with great care.  Almost everything is built with stone and will probably outlive its builder by centuries.

Police: They are more visible and seemingly armed more heavily than over here.

Politics: Not sure who is following whom, but the political class (which includes media, financial contributors, and so-called celebrities) has firmly established itself.  Almost all the voters complain about something, but overall the electorate appears incapable of effecting change.  As in the US, “divide and conquer” is the recipe for staying in power.   There has also been dangerous shift to the right in the country over there.  That shift has been prompted primarily by the effects of mass immigration (just about 1 million) from the Middle East.

Immigration: One of the hottest issues today.  And now Germany has to deal (again!) with antisemitism.  What a terrible thing to reappear in a country that murdered more Jews than any other country in history.  The politically correct crowd, who persistently diagnose Islam as a religion of peace, are truly in a bind.  And so the far right, who hate both the Jews and the Muslims, marches forward.  There is an evil strand in what is otherwise a noble nation, and that strand is raising its ugly head again.

Work Ethic: What in the world happened to the fabled German work ethic?  As per law every German worker has a right to a minimum of 4 weeks’ vacation; the average is 5 weeks and half the workers are getting 6 weeks per year.  The prevalent work week consists of 35 hours, but some unions demand and have partially achieved a 28-hour work week.

Unions: They are extremely powerful.  A couple of days before my return to the US, the transport workers went on strike for one day.  That day busses and trains did not move, and planes did neither take off nor land.  Streets were parking lots.  What a nightmare!

Attitude toward the US: Germans love Americans but have rather mixed feelings about the US.  I found no vestiges of gratitude for the Marshal Plan which put Germany back on its feet after the horrendous second world war the country had waged and lost.  As a matter of fact, it appears that many Germans seem to be more positively inclined towards Putin’s Russia than towards Trump’s America.  Almost all Germans hate/despise Donald Trump, and many Germans make Barack Obama out to be a saint.  And almost all Germans do not have a clue concerning the complexity of the American political scene (of course, we reciprocate, Americans are just as clueless when it comes to Europe).

Churches: Whether you are religious or not, Germany is worth a visit, just for the churches.  Such magnificent buildings with such marvelous organs, most of which were built many many years ago.  Those organs make your bone vibrate.

Religion: It is rather paradox that in a country where the majority of citizens claims no religious affiliation, the state still collects a church tax, which is on average about 8% of one’s income.  In 2015 that tax totaled around 10 billion Euros.  This is how the state-supported churches are able to maintain their magnificent cathedrals in light of a dwindling membership.  Independent churches, who are solely supported by contributions of their members, count only about 1% of the population as members.  Here is something to look out for:  Since about 6% of the German population is Muslim, I can imagine that one day those Muslims will claim a piece of the collected church tax.  Interesting legal issue…….

And now to the final observation, and this one is very personal.  In many an interview people asked me whether I feel more like a German or an American.  Today, I am not hesitating to answer that question: AMERICAN.  I have one explanation that is only understandable to folks who know both societies.  The German word “Freiheit” does not have the same meaning as the English word “freedom”.  Starting with the Holy Roman Empire, and to this very day, Germans have always lived under a strong central government.  Every time they talk about making changes to their society, they point upwards to the almighty government.  By contrast, the United States was founded as a republic, and even though we are slowly going in the direction of more and more government, our residual freedoms are significantly greater than what the Germans pried loose for themselves from the authorities.

A more easily understandable explanation is available via example.  There are three words in German which I find to be indicative of the German mindset:  a) “Verboten – If I had had time I would have loved to make a collage of all the public signs who prohibit some activity;  b) “Anmeldepflicht” which is the requirement to register with the police when you move to another town.  In the communist GDR this was driven to an extreme – each visitor to an apartment building had to be registered in a “house book”.  C), And the following word makes me shiver “Obrigkeit” – there is no equivalent in the English language, loosely translated is means “those above us who rule”.  Germans routinely use the word without realizing the dangerous mindset it reflects.

The bottom line: Even though the title of my German book is “Der Falsche Amerikaner” (The Phony American), this genuine American (first generation immigrant, albeit with an unusual immigration path) would make a rather phony German these days.  And I am thankful for that.