The Germanic Tribes: Better Than Their Reputation

The many different Germanic tribes which spread across Europe 2,000 years ago had their own distinct but related languages and cultures. By around 400 A.D., the Goths were among the first to become a fully literate society. The Goths later split into two tribes, the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths.

But many histories do not emphasize the scholarship and education of the Goths, leaving students with the impression that they were instead primitive and rough raiders who marauded through Europe.

There are two obstacles to understanding the Germanic tribes: first, there is, in some cases, a lack of data about some aspects of daily life in these tribes; second, historical judgments are sometimes biased by negative stereotypes. To the latter point, historian Jan von Flocken alludes to the pejorative use of the names of two of the tribes - the Goths and the Vandals:

Von den Germanen haben sich bis heute nur einige charakteristische Bezeichnungen im kollektiven Gedächtnis gehalten. So blieb vom Treiben der Ost- und Westgoten immerhin ein Kunststil namens «Gotik» erhalten, ein Terminus, der Anfang des 18. Jahrhunderts geprägt wurde. Und von dem germanischen Volk der Vandalen stammen Begriffe wie «Vandalismus» oder «Vandalentum» als Synonym für rohe, sinnlose Zerstörungen. Nun haben zwar die Vandalen im Jahre 455 n. Chr. Rom geplündert, benahmen sich dabei aber weder grausamer noch gewalttätiger als vor ihnen die Gallier und nach ihnen die Byzantiner oder Spanier. Den Begriff prägte übrigens 1794 ein französischer Bischof, um das Wüten des Pariser Revolutionspöbels zu kennzeichnen.

The Vandals did indeed attack and plunder the city of Rome, but they were no more and no less vicious than the Gauls, the Byzantines, the Muslims, and the Spaniards who also attacked and plundered the city over the centuries.

The Goths developed an advanced literary society, producing in their own language textual commentaries which were the result of close reading. The Gothic language is still the object of serious academic research. The Goths had, however, nothing to do with architectural and literary styles which bear the name ‘Gothic.’

A more accurate assessment of the Germanic tribes reveals not only a literate culture, but one which laid the foundations for Europe’s medieval feudalism, a structure which arguably represented an advance over the Roman absolutism which it replaced.

Why are Germans Called ‘Germans’?

If the Germans refer to themselves as Deutsche, then from where did the word ‘German’ come? Why does the English-speaking world call them by that name?

In the same way, the French refer to them as Allenmands, and the Russians call them Nyemtsi.

Roman government records preserve the first known use of word. A listing of officials, from 222 B.C., carved in stone, uses the Latin form Germani to refer to the Germans.

The word comes from the Celtic language, as historian Jan von Flocken writes, and probably indicates the sylvan nature of the Germanic homelands, i.e., that the German tribes, in the perception of the Gauls, often lived in, near, or around forests:

Der Name «Germani» wird erstmals in den Fasti capitolini, einem römischen Beamtenregister aus dem Jahre 222 v. Chr. erwähnt. Er stammt aus der keltischen Sprache und kann am wahrscheinlichsten als «Bewohner eines Waldlandes» gedeutet werden. So nannten die Gallier ihre Nachbarn rechts des Rheins, weil diese nicht in Städten, sondern in waldumstandenen Einzelgehöften wohnten.

So it was the a Celtic term was adopted by the Romans to refer to the Germanic tribes.

The French word for ‘German’ derives from the name of one particular Germanic tribe, and was generalized to refer to all the tribes. The Russian word derives from a Slavic term for ‘those who can’t speak our language,’ which, from the Russian point of view, the Germans would have been.

The Starting Points of German History: Hermann and the Germanic Tribes

The country of Germany is at the same time very old and very new. Archeologists have evidence of Germanic tribes as early as 1200 B.C., and possibly earlier. So the German nation is well over 3,000 years old.

A ‘nation’ is an ethnic group. A ‘state’ is, however, a sovereign territory with its own government. A ‘nation’ is a group of people who share a common language and culture. A ‘state’ is a country as we usually understand the word ‘country.’

Germany as a sovereign state dates back to 1871, which is relatively new in the history of the world.

So when we speak of German history, the first three millennia or so are the history of the people, not the history of an organized state.

One of the earliest figures in German history is Hermann, who was called Arminius by the Romans, and is sometimes jokingly called ‘Hermann the German’ by history students. In the year 9 A.D., he led a coalition of various Germanic tribes to a military victory over the Roman forces at the Teutoburg Forest, a location in modern Niedersachsen (lower Saxony).

Hermann was apparently a member of a Germanic tribe called the Cherusker (or Cherusci), but his allies in the battle included other tribes.

As historian Jan von Flocken argues, Hermann and the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, despite their popularity, are not the starting points for German history. Although they share a location and language with modern Germans, the Germanic tribes of long ago are not the same as ‘Germans.’ Among the Germanic tribes were also the founders of the Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Gothic, and other nations.

Ancient texts by authors like Tacitus and Strabo give us a data, but not enough data, to definitively characterize the German tribes, as von Flocken writes:

Deutschlands Geschichte mit Hermann dem Cherusker und der Schlacht im Teutoburger Wald einzuleiten, besitzt durchaus Reiz. Es wäre aber genauso unsinnig, wie Italiens Historie mit den Zwillingen Romulus und Remus zu beginnen. Zwischen Germanen und Deutschen sowie Römern und Italienern gibt es ein ungefähres territoriales Bindeglied, eine rudimentäre sprachliche Verwandtschaft, aber mehr nicht. Auch wissen wir wenig Genaues über unsere angeblich so trinkfesten und streitlustigen Vorfahren. Was etwa der römische Historiker Cornelius Tacitus in seiner Germania vor 2000 Jahren niederschrieb, beruhte großenteils auf Hörensagen. Ebenso diffus bleiben Autoren wie der Reiseschriftsteller Strabon, der zu eben jener Zeit notierte, die Germanen würden sich «durch den höheren Grad an Wildheit, Körpergröße und Blondheit» von anderen Völkerstämmen unterscheiden!

One on hand, the history of the Germanic tribes would properly begin a thousand years before Hermann and his battle. On the other hand, a history of Germany as a modern nation-state doesn’t start until 1871.

In the 3,000 years between these two points is complex history of culture: art, music, poetry, architecture, and patterns of daily life. There is also three millennia worth of political and military history, but not of Germany: the area in which the Germans lived didn't become Germany until 1871.

This area was organized into numerous different kingdoms over the centuries. Thus we have the histories of Saxony, Bavaria, Württemberg, Hesse, Brandenburg, Austria, Prussia, and other in monarchies which were not Germany, but were German.

Compared to the histories of, e.g., England or France, the history of the Germanic kingdoms is in some ways more complex. A name like ‘Wilhelm I’ can refer to Wilhelm I of Württemberg, Wilhelm I of Bavaria, Wilhelm I of Hesse, Wilhelm I of Meissen, etc.

The heroism of Hermann at the Teutoburg Forest will continue to be a popular piece of history, but it is not the starting-point of German history, and it should not be overemphasized.

Need a Job? Demand for German-Speaking Professionals is Strong and Growing

The Boston Globe reported in March 2017 that “online job listings for” professionals who know German “increased by 160 percent between 2010 and 2015.” Strong trade patterns are fueling a demand for workers who are proficient in German.

Both imports and exports with Austria, Switzerland, and other German-speaking countries are large and growing. In fact, the Globe’s 160 percent figure might be on the low side. The statistic included a variety of “bilingual workers,” but notes that the demand for “German skills” is “showing the largest rise.”

The report summarizes a study released by an organization called New American Economy.

The demand for German proficiency is found across various sectors of the economy: management, accounting, marketing, life sciences, engineering, and various research and development functions. The study notes that “pharmaceutical and electronics companies that have a strong presence in Europe drove the demand for German.”

In addition to imports and exports, there are a variety of joint ventures, American firms with office in Switzerland and Austria, as well as German-speaking firms with offices in the United States.

Was Essen die Deutschen?Wo Essen die Deutschen?Wie Essen die Deutschen?

On average, Germans go grocery shopping more often than Americans. On a shopping trip, a typical German might shop at several different stores. While Americans tend to get most or all of their items at a single large supermarket, Germans are more likely to stop at several specialty stores.

Naturally, there are exceptions to these averages on both sides of the Atlantic.

Stops on a shopping trip might include a Bäckerei, for both Brot und Brötchen; a Markt, a large outdoor area where local farmers bring their fruits and vegetables to sell; Metzger or Fleischer, two different words for ‘butcher’; and a Supermarkt for a few canned items.

Germans shop frequently because they want their Brot und Brötchen to be frisch. A German Bäckerei can have up to two hundred different types of Brot!

A typical German Kühlschrank tends to be smaller than an American one, because Germans don’t want to keep food around too long: it won’t be frisch then.

In a Metzgerei oder Fleischerei, there is Rindfleisch, Schweinefleisch, und Huhn. Sometimes there’s also Ziegenfleisch, Enten, und Gänse. There are more than 1,500 different types of Wurst in Germany.

Zum Frühstück Germans often have Brot oder Brötchen with Käse, Butter, Wurst, oder Marmelade, and eine Tasse Kaffee oder eine Tasse Tee.

If you’re not at home, there are several words which describe a place to eat: Restaurant, Gaststätte, Gaststube, or Lokal. Ein Imbiss is a fast-food place. If you want to eat outdoors, look for a Gartenlokal or a Biergarten.

Ein Gasthof is a hotel, but it will usually have a restaurant in it as well.

In American restaurants, the waiter or waitress will usually set glasses of water on the table at the beginning of the meal. This is done automatically, without the customer’s request. The water is free: there is no charge for it.

In a German restaurant, water is not automatically set on the table. The customer must request it, and will pay for it. If you order Wasser, you’ll be given Mineralwasser in a bottle, not from the faucet.

German restaurants include a tip or gratuity in the bill, so there is no need to leave a significant tip for the Kellner oder Kellnerin. Most customers simply round up the total to the nearest Euro and so give a small tip.

During the meal, Germans usually hold forks in their left hands and knives in their right hands. Cloth napkins are a bit more popular in Germany than in the United States.

Outside the restaurant, near the door, a Speisekarte is usually posted, so that you can read about which types of food are offered, and how much things cost there.

In many German towns, there is a traditional restaurant located underneath the city hall, called a Ratskeller.

If you don’t want a full meal, but rather only ein Stück Kuchen und eine Tasse Kaffee, you can go to a Café or to a Konditorei.

Telefonnummer und Adresse

If you’re making a phone call in Deutschland, you’ll need to know not only the person’s Telefonnummer, but also her or his Vorwahl - the area code.

In the United States, an area code always has three digits: 734 is the area code for Ann Arbor, Michigan; 402 for Leigh, Nebraska; 812 for Mifflin, Indiana.

In Deutschland a Vorwahl can have different amounts of digits. For Berlin, the Vorwahl is 030; for Bebenhausen, it’s 07071; for Liebstadt, it’s 035025. A Vorwahl always begins with null.

A Telefonnummer in Deutschland can have as few as three or as many as eight digits.

In Österreich, the Vorwahl can have from one to four digits, and also begins with null.

In der Schweiz, most area codes are three digits and begin with null. There are a few longer area codes reserved for special telecommunication services, not for regular phone numbers.

In all of these cases, however, the null is omitted when dialing into the country from another country.

Telephone etiquette, while variable and changing, often dictates that the person receiving the call answer either by stating her or his name, or by saying the phone number receiving the call. This confirms to the caller that the correct number has been reached.

Let’s change topics from phone numbers to address.

If you’re looking at a written address in Österreich, in Deutschland, oder in der Schweiz, note that the building number is after the street name: Uhland-Str. 24 or Kirch-Str. 7. In the United States, the number is before the street name: 2727 Fuller Road or 1928 Packard Street.

In the United States, a ZIP (“Zoning Improvement Plan”) code is five digits, sometimes extended with an optional four-digit suffix.

In Österreich und in der Schweiz, the Postleitzahl (PLZ) is four digits; in Deutschland it’s five.

When reading or writing an address, note that the Postleitzahl is written before the name of the town or city. (In the United States, the ZIP code appears after the city and state).

Written addresses in Deutschland do not contain the name of the Bundesland, and in der Schweiz addresses don’t contain the name of the Kanton. Likewise, in Österreich, the Bundesland does not appear in the written address.

Reviving Germany after the War: the Economics of Freedom

At the end of WW2, Germany was a devastated nation. The physical infrastructure was nearly nonexistent; the population lacked the millions who died during the war; the economy was barely functioning, and what little function it mustered was shackled by rigid regulations - regulations originally imposed by the Nazis and bizarrely kept in place by the victorious western Allies.

When the Allies began to turn over control of West Germany to the civilian government, debate arose among the Germans about the best way to revive the economy.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) wanted to keep in place the wage controls, price controls, and high taxes imposed by the Nazis. They feared that deregulation would kill the tiny amount of economic activity which still took place.

By contrast, the Freiburger Schule (a group of economists known as the ‘Freiburg School’) favored deregulation. The Freiburg School had formed in opposition to the Nazis during the late 1930s. They saw a connection between personal political liberty and the free market.

This debate between the SPD and the Freiburg School occurred during Germany’s Stunde Null - the ‘zero hour,’ a historical reset as the nation restarted itself. Thomas Hazlett writes:

There wasn’t much in the program of the Social Democrats that the Freiburg School found to agree with. During the dark days of the Hitler epoch, a liberal resistance movement had developed at the University of Freiburg. Under the leadership of Walter Euken, it included Alfred Muller-Armack. Wilhelm Roepke and Ludwig Erhard. These men constructed one of the most comprehensive political-economic doctrines of this century: the Soziale Marktwirtschaft. The idea of a “socially conscious free market,” as the translation goes, was that totalitarianism is the evil to be most guarded against and that the only way to prevent tyranny is to promote freedom. The theory spread freedom across political and economic lines and espoused a policy of noncontrol - by either the State or individuals - of individual choice. The conclusion was that free markets, and only free markets, can provide human society with the incentives, efficiencies, and freedoms that can lead to a vital and progressive society.

The Freiburg School won the debate. Konrad Adenauer, elected in 1949, appointed Ludwig Erhard to deal with economic matters. Deregulation and tax cuts followed.

The free market approach energized the German economy. In 1945, many observers feared that Germany would permanently be relegated to a ‘third world’ status. By the late 1950s, Germany was one of the most powerful economies in the world, and the economic leader of Europe.

Historians use the word Wirtschaftswunder to describe this amazing recovery: an ‘economic miracle.’ But it was no miracle: it was the predictable and replicable results of the Freiburg School’s free market idea.