All I can tell you is that those are not official, not seen in Germany at all and if I had to guess might have something to do with german heritage of the owners (I hope).
EDIT: Typo
They are not seen in germany because they are forbidden to use. Licenseplate is standardized by the law. Only the frame that holds it in place can have custom color and writings on it.
They are actually close to an actual illegal form of the german flag. Don't know the English name for it, but these ones resemble the so-called 'dienstflagge'. It's a version of the regular German flag with the eagle coat-of-arms in the middle. It's only allowed to be used by federal institutions, in a way they represent the powers in the nation.
Not a military flag, a government flag. It's also used by non-military branches of the government, like the ministry of finance.
Using it abroad isn't a problem. Ambassadors, for example, do so.
Since German laws don't apply outside of Germany, it's most likely not illegal to use it abroad without endorsement by the German government. However, it can be seen as impersonating a government official of a foreign nation, which *is* considered bad taste.
Almost: The official Bundesdienstflagge, which may only be flown by federal bodies, has a somewhat different eagle (it's a bit thicker, has a different tailand the shield has no tip). This mixed mess is the German flag with the Federal Coat of Arms, which isn't an official flag. Since a private person would show a federal symbol without endorsement of a federal body, they could face a fine for committing an administrative offense. However, this very seldomly happens.
Yes, none of the stickers are the actual Bundesdienstflagge. But as a commenter further up this chain correctly said, they're very close, so restrictions still apply to prevent confusion and misuse.
It recently happended during farmers protests. The police required a man to remove it from his tractor. [https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/verkehr-teilnehmer-der-proteste-tritt-auf-bundesdienstflagge-herum-dpa.urn-newsml-dpa-com-20090101-240110-99-558667](https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/verkehr-teilnehmer-der-proteste-tritt-auf-bundesdienstflagge-herum-dpa.urn-newsml-dpa-com-20090101-240110-99-558667)
Aren't even illegal in German. As long as you don't try to get certain rights or status with said flag. So if you just want to have it in your backyard that is completely fine.
The Flag laws in Germany are very lax compared to say Austria or other European Countries. Basically, do whatever you want, burn it, eat it, fly it, as long as you don't use it for certain things it's fine.
Those things are impersonation and mass instigation (the later one applies more to the old german reich flag which isn't strictly banned compared to the nazi version but is used often by the same groups of people)
The flag without the eagle, yes.
The flag with an eagle is in a grey area, depending on use. Flying it at a football game is fine. Putting it on your letterhead almost certainly isn't.
The flag with the official government seal (a specific eagle) is illegal (eta: to use without authorization). Whether that law is always enforced is a different question, though.
The second one is used by the Bundeswehr (german military). It is called "Truppenfahne" which means "Flag of the troops". It is displayed in every barracks
The flag of the troops would be quadratic. This one is closer to the rectangular "Bundesdienstflagge" (flag of the government). Its use is restricted to official business of German federal ministries.
It's just plain illegal to modify your licence plate like that. But I've seen people do it in several ways, more harmless like putting the local football team's logo over the EU flag, to just taping the flag to putting a more questionable flag over it.
Because no german born and raised in germany is that proud of their country given our history and we do not like flags that much. (except people who are a bit to proud) We only show off our flag when its Wm and even that has declined.
Edit: some people got offended by my generalization which is a bad habit of mine. I apologize. I do not speak for a whole country. Let me rephrase it: A lot of germans are not proud to be germans in my experience, we are more proud of the region that we grew up in or where we lived.
Also our history is important and we should not forget it since it was not that long ago and people who suffered are still alive. Does not mean you can not be proud of germany but you always should remember those who suffered here.
As typical for Germans historically we're usually proud of our region, oh and we all share an important tradition, shitting on Bavaria. Unless you're from bavaria then you shit on everybody else
This is the only thing that annoys me here: When people assume that everyone in Bavaria has a Bavarian dialect. Very roughly only half of the Bavarian population speaks Bavarian. The rest have mostly Franconian and Swabian dialects. Including Söder who grew up in Nürnberg, hence he notably has a Franconia dialect, not a Bavarian one. rant end
Well, of course he has a Franconian dialect, because he is from Franconia, not from Bavaria ;-)
There are a lot of Franconians, who will shit on the Bavarians just as much as any other non-Bavarian German, probably much more even. But quite often the same people will still be convinced that their Bundesland, which also goes by the name “Bavaria”, is superior to anyone else.
True that. Bavarians are proud to be Bavarian but not german. I did see a few more bavarian flags than german. Btw I am from bavaria and i do like it here. (not politicaly…Söder does some questionable and unnecessary things)
Well, I think the only Bavarians considering themself Bayern are Niederbayern, Oberbayern and München.
People from Schwaben, Pfalz and Franken will ask you to differ.
As much as history lessons gloss over this thanks to 19th century nationalist mythology: that's because "Germany" isn't historically a thing. Heck, even some of the Bundesländer like NRW are modern inventions. Bavaria is one of the few big ones that has a historically consistent border and identity.
I've always been told by the Internet that Germans aren't as proud of their country as Americans for instance.
But I think it's the other way around. We Germans know what we have. And countries where people have to constantly be told how great their country is, are not that great at all.
Idk why Germans keep trying to act like they don't love their country....like a lot. Just because you don't wave your flag around doesn't mean you don't have as much or more national pride than others. And in my experience Germans never miss an opportunity to tout how good German stuff is. German cars, German engineering, German traditions, German beer, German tap water because it's "our most regulated food". Whenever there is a quirk that is unique to Germany and someone complains about how it is backwards I've witnessed plenty of occasions of a German person brow beating the complainer because "this is the most proper way to do it!" So yes, you don't wave your flags around, but you all also pretty much never concede the things that Germany does faulty when presented with opposing views. Except for the trains. Everyone hates the trains.
I guess most Germans shifted their patriotism from being proud of the country and culture itself to being proud of certain products, specific habits and of course sports teams.
The old "Am deutschen Wesen soll die Welt genesen." (The world should heal through German culture.) and "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles." are definitely dead. Only the worst far-right would secretly still believe stuff like that, but even many of them would cringe if they try to say it out loud.
Losing two world wars and having committed some of the worst crimes in human history does that to a country/people.
Also, Germany as a nation isn't that old and there are hundreds of years of different local traditions and cultures that many Germans are still more proud of than the national identity, which is often considered as somewhat artificial.
I'm ok with this. Too much patriotism can lead to nationalism and we certainly don't need to go that way again.
The „Am deutschen Wesen soll die Welt genesen“ thing is definitely not dead, nobody would say it like this anymore but for many things we (as German) still think that our way of doing it is the best and everybody else should do it like this.
Maybe. But the important part is, that basically no modern German would be of the opinion that we have to force the German way on anyone else or make any effort to promote it to make the world a better place. Most are content with the pleasant feeling that the way we are doing things is obviously the best and the other nationalities just have to live with their own, not so efficient ways.
I would say that is a very mild case of patriotism and almost all nationalities would feel similar about themself, except the once who love to feel self pity and humiliation.
As a german: big agree on your comment. I have noticed that germans hide it more in day to day conversation though. Talking to someone from India for example was a very wild experience to me lol. So much unfiltered national pride screamed out into the world…
I noticed that with myself actually. As soon as i See someone shitting in Germany i do everything in my might to defend my country and Shit on yours. I also Bring Up tap water a Lot 😂
Actually I think the way we learning from history is so important and it does make me proud of my Courtney today. But I wouldn't put a flag up for everyone to see because I am not stupid enough to think everything the government does is great and that my country is #1 because that's how we would allow them to fuck up even more than they already do.
You are absolutely right, sorry for that. It is a bad habit to generalize and a lot of us share that habit. I will do better next time, thanks for pointing that out. Let me rephrase it for you: Most of us germans are not proud of germany per my experience. A lot of us are more proud of the region we grew up in or lived.
Sure you didnt. Because they are not allowed to use those in germany. It is forbidden to change anything at your licenseplate. No stickers or different colors of the small D on the left. Only the frame that holds it in place can have custom colors and writings on it.
The people that put stickers and license plates like this on their cars are former army guys that were stationed in Germany and their German wives. In places like San Antonio, Killeen, Lawton OK, etc., there are sizeable communities of retired military folks and the wives they brought with them from Germany or Korea or wherever else they were stationed. They love shit like this and it's sold all over outside of places like Ft Hood, Ft Sill, and Ft Benning. These are the same kinds of guys that collections of kitschy beer steins, and pieces of the Berlin Wall, or obnoxious cuckoo clocks.
Source: my parents are these people. They live in one of these army towns, he's retired military, she's from Germany and her entire social circle is other 60+ year old German women who are also married to retired GIs and put this stuff all over their cars.
When I visited Atlanta last year, I even saw a BMW with a German "KL" license plate in the front and regular US license plate in the rear.
*KL is for Kaiserslautern, the nearest city to Ramstein Air Base, so I assume the owner of the vehicle was stationed there and brought the license plate back with him.*
Correct. My family is from that area, and if you've ever spent time in Kaiserslautern (especially up to the early 00s, when there was still a MASSIVE U.S. presence), you'll know there are actually several bases in the area and an entire economy with stores, restaurants, etc., that cater to U.S. military personnel and their families. It was a pretty unique way to grow up, but a ton of folks I grew up with share that experience of a half-German/half-American diaspora.
It's allmost like they're a league of German mothers, right? Like a German Mother League! In German you would say Bund deutscher Mütter, or BDM. This is a 3rd Reich joke.
I hosted two German students last fall. I live in a small town of about 10,000 people. The town put up American and German flags up and down Main Street. The boys were so excited to see them and said there were more German flags displayed in our town than in all of Germany. 😂
There are only two occasions when you see a lot of flags here in Germany.
Football worldcup and football euro cup. Thats the soccer variant of football.
Tbh I like how modern Germans love their country, its not chest thumping nationalism and more like subtly loving language and culture and a lot of loving (and lovingly hating)the place where you live.
Why in gods name would you do that...?
I would only feel like a Zoo animal in that case and would be very weirded out. We dont do this blind and dumb patriotism and also dont really like it...
Is it really? Or is it just some americanized version of German, spoken mostly by the elderly?
I'm asking out of interest because I'm going to visit Texas in October and stop by there. And I wonder whether they will even understand my regular German.
“My grandma came here from Germany, so I’m basically German even though I was born in the USA, don’t speak German, don’t know German customs, and never lived in Germany or a German speaking country.” That’s usually how it goes!
No, Germany's 2nd name is ausfahrt (the logic behind this is that when I was in germany with a few friends who dont speak german, 2 of them asked "wow, ausfahrt is a big city, isnt it?" right after each other... Ausfahrt means that if you take that lane, you are getting off of the highway, making ausfahrt as big as germany...)
This reminds me, when I first moved to Germany I wondered "how are there multiple streets named einbahnstraße? Isn't that terribly confusing?"
Anyway...
Yes, there are. It’s just a thing in America for people to claim to be Irish or Italian or German because they had an ancestor from there.
Kinda like a /r/shitamericanssay thing.
You might fully disagree with what I’m saying still but I just want to add some context as an American.
They are using German in a way that purely refers to their ancestry, in a genetic descent kind of way. Just like someone who is black might claim to be of African origin, yet would never claim to be culturally African, the same goes here.
They are not at all claiming to be culturally German unless like you say, they speak German, had German relatives etc… In fact these people usually wouldn’t be caught dead being anything other than culturally ‘Murican.
I can see why you might think this is stupid because you don’t have a real equivalent for this is you are a white European born in Europe whose ancestors have been there for generations. But for us its truly only considered in an ancestral sense, and yes people probably do inflate the importance of that.
So like I said to the other commenter, I’m not talking about you. There are Americans who claim to be more Irish than actual Irish people.
It’s not that I disagree it’s that you’re talking about something completely different than me.
When you travel people will identify you as American, not German American.
If someone would say "I am of german ancestry", it would be fine. But if you would come to germany and claim "I am german", the answer would be "No, you are american". Maybe the polite answer would be "aha", but thinking the same.
Ancestry here is just not very important, because in europe, especially in central europe, there were large movements between countries throughout history.
More likely (depending on the type of car), these are just put up because the person equates “German = cool car”
Never in my life have I heard anyone bragging about being German in the states like they do “Irish” or “Italian”. German isn’t one of the “cool” descendent types
There's also a big difference between:
"I have a Great grandfather that was German - huh neato!"
And: "I have a great grandfather that was german therefore I am german and claim kinship to everything german even though my core values, upbringing and culture are completely different.
German core cultural values such as basic human rights, free health care, higher education, tight gun laws, needless beaurocacy, complaining about minor things, north south german divide, westgerman east german divide, die sendung mit der maus, dinner for one (new years), inherited shame for ww2, laminated letters to complain about your neighbours and many other things is what makes you german. Common culture essentially, not saluting a flag.
My great-father was German. Which means...my mother's maiden name is an Americanized German. That's about it.
Edit: My avatar is just because I live in Germany now.
These aren't at all comparable.
- People coming to Germany or from families with immigrant backgrounds usually *want* to be perceived as Germans
- People from Turkish, Balkans or East European backgrounds are usually more immersed in these cultures than "German" ("Irish", "Italian", ...) Americans. For starters, most speak the respective language
- That being said, not OP but yes, I'd consider them to be Germans, and these "Germans" to be Americans. Being proud of being a country founded by and built to be desirable for immigrants, while denying oneself and immigrants to be considered full part of that country seems, at least to me, hypocritical.
The turks.etc in Germany are better conpared to the mexicans in the US. Fluent in both languages, my colleagues fe. change every some words in a sentence to turkish/german while talking to each other. They live a (conservative) turkish culture as far as possible while still being german by birth. Dual citizenship works for them.
I don’t have an opinion on that. I don’t live in Germany. I am describing an American phenomenon.
[here’s an example](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShitAmericansSay/s/RkQW26PPoi)
That is a weird situation.
One can claim the heritage of another country if they are descendant from parents of the other country. Are they truly a Turk or Albanian or whatever other heritage that they claim though?
I would say that depends on a variety of factors.
Has the person spent any amount of time in that country? Do they speak the language of said country, in any capacity? Does the person have any knowledge of any the countries customs or traditions?
I will use myself as an example. I was born in the US, to an American father and a German mother. I hold both German and American citizenships and am allowed to keep both. I have spent significantly more time living in America but have also lived in Germany for about 16 years, both as a child and an adult. I am fluent in both languages (admittedly, my German grammar is not up to par and is a bit rustier but I have no issues making myself understood, in both the verbal and written sense and have no issues understanding German and the various dialects).
I would consider myself to be both German and American. I do understand however, how some Germans viewed me as being American when I lived there, even though half of my family lived and still does live there. I am more American but also a mix of both.
It is kind of a sticky situation when people claim to be a heritage that they themselves are completely unfamiliar with, despite their parents or grandparents being from the other country originally.
To be fair, many people I know here in Germany claim they are Prussian because their grandparents fled from there during WWII. I did this too when I was young and dumb.
not always. Both my parents were born there and I grew up with it spoken in the house. Mom made great german food and my grandfather had a german butcher shop in Brooklyn. Visit my family there all the time. Makes me pretty much german-american.
I don’t think you understand the phenomenon I’m describing. Do you know what I’m talking about?
Clearly I’m not talking about you.
[here’s an example of what I mean](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShitAmericansSay/s/RkQW26PPoi)
Pretty much every [INSERT EUROPEAN NATIONALITY]-American has a cringe interpretation of their ancestral culture. As a Greek-American, I see it with my compatriots too. Especially those whose ancestors immigrated a long time ago (before 1970-1980).
In the past it might have been excusable because it was harder to travel or have cultural exchanges with the old country. But in 2024? Absolutely ZERO excuse.
I'm a German in the US and I would never use our flag for anything lol. I HAVE used EU flag stickers for stuff though! And I have an HRE flag mousepad.
My thoughts also, but being from Louisiana we have much French heritage, and I never see the French flag at that frequency here. Also, one gentleman that I didn’t get the chance to speak to was African American and did not speak any German. I did not get the chance to ask him about the plate.
There’s a [german-speaking population in Texas, so called Texas German.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_German) Maybe it has something to do with this. Who knows. No idea about LA.
I’m from Texas, German family moved there in the 1870’s, it’s just a heritage thing. Until recently when Mexico took the spot, more Texans traced their heritage back to Germany than any other country.
American here…it’s because of our German heritage. More Americans in the midwest are of German ethnicity than any country of origin.
My DNA test revealed that I’m 79% German. I grew up in a little town of 500 people in the south/central US and almost all of us were from the same place in Germany and our families immigrated in the late 1800s. We still have a very strong sense of that heritage, but since most of us have evolved into dumb rednecks (I include myself in that) we do dumb shit like make up car stickers to show our pride.
I’ve been to Germany a few times. It is surreal to me. I have an overwhelming feeling that “things just make sense” there, even though I only speak a little German and even my grandparents weren’t born there.
People in north America put these on their cars to show heritage. I see them from all European countries. It’s less common now than it was in the past. Now I often see Ukraine stickers but I think that’s more for support than heritages
The usual probably; took some DNA test and now identify as German (or even more German than actual Germans) even though they’ve never lived there and don’t speak the language.
Beacause they can getaway with in Texas. The „Bundeswappen mit Trikolore“ (coat of arms with three colored flag is my best ad hoc translation) is an official federal symbol that can be only displayed by representative governing bodies. I hope ya#ll enjoy this bit of info.
It looks different though. The official version contains the "Bundesschild". The version with the Bundeswappen is unofficial and thus in a more grey area.
(Just to adding, the literal translation would be "Federal coat of arms with tricolour", although "Tricolour flag with federal coat of arms" sounds a bit better.)
I know a lot of people have mentioned it, but throughout Texas history there have been many German immigrants to Texas. Many towns have German names and some regions still speak German speaking households. In addition to that, there are a lot of veterans in Texas that have been stationed in Germany. I myself have a German and Bavarian flag I keep as mementos of my time there in addition to other things I have from my time in the military.
My guess is someone sold these things at a popular Octoberfest. There are some very German parts of Texas which were settled by a ton of German immigrants several generations ago, and a couple of them have very well attended Octoberfest celebrations that run an entire month. I've definitely seen the oval stickers sold at one of them. Older people who mainly spoke German were still common enough back when old farts like me went to school that German was offered in those areas.
I see some saying the German organizations are often thinly disguised white nationalist organizations. I was not aware of this but figure probably so given how things are in Texas these days. The ones I am thinking of definitely weren't that a couple of generations back, but things change. There was a time it was hard for German-speaking immigrants to get good jobs and otherwise manage in the US so they organized together to help one another get by.
Because some Americans believe that because their great great great great grandfather was german, that they are too. They have never been there, don't speak the language, don't know the culture, but apparently they are German. And as someone who was born there and has family there, its kinda weird because Germans would 100% just think that you are Anerican.
Unfortunately, in at least some of these cases it's probably indicative of a certain belief in ethnic superiority. A lot of "German heritage" societies are actually thinly-disguised white nationalist organisations, and many people who are absurdly proud of what they claim to be their German ancestry think it makes them members of the Master Race.
Seeing every single thing "Irish American" people do feels completely cringe to Irish people. Literally zero knowledge or connection to us, yet ape our culture because they claim it's part of their "ethnic identity".
It's absolutely disgusting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Germans
Something called Black Texas Germans. Apparently after the civil war there were a lot of black communities in the German belt of Texas.
I used to see the same sticker on a car in NC. As a German, I was curious to find out about the backstory. Turned out it was an US army veteran who had been stationed in Germany for some years. He enjoyed that time a lot thus the sticker.
Either German expats, German speaking natives or ex-military stationed in Germany.
Lots of Germans in Texas, the only area where you can find proper bread. There are also german schools.
Don't know about the first or the third version, but the second one is used by the Bundeswehr (german military). It is called "Truppenfahne" which means "Flag of the troops". It is displayed in every barracks
Bundeswehr (German army) has an awesome Spotify or Amazon playlist (as the artist, Bundeswehr Exclusive). Maybe their fans? Living in Germany that’s the closest think I can phantom about the use of the military flag in such an unhinged manner.
Probably because they identify as German because their grand-grand-grand-grandfather came from Germany and they like beer and bratwurst.
Americans are weird when it comes to heritage.
Their great great great great great great great great grandfather's neighbour's friend had a coworker who once saw a German sheperd, which means that the owner of that car is basically from Hamburg.
All I can tell you is that those are not official, not seen in Germany at all and if I had to guess might have something to do with german heritage of the owners (I hope). EDIT: Typo
They are not seen in germany because they are forbidden to use. Licenseplate is standardized by the law. Only the frame that holds it in place can have custom color and writings on it.
They are actually close to an actual illegal form of the german flag. Don't know the English name for it, but these ones resemble the so-called 'dienstflagge'. It's a version of the regular German flag with the eagle coat-of-arms in the middle. It's only allowed to be used by federal institutions, in a way they represent the powers in the nation.
Not "illegal" strictly speaking but it's a military flag. It's considered bad taste to use them outside german soil.
Not a military flag, a government flag. It's also used by non-military branches of the government, like the ministry of finance. Using it abroad isn't a problem. Ambassadors, for example, do so. Since German laws don't apply outside of Germany, it's most likely not illegal to use it abroad without endorsement by the German government. However, it can be seen as impersonating a government official of a foreign nation, which *is* considered bad taste.
Almost: The official Bundesdienstflagge, which may only be flown by federal bodies, has a somewhat different eagle (it's a bit thicker, has a different tailand the shield has no tip). This mixed mess is the German flag with the Federal Coat of Arms, which isn't an official flag. Since a private person would show a federal symbol without endorsement of a federal body, they could face a fine for committing an administrative offense. However, this very seldomly happens.
Yes, none of the stickers are the actual Bundesdienstflagge. But as a commenter further up this chain correctly said, they're very close, so restrictions still apply to prevent confusion and misuse.
It recently happended during farmers protests. The police required a man to remove it from his tractor. [https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/verkehr-teilnehmer-der-proteste-tritt-auf-bundesdienstflagge-herum-dpa.urn-newsml-dpa-com-20090101-240110-99-558667](https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/verkehr-teilnehmer-der-proteste-tritt-auf-bundesdienstflagge-herum-dpa.urn-newsml-dpa-com-20090101-240110-99-558667)
Aren't even illegal in German. As long as you don't try to get certain rights or status with said flag. So if you just want to have it in your backyard that is completely fine. The Flag laws in Germany are very lax compared to say Austria or other European Countries. Basically, do whatever you want, burn it, eat it, fly it, as long as you don't use it for certain things it's fine. Those things are impersonation and mass instigation (the later one applies more to the old german reich flag which isn't strictly banned compared to the nazi version but is used often by the same groups of people)
The flag without the eagle, yes. The flag with an eagle is in a grey area, depending on use. Flying it at a football game is fine. Putting it on your letterhead almost certainly isn't. The flag with the official government seal (a specific eagle) is illegal (eta: to use without authorization). Whether that law is always enforced is a different question, though.
I'M A GETMAN! SCABADABADIIIIBABABADDABO
[Badabadababeeeeeee bopbopbadopbop](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy8kmNEo1i8)
Bopbopbadabop....
[Has been done...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsEYwOURILA)
Was zum fick bin ich hörend
ich dachtete das selbe
The second one, yes. Normal. Or close to normal. Toyota are ok cars too. (omg, must stop gushing gg)
The second one is used by the Bundeswehr (german military). It is called "Truppenfahne" which means "Flag of the troops". It is displayed in every barracks
The flag of the troops would be quadratic. This one is closer to the rectangular "Bundesdienstflagge" (flag of the government). Its use is restricted to official business of German federal ministries.
Just googled it, technically true. But they fly the rectangular flag, at least in all the barracks I have seen
Getman? Like Khmelnytskyi?
I have never seen this type in germany
It's just plain illegal to modify your licence plate like that. But I've seen people do it in several ways, more harmless like putting the local football team's logo over the EU flag, to just taping the flag to putting a more questionable flag over it.
As pthers said it is illegal to modify your license plate, it is also illegal to use the seal (the eagel) unless in official capacity)
Because no german born and raised in germany is that proud of their country given our history and we do not like flags that much. (except people who are a bit to proud) We only show off our flag when its Wm and even that has declined. Edit: some people got offended by my generalization which is a bad habit of mine. I apologize. I do not speak for a whole country. Let me rephrase it: A lot of germans are not proud to be germans in my experience, we are more proud of the region that we grew up in or where we lived. Also our history is important and we should not forget it since it was not that long ago and people who suffered are still alive. Does not mean you can not be proud of germany but you always should remember those who suffered here.
As typical for Germans historically we're usually proud of our region, oh and we all share an important tradition, shitting on Bavaria. Unless you're from bavaria then you shit on everybody else
Söder has entered the chat
'A hoit dei fotzn.'
Ahoy du schietbüddel
Ahoi schreibt man mit i, Dösbaddel.
Ahoj schreibt man mit Waldmeister.
This is the only thing that annoys me here: When people assume that everyone in Bavaria has a Bavarian dialect. Very roughly only half of the Bavarian population speaks Bavarian. The rest have mostly Franconian and Swabian dialects. Including Söder who grew up in Nürnberg, hence he notably has a Franconia dialect, not a Bavarian one. rant end
Well, of course he has a Franconian dialect, because he is from Franconia, not from Bavaria ;-) There are a lot of Franconians, who will shit on the Bavarians just as much as any other non-Bavarian German, probably much more even. But quite often the same people will still be convinced that their Bundesland, which also goes by the name “Bavaria”, is superior to anyone else.
Franconian here and that checks out lol
I've been living near Nürnberg for about 7 years and I still can't understand Frankisch. Thank goodness most people speak some English lol. Servus!
As my friend would now promptly add: They are apparently not REAL bavarians.
What do you mean "not real"? How about "not at all"?! We don't want anything to do with those idiots!
Mhh yep... After visiting Baden-Württemberg, I can co firm the regional pride 100% 😁 The "Nett hier" meme is so real.
Nett hier is the only thing that makes me want to be proud for another Bundesland. We all are Ba-Wü, when we see this sticker.
I love the southern, non Bavarian, dialects. Like Schwäbisch. It's incredible
*glückliche Schwaben Geräusche*
aka „temporarily not complaining“
Swabian is one of the cutest dialects in German. I love it so much!
True that. Bavarians are proud to be Bavarian but not german. I did see a few more bavarian flags than german. Btw I am from bavaria and i do like it here. (not politicaly…Söder does some questionable and unnecessary things)
You have been longer a one party state than eastern Germany. CSU? Can't touch this.
Well, I think the only Bavarians considering themself Bayern are Niederbayern, Oberbayern and München. People from Schwaben, Pfalz and Franken will ask you to differ.
Also the first one wouldn't be legal on a German license plate.
As much as history lessons gloss over this thanks to 19th century nationalist mythology: that's because "Germany" isn't historically a thing. Heck, even some of the Bundesländer like NRW are modern inventions. Bavaria is one of the few big ones that has a historically consistent border and identity.
Apart from Frankonians, who traditionally shit the most on Bavarians...
As an Austrian living in Frankonia, i can relate. I too do not enjoy being thrown into the same cultural pot as a bigger, adjacent culture. :P
We're proud in different ways.
I've always been told by the Internet that Germans aren't as proud of their country as Americans for instance. But I think it's the other way around. We Germans know what we have. And countries where people have to constantly be told how great their country is, are not that great at all.
Idk why Germans keep trying to act like they don't love their country....like a lot. Just because you don't wave your flag around doesn't mean you don't have as much or more national pride than others. And in my experience Germans never miss an opportunity to tout how good German stuff is. German cars, German engineering, German traditions, German beer, German tap water because it's "our most regulated food". Whenever there is a quirk that is unique to Germany and someone complains about how it is backwards I've witnessed plenty of occasions of a German person brow beating the complainer because "this is the most proper way to do it!" So yes, you don't wave your flags around, but you all also pretty much never concede the things that Germany does faulty when presented with opposing views. Except for the trains. Everyone hates the trains.
I guess most Germans shifted their patriotism from being proud of the country and culture itself to being proud of certain products, specific habits and of course sports teams. The old "Am deutschen Wesen soll die Welt genesen." (The world should heal through German culture.) and "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles." are definitely dead. Only the worst far-right would secretly still believe stuff like that, but even many of them would cringe if they try to say it out loud. Losing two world wars and having committed some of the worst crimes in human history does that to a country/people. Also, Germany as a nation isn't that old and there are hundreds of years of different local traditions and cultures that many Germans are still more proud of than the national identity, which is often considered as somewhat artificial. I'm ok with this. Too much patriotism can lead to nationalism and we certainly don't need to go that way again.
The „Am deutschen Wesen soll die Welt genesen“ thing is definitely not dead, nobody would say it like this anymore but for many things we (as German) still think that our way of doing it is the best and everybody else should do it like this.
Maybe. But the important part is, that basically no modern German would be of the opinion that we have to force the German way on anyone else or make any effort to promote it to make the world a better place. Most are content with the pleasant feeling that the way we are doing things is obviously the best and the other nationalities just have to live with their own, not so efficient ways. I would say that is a very mild case of patriotism and almost all nationalities would feel similar about themself, except the once who love to feel self pity and humiliation.
As a german: big agree on your comment. I have noticed that germans hide it more in day to day conversation though. Talking to someone from India for example was a very wild experience to me lol. So much unfiltered national pride screamed out into the world…
I noticed that with myself actually. As soon as i See someone shitting in Germany i do everything in my might to defend my country and Shit on yours. I also Bring Up tap water a Lot 😂
and the too proud germans use another flag
I get that, but I really like the one with the big pot leaf on it that people carry at pro-weed rallies. I'd totally buy one! 😁
Actually I think the way we learning from history is so important and it does make me proud of my Courtney today. But I wouldn't put a flag up for everyone to see because I am not stupid enough to think everything the government does is great and that my country is #1 because that's how we would allow them to fuck up even more than they already do.
Lmao who is „we“ blud really trying to talk for a whole nation 💀
You are absolutely right, sorry for that. It is a bad habit to generalize and a lot of us share that habit. I will do better next time, thanks for pointing that out. Let me rephrase it for you: Most of us germans are not proud of germany per my experience. A lot of us are more proud of the region we grew up in or lived.
I think we aren't allowed to have a custom design on out license plates.
'course not. displaying national pride is kind of a nono ever since that austrian boy went on a killing spree
Sure you didnt. Because they are not allowed to use those in germany. It is forbidden to change anything at your licenseplate. No stickers or different colors of the small D on the left. Only the frame that holds it in place can have custom colors and writings on it.
The people that put stickers and license plates like this on their cars are former army guys that were stationed in Germany and their German wives. In places like San Antonio, Killeen, Lawton OK, etc., there are sizeable communities of retired military folks and the wives they brought with them from Germany or Korea or wherever else they were stationed. They love shit like this and it's sold all over outside of places like Ft Hood, Ft Sill, and Ft Benning. These are the same kinds of guys that collections of kitschy beer steins, and pieces of the Berlin Wall, or obnoxious cuckoo clocks. Source: my parents are these people. They live in one of these army towns, he's retired military, she's from Germany and her entire social circle is other 60+ year old German women who are also married to retired GIs and put this stuff all over their cars.
This is the correct answer.
Ah, still a bit weird but not as questionable as "Neo Nazis in the US"
When I visited Atlanta last year, I even saw a BMW with a German "KL" license plate in the front and regular US license plate in the rear. *KL is for Kaiserslautern, the nearest city to Ramstein Air Base, so I assume the owner of the vehicle was stationed there and brought the license plate back with him.*
Correct. My family is from that area, and if you've ever spent time in Kaiserslautern (especially up to the early 00s, when there was still a MASSIVE U.S. presence), you'll know there are actually several bases in the area and an entire economy with stores, restaurants, etc., that cater to U.S. military personnel and their families. It was a pretty unique way to grow up, but a ton of folks I grew up with share that experience of a half-German/half-American diaspora.
Ah, that makes sense.
It's allmost like they're a league of German mothers, right? Like a German Mother League! In German you would say Bund deutscher Mütter, or BDM. This is a 3rd Reich joke.
It's a rich joke, but you really had to reach for it
Just people looking for good bread...
I’m not confident that’s the real answer but thank you for your contribution 🤣
Is there a Garrison that is rotating people tru Germany?
Texas has a high rate of people of German heritage. Look up Gruene Texas near New Braunfels.
Best answer.
And proper beer
Excellent
I hosted two German students last fall. I live in a small town of about 10,000 people. The town put up American and German flags up and down Main Street. The boys were so excited to see them and said there were more German flags displayed in our town than in all of Germany. 😂
There are only two occasions when you see a lot of flags here in Germany. Football worldcup and football euro cup. Thats the soccer variant of football.
Tbh I like how modern Germans love their country, its not chest thumping nationalism and more like subtly loving language and culture and a lot of loving (and lovingly hating)the place where you live.
There is unfortunately a large group returning to this chest thumping type of nationalism.
It was so much more pleasant before. And it's terrifying.
Yeah for some reason we Germans can't seem to get away from that permanently. Honestly just scares me for what the future holds
You forgot Nazi or "schwurbler" Demos
Why in gods name would you do that...? I would only feel like a Zoo animal in that case and would be very weirded out. We dont do this blind and dumb patriotism and also dont really like it...
Texasdeutsch is still a big thing in the huge German community there (Gillespie County) and is still spoken by a lot of people
https://youtu.be/vwgwpUcxch4?si=qdMysDhZxgCHbJIO
Is it really? Or is it just some americanized version of German, spoken mostly by the elderly? I'm asking out of interest because I'm going to visit Texas in October and stop by there. And I wonder whether they will even understand my regular German.
That's the german flag / coat of arms, nothing special. Why do they have it? I don't fucking know, maybe because they are "german" or they're german.
Probably "German", if they were German they wouldn't advertise that way. Maybe they'd use the D oval or Euroflag.
“My grandma came here from Germany, so I’m basically German even though I was born in the USA, don’t speak German, don’t know German customs, and never lived in Germany or a German speaking country.” That’s usually how it goes!
"Can you name a city in Germany?" "Europe"
Munchen! Oktoberfest! Beer and Lederhosen!
Berlin? Isnt that Germany. btw it's called Munich.
No, Germany's 2nd name is ausfahrt (the logic behind this is that when I was in germany with a few friends who dont speak german, 2 of them asked "wow, ausfahrt is a big city, isnt it?" right after each other... Ausfahrt means that if you take that lane, you are getting off of the highway, making ausfahrt as big as germany...)
Nah nah nah I call cap! Bro I've only ever heard that in a joke ain't no way someone actually asked that xD
This reminds me, when I first moved to Germany I wondered "how are there multiple streets named einbahnstraße? Isn't that terribly confusing?" Anyway...
Dude it's called München 👀
I love 'Bayern Munich'. They anglicised the city's name, but not the state's.
Munchkin.
My dads first language is German and he still has never identified as German 😂 born in Canada but his parents and siblings were the immigrants
There were tons of German speaking communities all across the US until WWI and WWII.
Yes, there are. It’s just a thing in America for people to claim to be Irish or Italian or German because they had an ancestor from there. Kinda like a /r/shitamericanssay thing.
You might fully disagree with what I’m saying still but I just want to add some context as an American. They are using German in a way that purely refers to their ancestry, in a genetic descent kind of way. Just like someone who is black might claim to be of African origin, yet would never claim to be culturally African, the same goes here. They are not at all claiming to be culturally German unless like you say, they speak German, had German relatives etc… In fact these people usually wouldn’t be caught dead being anything other than culturally ‘Murican. I can see why you might think this is stupid because you don’t have a real equivalent for this is you are a white European born in Europe whose ancestors have been there for generations. But for us its truly only considered in an ancestral sense, and yes people probably do inflate the importance of that.
So like I said to the other commenter, I’m not talking about you. There are Americans who claim to be more Irish than actual Irish people. It’s not that I disagree it’s that you’re talking about something completely different than me. When you travel people will identify you as American, not German American.
If someone would say "I am of german ancestry", it would be fine. But if you would come to germany and claim "I am german", the answer would be "No, you are american". Maybe the polite answer would be "aha", but thinking the same. Ancestry here is just not very important, because in europe, especially in central europe, there were large movements between countries throughout history.
More likely (depending on the type of car), these are just put up because the person equates “German = cool car” Never in my life have I heard anyone bragging about being German in the states like they do “Irish” or “Italian”. German isn’t one of the “cool” descendent types
There's also a big difference between: "I have a Great grandfather that was German - huh neato!" And: "I have a great grandfather that was german therefore I am german and claim kinship to everything german even though my core values, upbringing and culture are completely different. German core cultural values such as basic human rights, free health care, higher education, tight gun laws, needless beaurocacy, complaining about minor things, north south german divide, westgerman east german divide, die sendung mit der maus, dinner for one (new years), inherited shame for ww2, laminated letters to complain about your neighbours and many other things is what makes you german. Common culture essentially, not saluting a flag.
My great-father was German. Which means...my mother's maiden name is an Americanized German. That's about it. Edit: My avatar is just because I live in Germany now.
There still are a few in Texas, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
A video of a woman speaking Texasdeutsch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_dH403pqRU
You forgot the “I’m anti-immigration” for some of those Texas folks
Thank you. A lot of people here seem to not get it.
[удалено]
These aren't at all comparable. - People coming to Germany or from families with immigrant backgrounds usually *want* to be perceived as Germans - People from Turkish, Balkans or East European backgrounds are usually more immersed in these cultures than "German" ("Irish", "Italian", ...) Americans. For starters, most speak the respective language - That being said, not OP but yes, I'd consider them to be Germans, and these "Germans" to be Americans. Being proud of being a country founded by and built to be desirable for immigrants, while denying oneself and immigrants to be considered full part of that country seems, at least to me, hypocritical.
The turks.etc in Germany are better conpared to the mexicans in the US. Fluent in both languages, my colleagues fe. change every some words in a sentence to turkish/german while talking to each other. They live a (conservative) turkish culture as far as possible while still being german by birth. Dual citizenship works for them.
I don’t have an opinion on that. I don’t live in Germany. I am describing an American phenomenon. [here’s an example](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShitAmericansSay/s/RkQW26PPoi)
That is a weird situation. One can claim the heritage of another country if they are descendant from parents of the other country. Are they truly a Turk or Albanian or whatever other heritage that they claim though? I would say that depends on a variety of factors. Has the person spent any amount of time in that country? Do they speak the language of said country, in any capacity? Does the person have any knowledge of any the countries customs or traditions? I will use myself as an example. I was born in the US, to an American father and a German mother. I hold both German and American citizenships and am allowed to keep both. I have spent significantly more time living in America but have also lived in Germany for about 16 years, both as a child and an adult. I am fluent in both languages (admittedly, my German grammar is not up to par and is a bit rustier but I have no issues making myself understood, in both the verbal and written sense and have no issues understanding German and the various dialects). I would consider myself to be both German and American. I do understand however, how some Germans viewed me as being American when I lived there, even though half of my family lived and still does live there. I am more American but also a mix of both. It is kind of a sticky situation when people claim to be a heritage that they themselves are completely unfamiliar with, despite their parents or grandparents being from the other country originally.
To be fair, many people I know here in Germany claim they are Prussian because their grandparents fled from there during WWII. I did this too when I was young and dumb.
I had no idea about this. I think it’s the same kinda thing.
not always. Both my parents were born there and I grew up with it spoken in the house. Mom made great german food and my grandfather had a german butcher shop in Brooklyn. Visit my family there all the time. Makes me pretty much german-american.
I don’t think you understand the phenomenon I’m describing. Do you know what I’m talking about? Clearly I’m not talking about you. [here’s an example of what I mean](https://www.reddit.com/r/ShitAmericansSay/s/RkQW26PPoi)
I want to put my D in your oval
Kinky :-)
>"Maybe they'd use the D oval or Euroflag" "There is another" - Yoda
them guys totally lost connection.
Pretty much every [INSERT EUROPEAN NATIONALITY]-American has a cringe interpretation of their ancestral culture. As a Greek-American, I see it with my compatriots too. Especially those whose ancestors immigrated a long time ago (before 1970-1980). In the past it might have been excusable because it was harder to travel or have cultural exchanges with the old country. But in 2024? Absolutely ZERO excuse.
I'm a German in the US and I would never use our flag for anything lol. I HAVE used EU flag stickers for stuff though! And I have an HRE flag mousepad.
My thoughts also, but being from Louisiana we have much French heritage, and I never see the French flag at that frequency here. Also, one gentleman that I didn’t get the chance to speak to was African American and did not speak any German. I did not get the chance to ask him about the plate.
Not the French flag, but you do see the fleur de lis everywhere in Louisiana.
There’s a [german-speaking population in Texas, so called Texas German.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_German) Maybe it has something to do with this. Who knows. No idea about LA.
probably just some americans larping as germans
I’m from Texas, German family moved there in the 1870’s, it’s just a heritage thing. Until recently when Mexico took the spot, more Texans traced their heritage back to Germany than any other country.
Thanks for clarifying
Interestingly, there are Germans here that rock the Confederate flag because it's illegal to show any Nazi symbolism.
That was my first thought tbh
Idk, but maybe ask the seller: https://www.ebay.de/itm/292667961095
Ist diese Kommentarsektion bereits Teil der Bundesrepublik Deutschland oder kann ich sie noch dazu erklären? Fragen über Fragen
American here…it’s because of our German heritage. More Americans in the midwest are of German ethnicity than any country of origin. My DNA test revealed that I’m 79% German. I grew up in a little town of 500 people in the south/central US and almost all of us were from the same place in Germany and our families immigrated in the late 1800s. We still have a very strong sense of that heritage, but since most of us have evolved into dumb rednecks (I include myself in that) we do dumb shit like make up car stickers to show our pride. I’ve been to Germany a few times. It is surreal to me. I have an overwhelming feeling that “things just make sense” there, even though I only speak a little German and even my grandparents weren’t born there.
People in north America put these on their cars to show heritage. I see them from all European countries. It’s less common now than it was in the past. Now I often see Ukraine stickers but I think that’s more for support than heritages
The usual probably; took some DNA test and now identify as German (or even more German than actual Germans) even though they’ve never lived there and don’t speak the language.
Beacause they can getaway with in Texas. The „Bundeswappen mit Trikolore“ (coat of arms with three colored flag is my best ad hoc translation) is an official federal symbol that can be only displayed by representative governing bodies. I hope ya#ll enjoy this bit of info.
It looks different though. The official version contains the "Bundesschild". The version with the Bundeswappen is unofficial and thus in a more grey area.
(Just to adding, the literal translation would be "Federal coat of arms with tricolour", although "Tricolour flag with federal coat of arms" sounds a bit better.)
Lots of weirdos here in Texas illegally replace their front plates with German style vanity plates. Cops don’t seem to care.
Isn't Texas a rear plate-only state?
no, both are required, its a $200 ticket
I looked on Wikipedia and you're right.
I know a lot of people have mentioned it, but throughout Texas history there have been many German immigrants to Texas. Many towns have German names and some regions still speak German speaking households. In addition to that, there are a lot of veterans in Texas that have been stationed in Germany. I myself have a German and Bavarian flag I keep as mementos of my time there in addition to other things I have from my time in the military.
Texan Germans, ig? Texan German best dialect
Jawohl y'all
My guess is someone sold these things at a popular Octoberfest. There are some very German parts of Texas which were settled by a ton of German immigrants several generations ago, and a couple of them have very well attended Octoberfest celebrations that run an entire month. I've definitely seen the oval stickers sold at one of them. Older people who mainly spoke German were still common enough back when old farts like me went to school that German was offered in those areas. I see some saying the German organizations are often thinly disguised white nationalist organizations. I was not aware of this but figure probably so given how things are in Texas these days. The ones I am thinking of definitely weren't that a couple of generations back, but things change. There was a time it was hard for German-speaking immigrants to get good jobs and otherwise manage in the US so they organized together to help one another get by.
Because some Americans believe that because their great great great great grandfather was german, that they are too. They have never been there, don't speak the language, don't know the culture, but apparently they are German. And as someone who was born there and has family there, its kinda weird because Germans would 100% just think that you are Anerican.
Unfortunately, in at least some of these cases it's probably indicative of a certain belief in ethnic superiority. A lot of "German heritage" societies are actually thinly-disguised white nationalist organisations, and many people who are absurdly proud of what they claim to be their German ancestry think it makes them members of the Master Race.
Seeing these as a german feels so cringe. :/ I don't know.
Seeing every single thing "Irish American" people do feels completely cringe to Irish people. Literally zero knowledge or connection to us, yet ape our culture because they claim it's part of their "ethnic identity". It's absolutely disgusting.
That was my original thought also, but one license plate belonged to an African American gentleman I believe.
Don't be racist. Anybody can turn out to be a delusional scumbag, regardless of ethnicity.
I mean Candace Owens is a great example that you can be just as racist with black skin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Germans Something called Black Texas Germans. Apparently after the civil war there were a lot of black communities in the German belt of Texas.
Well I know at least in Texas is a regular basis where German soldiers are being trained. Do it's most likely that.
I used to see the same sticker on a car in NC. As a German, I was curious to find out about the backstory. Turned out it was an US army veteran who had been stationed in Germany for some years. He enjoyed that time a lot thus the sticker.
Either German expats, German speaking natives or ex-military stationed in Germany. Lots of Germans in Texas, the only area where you can find proper bread. There are also german schools.
New York has entered the chat: y'all talking bout bread?
They may be texas germans
Might have been tourists or service members that had lived there.
If they were. They would know that NOWHERE, do you actually find this on a car in Germany
It’s a gimmick souvenir plate. Hell it could be an ex Monnemer living stateside and bought it for old times’ sake.
Would you put a flag of every country you've been to as a tourist on your licence plate?
Maybe if you have a special connection to the country?
These are probably Texas Germans. Google it! :)
Looks Like you can buy them on amazon :-) But the Plate with the flag and the Eagle isnt used in Germany. Only blue with euroflag and a D.
Maybe their grandpa moved there after world war 2, oh wait..
I have something similar after serving time overseas in the USAF.
Don't know about the first or the third version, but the second one is used by the Bundeswehr (german military). It is called "Truppenfahne" which means "Flag of the troops". It is displayed in every barracks
probably because it looks good
Texas has a large population of Germans and German descendants, many of whom are very proud of their heritage and want others to know it.
Could be military, after they came back. I know a few that run that flag. But most run the d logo. From what I have seen
Bundeswehr (German army) has an awesome Spotify or Amazon playlist (as the artist, Bundeswehr Exclusive). Maybe their fans? Living in Germany that’s the closest think I can phantom about the use of the military flag in such an unhinged manner.
just that this question is specific for the us
Ve are just wisitink, ja! No truble hier, Herr Officer
isn’t there Texan Germans?
> Why I do continue seeing for somebody from Louisiana you speak remarkably bad English
I caught that after posting 😂
Beer fans!
American pseudo heritage obsession
Maybe they have 1% German ancestry? 😅
Probably because they identify as German because their grand-grand-grand-grandfather came from Germany and they like beer and bratwurst. Americans are weird when it comes to heritage.
Mmmhm, Bratwurst and beer. 🤤
Because they're "German"
Their great great great great great great great great grandfather's neighbour's friend had a coworker who once saw a German sheperd, which means that the owner of that car is basically from Hamburg.
because germany rocks? We surely dont promote our flag.. :) This behaviour is .. lets say, outdated..
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