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Guide to German culture, customs and etiquette
This short guide shall make your adoption to German culture, customs, manners and etiquette
easier
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Nevertheless the following is only a basic introduction and is not meant to stereotype
all German people you may meet
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Table of contents
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students:
Universities:

7,3% (March 2013)
German 90,9%, Turkish 2,4%, other 6,7% (made up largely of Polish,
Russian, Italian, Greek, Serbo-Croatian and Spanish)
1,3 children per woman (2012)
Protestant 35,1%, Roman Catholic 30,2%, No religion 28,7% , Muslim 3%,
other 2,3% (2007)
federal republic, representative democracy
2,5 Mio
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In West Germany all pupils learned English as the first foreign language at school,
hence people should at least understand it
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Most prominent
immigrant languages include Russian (ca
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), Turkish (ca
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) and Polish (ca
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1 A planning culture
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In many respects, Germans can be considered the masters of planning
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Careful planning, in one's business and personal life, provides a sense of security
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Once the proper way to perform a task is discovered, there is no need to think of doing it any
other way
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2 The German home
Germans take great pride in their homes
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In a culture where most communication is rather formal, the home is the place where one
can relax and allow ones individualism to shine
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In some houses you might be expected to take off your shoes when entering (especially in
East Germany)
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1 Meeting etiquette
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Greetings are often rather formal unless among friends
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The
other hands should be taken out of the pocket
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Additionally, a handshake may be accompanied with a slight bow
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Titles are very important and denote respect
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You should say Herr or Frau and the person's
title and their surname
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In general, wait for your host or hostess to introduce you to a group
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A weak
handshake gives others the impression that you are insecure and not convinced of your
abilities
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A firm handshake sends a message of
trust, frankness, sincerity, consideration and honesty
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2 Gift giving etiquette
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If you are invited to a German's house, bring a gift such as fine chocolates, a bottle of wine or
flowers
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Remember that the
Rhein-Main region is taking great pride in wine production
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Yellow roses or tea roses are always well received
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A local food specialty of your home country is usually a good idea for a gift, provided it is not
too exotic
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Clothing, perfumes, and other toiletries are considered far too personal to be appropriate
gifts unless among good friends
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Never arrive early
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Do a short phone call or send a thank you note the following day to thank your host for
her/his hospitality
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You may be shown to a particular seat
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Germans do not generally serve other people
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The host will, however, often ask his guests
if they would like more to drink
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Do not expect Germans to ask you if there is anything you do not eat
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Irritation and inconvenience will rather result if you
remain silent and “spring” the problem on the host only when the dishes are being served
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At a large dinner party, wait for the hostess or host to place her/his napkin on her lap before
doing so yourself
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While eating always leave your hands on the table besides your plate
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Bread-rolls should be broken apart by hand
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If you do not want any more food or drink, say so politely
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They will also not take it as impolite or an
insult if you say “no”
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An honoured guest should return the toast later in the meal
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The most common toast with beer is 'Prost!' (lat
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Mainly on smaller dinner parties and occasions all participants clink glasses after the toast
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If many people are being toasted, make eye contact with each individual around the table as
you make the toast
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In some of the more informal restaurants (like universities’ cafeterias) you may share a table
with others, instead of waiting for a free table
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The person who extends the invitation will be the person who pays
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Do refrain from dramatic and persistent efforts to
obtain the bill, as this will not only create confusion and embarrassment in the German
hosts, but in some cases it could be that you do, in fact, end up with the bill
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Unless you have been explicitly “eingeladen”
(“invited”), you can expect the waiter to be asked for separate bills
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5 Rest room manners
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Use the lavatory in a sitting position
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Toilet paper has to be thrown into the lavatory
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Use the toilet brush to erase any possible traces
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Open the window if necessary after use
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6 Communication
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Germans value their privacy and mentally divide between public and private life
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Since intimacy is not freely given, this
may be interpreted as coldness
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After a period of time walls
and barriers eventually fall allowing for more intimate relationships to develop
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Formality dictates that emotions and unnecessary content do not have a place in a
conversation
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Despite the fact that Germany is a de facto “multicultural” society today, it
is, like most European countries, a traditionally non-immigration, mono-cultural country
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Therefore, people of “visible ethnicity” should be prepared for a typical line of questioning
from perfect strangers that attempts to establish where you are “really from”
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g
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Unless you are specifically invited to join a group, do not
automatically expect the established group to send out the “welcome wagon”
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Employees would, of course, be appreciative of praise from superiors, but do
not expect it
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Small talk is an elusive and difficult skill for many Germans, even at university
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Thereby avoid Nazi references in any casual conversation
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While
Germans generally speak very good English, some may well feel offended at the
presumption
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Chewing gum while talking to someone is considered rude
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Even in public between strangers, eye contact or out and out
staring can be direct and not necessarily smiling
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Nonetheless, do not expect direct eye
contact to necessitate some greeting or acknowledgement; the German will also not expect
anything from you
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You can expect the distance of comfort between strangers in public to be smaller than is
considered normal in North America and Australia, but more than in African and Arab
countries
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Simply placing your hand on someone's shoulder may be irritating and make you appear too
authoritative
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If you should accidentally bump into someone or kick her/him under the table, then you
should immediately excuse yourself, with, "Entschuldigung, das war nicht meine Absicht
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Be prepared to move yourself and your goods fast through the checkout line at the
supermarket
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Pitching your groceries into your bag or shop-cart,
digging out your money and pocketing the change, and getting out of there as fast as you can
before the cashier starts swiping the next customer's stuff through, is some mean feat of
dexterity and co-ordination! Some elderly people simply hand their wallets over to the
cashier and have her/him count out the change
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It is best to know your limits, pace yourself and eat plenty of
food
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The
nude beaches are labelled with “FKK” for “Freikörperkultur” which means free body culture
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1 Relationships & Communications
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Germans do not need a personal relationship in order to work together
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People often work with their office door closed
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German communication is formal
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As a group, Germans are suspicious of hyperbole, promises that sound too good to be true,
or displays of emotion
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Expect a great deal of written communication, both to back up decisions and to maintain a
record of decisions and discussions
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2 Meeting etiquette
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Be prepared to make appointments for most things
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Making appointments for a more
detailed telephone conversation is also not unusual
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Casually changing the time and place of an appointment is not appreciated
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The preferred times for meeting appointments are between 10:00 a
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and 1:00 p
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or
between 3:00 p
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and 5:00 p
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Avoid scheduling appointments on Friday afternoons, as
some offices close by 2:00 p
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or 3:00 p
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on Fridays
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Germans generally have six weeks of paid
vacation, which means someone is almost always “in Urlaub” (“on holiday”)
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For
instance, Germans commonly take long vacations during July, August, December and Easter,
when schools break
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If you expect to be delayed, telephone immediately and
offer an explanation
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Do not sit until invited and told where to sit
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Always maintain direct eye contact while speaking
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