GERMANS, BRITS and the

MEDIA

A NUERNBERG – HEREFORD

PARTNERSHIP PROJECT

Dated: September, 2013.

GERMANS, BRITS and the MEDIA

Sequence of Contents

1. “DON’T MENTION THE WAR!.”

2. Ursula Koehler’s Abitur Seminar: the brief for the students.

3. The students and their titles.

4. Interview with Franziska.

5. Extracts: Franziska on British Food.

6. Extracts: Viola on War Films on British TV.

7. Extract: Thorn on the Brits’ increasing interest in Germany.

8. Extract: Elisabeth on Margaret Thatcher.

9. Extract: Rebecca on Prince Charles.

10. Extract: Karina on Royalty in German Women’s Magazines.

11. Extracts: Maximilian on British Hooligans in German Newspapers.

12. Extracts: Lisa on Football and the Image of Germans in the British

tabloids.

13. Extracts: Natascha on Mr. Bean and his comedies.

14. Extracts: Mirjam on John le Carré’s Portrayal of the Germans.

GERMANS, BRITS and the MEDIA

DON’T MENTION THE WAR!

But Basil Fawlty did, and we do, and we go on doing it. WWI and WWII are ever with

us, and next year of course yet another anniversary will be marked with ceremony across

our nation. Some of our “mentions” are constructive for peace and progress; sadly, many

others are less so…and tend to reinforce the old stereotypes and prejudices we still hold,

not far beneath our skin, against “the enemy”.

The Germans…and, for sure, many Germans see us Brits in stereotype too.

We have on our channels this TV barrage of battles: war-films seldom conducive to

reconciliation, and towards moving on. They form a backcloth to the operations of the

partnership we have with our sisters and brothers in Christ in Nuernberg.

While we must face the causes and conduct and consequences of the World Wars, we

seek to foster a more balanced approach to the history we teach about one another, to

broaden our perspective of one another and update our images.

In the BATTLE AGAINST STEREOTYPE, some young people have come to our aid. Many

youngsters have a scathing scan on hypocrisy, an instinct for justice, and a critique of what is

doled out to them by the adult world.

Not least by the media: and so it was that in our partner-school in Nuernberg, the

Wilhelm-Loehe-Schule, a team of eleven Abitur (A-Level) students of English embarked on a

special project: to examine how TV and the press presented aspects of Germans here in the

U.K., and aspects of Brits over there in Germany.

The eleven’s topics of media portrayal include: German politics, war films, Princess

Diana, Prince Charles, Margaret Thatcher, football rivalry and hooliganism, Mr. Bean, John le

Carré, and – not least – British gastronomic culture!

Serious research, leavened with humour.

Their enquiries were helped by Sixth Form Students at Hereford Cathedral School.

E-mails were sent, and postal packages arrived from these English allies.

To all these students, from our Partnership, thank you…and also to Ursula Koehler,

pioneer and long-standing friend of our Anglo-German exchanges, and a former member of

the Meissen Commission. Ursula is the teacher in the WLS English Department who inspired

and enabled this project.

September, 2013 Tristram Jenkins

URSULA KOEHLER: ABITUR SEMINAR:

THE BRIEF FOR THE STUDENTS.

Over-arching Umbrella theme:

The Germans in the British Media

The British in the German Media

The target set for the Seminar, and the rationale for its themes, are as follows:-

“Don’t mention the war!” The experience of two World Wars and their portrayal,

particularly in the media, still determine the picture of Germans prevalent in the U.K.

Conversely, many Germans have a precise image of the Brits…likewise gleaned

predominantly from the media.

In this Seminar a variety of English and German media (newspapers, magazines, radio, TV,

cinema and internet websites) should be investigated from certain angles: which themes

they pick up/seize on from their respective opposite country, and the scope of their

coverage (how and for which target-group it is reported, and what bias can be detected in

the portrayal).

Newspapers, television and radio have a central role in providing ideas and images on

which people base their interpretations and understanding of everyday experiences.

THE STUDENTS AND THEIR TITLES

1. Franziska, on “British Gastronomic Culture: its development and its image in the

German media.”

2. Viola on “War Films on British TV and the Image of Germans they convey.”

3. Thorn on “The current image of Germany and the Germans in the British media.”

4. Elizabeth on “Margaret Thatcher.”

5. Rebecca on “The image of Prince Charles in the German media.”

6. Karina on “The 2011 Royal Wedding on the background of Lady Diana’s public image

as conveyed in German women’s magazines and quality papers.”

7. Felix on “British Quality Papers and German Politics.”

8. Maximilian on “British Hooligans in German newspapers.”

9. Lisa on “Football and the Image of the Germans in the British Tabloids.”

10. Natascha on “Mr. Bean and his Comedies: their effect on the image of the British in

Germany.”

11. Mirjam on “John le Carré’s portrayal of Germans in his books.”

INTERVIEW WITH FRANZISKA

EXTRACTS: FRANZISKA ON BRITISH FOOD

(a) “In our English textbooks from the fifth grade onwards, food is only seldom mentioned.

Pupils get to know that the British like to each fish and chips, sandwiches with peanut

butter, cheese, salad and a lot of meat, especially roast beef with Yorkshire pudding.

Other secondary experiences leaving their mark on everyone come by means of

television and internet. I refer to feature films that unconsciously transport an image of

British habits, e.g., a very nice scene of Inspector Barnaby (ITV, Midsomer Murders) in which

the Inspector and his daughter give Mrs. Barnaby’s lovingly-prepared pudding to the

neighbour’s dog and instead order Indian food from a take-away.”

“Prejudices are reinforced because of the experiences some people encounter. Often

exaggerated accounts of school exchanges with ‘terrible food’ or typical English products in

German shops like the ‘British Week at Lidl’ belong to those bad experiences. The sold food

is mostly deep-frozen meals like fish-and-chips, cod fillets in parsley sauce, baked beans or

apple pies which are likely to taste revolting. Prejudices can only be eliminated if they are

opposed with a vast quantity of facts without the opportunity to see these as an exception.

Also, good personal experience will act against them. If a British friend took me out to an

excellent restaurant, my prejudices would be cured immediately, and if there were enough

attractive cookbooks presenting British cuisine in Germany I would soon change my mind.

The media, especially television and internet are mighty enough to dissolve wrong images

through presenting British cuisine differently.”

(b) The survey (of c. 100 Germans and c. 20 English people).

“Most people first think of fish & chips (60% of the ones who have not yet been to

England), beans and Full English Breakfast. 60.3% call the whole English cuisine unhealthy

for being fatty, salty, too nourishing or fast food. 45.6% simply wrote the food is ‘bad’ and

stated it requires getting used to. It has to be stressed that these are 93% of the ones who

have never tried British food! 35.3% mentioned English food’s bad seasoning and

monotony and 33.3% of those who have never been to England expect badly prepared

meat. Still 10.3% would call English food well-cooked, special and varied and remember

delicious desserts and bakery and 11.3% experienced the cuisine being distinguished by

tasty international dishes.

On average the polled persons would award three stars to British food on a scale of one

to ten stars.

The following table shows the quantitative results of the questionnaires on taste, variety

and health:

Taste delicious 5.9% ordinary: 33.8% just edible 57.4% revolting 4.4%

Variety very varied: 11.8% few variations: 64.7% monotonous 19% the same each day 4.4%

Health very healthy: 4.4% relatively healthy: 35.3% hardly any veg/fruit:55.9% mere fastfood 4.4%

Again those who had never been to England judged more negatively!

The image of British food in Germany was determined by 66.2% as a negative one, which

is proven for example by the statement that there is no English food for sale in Germany,

that everybody comments badly on it, especially in films or television and that there is not

known much more than fish & chips. Asked about whether they have noticed a change in

this image 70.6% ticked that they had never thought about the topic consciously and 71.6%

were not interested in English food anyway.”

The German sample: young adults aged between 20 and 40

The English sample: teenagers.

(c) “It is only a short step from prejudices against food to prejudices against persons.

The French love to insult the British as ‘Les Rosbifs’ while the British see this as a

compliment because the roast beef is part of their national pride. ‘Since the 16th century the

English have considered beef as the commodity which best expresses their perceived

national characteristics of common sense, love of liberty, manliness and martial power’

(Spiering, 2006:31). Moreover the plain meal was the perfect symbol of the virtues of

Protestant honesty and simplicity. The importance of roast beef was also visible in the deep

national indignation when the product was declared unsafe by the E.U. in the 1990’s. Many

British also fear that the E.U. will jeopardise their national identity by banning other

traditional British products, which proves scholar Ben Roger’s statement (Nuernberger

Nachrichten 2003) ‘After language, food is the most important bearer of national identity.’

From non-British people, we hear a lot of statements complaining that the British are as

bland as their puddings, that they are as boring as their unseasoned meals, and keeping

their composure during the hunger of rationing makes them appear unemotional!”

(d) “To overcome German prejudices, great personal experiences as well as much more

positive reports from the media, especially TV, should be offered. Unfortunately we cannot

force British chefs to immigrate and import their cuisine, and those mouth-watering

magazines like ‘Good Food’ will probably not be available in Germany too soon. But Jamie

Oliver took the first step by publishing the German cookery magazine ‘Jamie’ in 2011, which

presents British cuisine as it is eaten in real life, hoping that everyone will soon arrive at his

conviction (YouTube 2011):

‘When you tune in to great British food, it’s like a big hug. It’s just stuff that makes you

really happy.’”

VIOLA ON WAR FILMS ON BRITISH TV

(a) “The image of Germany as ‘the enemy’ has its beginning in l914 after German troops

attacked France. Stereotypes such as ‘bull-necked Prussian officers,’ ‘Boches’ or ‘Huns’,

were invented to corrupt the German image.

A both revolutionary and powerful new medium at that time was the film. This

subliminally manipulating innovation, seen as the newsreels available to a wider public in

the cinemas or on TV set, for anyone possessing a TV set, enforced the construction and

spread of stereotypical images. Germans could thus be characterised as dumb soldiers who

could be outwitted by their allied counterparts at any time. The Third Reich backed the

point of view that Germany was not any better, and National Socialism appeared to reveal

the genuine image of the Germans. British author, Osbert Sitwell said in l934 that ‘the

atrocities in Germany are, like the war, the result of the German character.”

(b) “But (for some people I interviewed) the image of the Germans seems to have

increasingly changed. The interviewers had the impression that there is far less prejudice

against the Germans in England and that the two former enemies are trying to co-operate

more and more.”

(c) “During World War II the Germans were seen as enemies without scruples by the British.

However (for some) a distinction is made between the soldiers: the older German soldiers

are believed to have felt pity with the local people under occupation, whereas the younger

soldiers were arrogant and ruthless, probably because of the brainwashing they received

through Nazi propaganda.

In ‘Allo Allo!’ you can see that some of the German soldiers, e.g., Colonel Kurt von Strohm

and Hans Geering, even work together with the French and help them.

Sometimes it seems as though the German characters are trying to be harsh but fail

because of their clumsiness. ‘Shoot the lock off, kick the door in, take an axe! You are a

German officer Hans – behave like one! And don’t come back with a comb, like last time.’

Mr. Otto Flick of the Gestapo is a cold, unfeeling and merciless person. The Gestapo song

he sings paints a brutal picture of the Germans: ‘You put your left boot in. You take your

left boot out. You do a lot of shouting and you shake your fists about. You light a little

smokey and you burn down ze town. Zat’s what it’s all about. Heil! Ah, Himmler, HImmler,

Himmler…’. Mr. Flick’s mentality and his attitude are shown in a ludicrous manner when he

talks about his wedding with Helga Geerhart. After the ceremony he wants to walk ‘through

an arch of rubber truncheons held by Gestapo colleagues in jackboots with her.

Hans Geering, the German captain, said of him, unintentionally, ‘The German Swine.’”

(d) “The theme song at the beginning of ‘Dad’s Army’ (written by Jimmy Perry) already

clearly pictures the distinct British attitude in World War II. Adolf Hitler is characterised as

being not clever enough to outwit the British ‘We are the boys who will stop your little

game…’.

Sergeant Wilson on one occasion states ‘that the Germans have absolutely no sense of

humour,’ which perfectly matches one of my interviewee’s responses, that the Germans

cannot laugh about themselves compared to the British, who can laugh about any and

everything or body.

A further character, Pike, sings a childishly naïve song about Hitler, making fun of him and

his troops:

‘Whistle while you work. Hitler is a twerp. He’s half barmy, so’s his army. Whistle while you

work!’

The song exaggerates the naïve conception of and anger about the Germans, felt during

this period of time. When Captain Mainwaring got angry with the captured German U-Boat

Captain, he said to him: ‘You unspeakable swine!’”

(e) “The above-mentioned comedy series were never designed to be taken seriously. ‘Allo

Allo!’ pokes as much fun at the French, British and Italian characters as it does at the

Germans. The series proved to be very popular among the older generation, who had lived

through the war. If anything, the ability of the British to see a funny side to situations, and

groups within society, serves to take away tensions and prejudices rather than add to them.

Laughter can remove fear and prejudice.”

(f) “Obviously the British opinion of the Germans has drastically changed between the two

World Wars and now. One problem, however, may still be that a large part of the British

population does not have a lot of knowledge about Germany and may still feel a certain

antipathy towards Germany… Many British people unfortunately still associate the

Germans with Nazis simply because of Germany’s inglorious past. They pick up these

images from stories retold by elderly relatives or at school where the history lessons

possibly terminate with the end of World War II, leaving out more recent developments. A

method to improve the further relationship between Germany and Great Britain could be to

inform the pupils about German history in a more detailed way.

There should also be more school-pupils’ exchanges between the two countries in order

to enable the pupils to get to know the different cultures. Having personal experience in a

foreign country may help to eliminate prejudice or false out-dated images, and make way

for an opinion based on one’s personal experiences.

Possibly the first time the British were enthusiastic about the German friendliness was

during the World Cup in 2006. This could at least be seen as a start of a modern, positive

view of each other.”

THORN ON THE BRITS’ INCREASING INTEREST IN GERMANY

“I have often been to England and therefore have a keen interest in British culture. There

are many young people I know, and it is interesting for me to learn what they are thinking

about my homeland, and how their interest has increased in recent years. Especially

because of my contacts with British youth, it is easy for me to ask them questions about

their interest in Germany, and if it has increased, or whether it even exists. I think it is

important for us to know our image in Britain because we are part of the E.U., and living in a

globalising world.”

ELISABETH ON MARGARET THATCHER

“First I was surprised that I took a political theme for my ‘Seminararbeit’, because I am

more the creative type of person. That is why my only ideas were subjects like fashion or

architecture, but then I thought it through and I have come to the conclusion that these are

not that productive. This is the cause why I had to search for more topics, so it comes I

found myself torn between two other themes. But finally Margaret Thatcher could prevail

herself as she has always done in her life. That is the motive behind why I wanted to

present her because of her personal strong character, her ambition and of course she is one

of the most successful woman in politics ever. That is why I am interested in her and that is

why you should also be interested in her.”

REBECCA ON PRINCE CHARLES

“I’m very interested in the English Royal House. Most people keep themselves informed

about the Queen or Lady Diana, but I think Prince Charles is way more interesting, especially

because of his work for our planet. Whatever it is environmental protection or architecture,

it is all interesting and important for us and the next generations.

This topic is not only interesting for me. It is also very relevant for every person who

lives on this planet. Prince Charles shows the problems of the world the way they are, and

he really wants to contribute to solving them. This is the kind of attitude more people in the

world should have.”

KARINA ON ROYALTY IN GERMAN WOMEN’S MAGAZINES

“I chose this topic, because in my free time I read a lot of women’s magazines. I find it

interesting to find out about famous people…how they live, what happens in their lives and

so on.

If one thinks of England and compares it with Germany or France, then the big difference

gets clear very fast. England has got a queen who stands above everyone, highest in the

country’s hierarchy. But there are many more interesting people who belong to the English

royal House than just the Queen. And because everyone should know more about other

people from the royal House, I have decided to deal with this topic.”

MAXIMILIAN ON BRITISH HOOLIGANS IN GERMAN NEWSPAPERS

(a) “Long before football was invented, the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes in the 17th

Century wrote: ‘Homo homini lupus: the human being in contact with human beings

behaves like a wolf’.

In 1898 the word hooligan was mentioned for the first time in an English daily

newspaper. The origin of the word is not completely sure. There are two possibilities.

Either it is from an Irish-born family named ‘Houlihan’, who were known as violent and

hard-drinking, or it comes from the so-called ‘Hooley’s Gang’, a band of young street

criminals. In 1900 the word was used for street criminals and for men who show heavy

alcohol consumption and a rowdy behaviour. But only since the l960’s and 70’s has the idea

‘hooligan’ been used for violent football fans.”

(b) “In Germany there are about 405 newspapers published and the total circulation is

about 28 million. 70% of the total circulation in 2005 was made up of regional and local

newspapers. The owners of the newspapers are mainly German publishing houses, not

parties or companies. While the quality papers are focused on simplicity and restraint in

their reports, the popular press shows stark contrasts. Their main colours are black and red.

The pictures prevail over the continuous text. On the front page they show the news of the

day in a very dramatic way. They use street language because the reader should accept the

newspaper as a friend.”

(c) “The Nuernberger Nachrichten wrote on page 3 on 27/28.06.1998 that England is the

mother-country of football hooligans.

This newspaper reckoned that the big catastrophe in Heysel on 29May 1985 was the

beginning of England’s hooligan-history. The disaster in Heysel, in which 39 people died and

454 were injured, changed the football world. English hooligans caused this catastrophe

before the European cup final between Juventus Turin and FC Liverpool had even begun.

On May 30 1985 the Abendzeitung published a seven-page report on the disaster in Heysel.

Among other things the history of English hooligans from (in their view) l972 to May l985

was listed. This report with the title ‘Briten in ganz Europe gefuerchtet’ by Manfred Hart

with the enumeration of selected hooligan events, gives the reader the feeling of an all-

present and strong power of English hooligans.”

(d) “In spite of calm times of English hooligans, the Berliner Zeitung wrote on 17.02.1995 an

article filling pages about the chronicle of English hooligans for the period between l974 and

1993. This severe article was to remind readers of these rowdies.

The next big riot, with the involvement of English hooligans, occurred during the l998

World Cup, and was mentioned in a report published in the Abendzeitung on 15.06.1998 on

page 17. The article was about the beginning of the Football World Cup in France, and

mentions that English hooligans caused a free-for-all and threw beer bottles on cars. The

police used tear-gas against English and Tunisian hooligans. On 26.06.1998 the AZ published

a report with the headline “’Was tun gegen die Hooligans?’ (‘What’s to be done against

hooligans?’). The Nuernberger Nachrichten picked up this theme on 27/28.06.1998. This is

astonishing, because there were no riots during the match England vs. Colombia the day

before. It is a favoured and often-used method that newspapers report about hooligans

even if there were no problems the day before. They do it because it has been proved that

circulation is much higher when they mention problems with football hooligans. Between

17.06.2000 and 26.06.2000, both quality and popular newspapers published reports about

the riots of English hooligans at the weekend. The AZ mentioned 1000 arrests and that UEFA

wanted to ban England from the European Cup.”

(e) “In 2006 was the World Cup in Germany and all newspapers were full of reports about

English hooligans. At the beginning the hooligans were observed anxiously. On 01.06.2006

the AZ carried the headline ‘Alarmstufe Rot: Tausende Polizisten...’ (‘Red Alert: Thousands

of police…’). However, starting from 16.06.2006 the first all-clears were published in the

newspapers, and the FIFA 2006 World Cup in Germany is characterised as a widely trouble-

free one. Fan-researcher Gunter A. Pilz stated that the reason for this was that the German

police were excellently organised.

The AZ on 01.06.2006 had noted that ‘English Bobbies are coming to give support’

(‘Englische Bobbys Kommen Zur Unterstuetzung’).”

(f) “On 16.10.2010 there were reports about Serbian hooligans in the media. The chronicle

of my research shows that in the archives of the newspapers some East Europeans could be

sporadically found. On 22.02.2011 there was a report about hooligans from Poland

published on WDR. It is possible to read the report on the internet. The most important

part of it is: ‘Polish hooligans are training for the European Cup in Poland and the Ukraine,

and are particularly looking forward to the English, as these are reckoned to be the hardest

brawlers in the world’. In addition they are happy to meet ‘die Ostdeutschen Nazis’. So the

most important hooligans will face each other. Maybe then it will be possible to resolve the

question – which the newspapers could not: Which nation has the worst football hooligans

today?”

(g) “Today you find intensified reports about hooligans from Poland on the internet and on

TV; and from our newspapers: Die Frankfurter Allgemeine on 06.09.2011 ‘European Cup:

Poland the host: the land of hooligans’.

What my collected articles have proved is that it is clear that the newspapers are flexible

when it comes to calling someone friend or foe. Will the East European hooligans one day

be in the pole position, ahead of the English ones?”

(h) From Maximilian’s surveys of Germans: “many were not sure if they had not read the

articles about hooligans or had just forgotten them because other events in the media had a

bigger importance for them.”

“79/100 did not link the behaviour of English hooligans to the whole of British Society.

That is gratifying and logical, because every society has its bad seed.”

“Most people thought the East European hooligans were the worst. 40 persons were of

this opinion; 33 persons thought the English were the most violent; 17 decided Italy, and

15 Germany.” (5 voted twice!)

“72/100 were satisfied with their newspapers, describing them as neutral and

informative…17 stated that the newspapers looked consciously for an enemy – the English

hooligans – and agitated their readers.”

LISA ON FOOTBALL AND THE IMAGE OF GERMANS IN THE BRITISH TABLOIDS

(a) “’Two World Wars and One World Cup.’ What an expressive characterisation of the

history and relationship between the two nations Britain and Germany. It is the lyric of a

song composed by supporters of the English National Football Team to the tune of John

Cash’s ‘Camptown Races’, and is directed to the German team and its fans. The statement

suggests differences and even a rivalry between Britain and Germany, and obviously football

is a component of the relationship between the two countries too.”

(b) “The first international football match between England and Germany took place on the

10th May 1930 at Grunewald Stadium in Germany. But at the time a football game was not

such an attraction as it is today, so it was of little interest in England as well as in Germany.

Quality papers did not even mention the match, and the popular papers in Britain just

offered a few lines. The Daily Worker used the occasion to make its own political points: the

German team was ‘the strongest eleven that bourgeois football could put into the field’.

Differently five years later, when political tensions in the whole of Europe began to

increase, and reporting about sport was obviously a good means of presenting an opinion

indirectly…the Daily Worker showed a great interest in informing the British about the

upcoming match on the 4th December 1935 at Wembley Stadium in London;. The event was

reported under the banner headline ‘HITLER FOOTBALL GANG LANDS’ and the by-line

‘Where to meet Nazis today’.”

(c) ”One remarkable event in history is when the English twice failed in penalty shoot-outs in

important matches against the German team in 1990 and 1996. At that time the tabloids

were reporting again more and more provocatively. Particularly the Mirror attracted

attention with the headling ’ACHTUNG! SURRENDER!’ (24TH June 1996), and a wordy

declaration of ‘football war’ on Germany. The coverage in other tabloids like the Daily Star

or the Sun was on similar lines. On the basis of these headlines, a mutual battle between

the German and British tabloids started….”

(d) “When the Football Championship in Germany began (in 2006), one got the impression

that the general mood was beginning to change. Maybe the tabloids abandoned their

negative reporting about the German team because the English team did not meet them in

a match during the whole Championship. Or perhaps the English were definitely impressed

by German hospitality and the German football team…. Seemingly, for the first time there

was praise for Germans in British tabloids. The Sun admitted that the Germans had been the

exact opposite of what the English expected them to be. Contrary to the old stereotype of

the German as a ‘stickler for rules, a humourless bureaucrat, inflexible and rigid,’ thousands

of visitors discovered this image was absolute because they were surprisingly ‘confronted by

a nation insisting that nothing get in the way of good times’.”

(e) “However, the familiar atmosphere ended abruptly with a scandalous headline in

January before the World Cup 2010. ‘GERMANY BRING BACK THE BLACK SHIRTS’, the Daily

Star announced to the English after the German team-player Michael Ballack had presented

the new tricot. The article blamed the Germans for setting up ‘a Reichstink at the World

Cup by playing in Nazi-style black shirts, which arouse memories of the notorious SS’.”

(f) “The Second World War is a popular theme, and some tabloids are already eminently

famous for liking to make allusions to the war (in relation to current affairs). In the summer

of 2011 the Daily Mail claimed Germany was pursuing the ‘rise of the Fourth Reich’ because

they were ‘using the financial crisis to conquer Europe’ (17th August 2011). Sport is another

area where flashes of the past are recovered in the articles in order to inform a new

generation of the iconic moments of the nation’s history.”

(g) “There are also reports in the German press about the British, connected to football. But

quite contrary to the British tabloid reports, conspicuous provocative articles against the

other country are rare. Usually the German press refers factually to the English team before

a match…it only matters which players will play on or how much Germany needs a victory in

the upcoming match. Normally the reports about opponents’ teams do not differentiate

the British from other nations or treat the British as if they have a special position.”

(h) “’Football has become a kind of metaphor for international relations in peacetime’ (The

Times, 18th January 2011). Because the tabloids’ main aim is to increase sales, the anger of

the British press should not be taken too seriously. As the political editor of the

Nuernberger Nachrichten, Georg Escher, says: maybe the British provoke the Germans

because they see them as friends and just want to make fun. So if they suffer further

headlines of the British tabloids in future, the Germans should just treat them with

humour.”

NATASCHA ON MR. BEAN AND HIS COMEDIES

(a) ”Rowan Atkinson is one of my favourite comedians and his sketch ‘Mr. Bean meets the

Queen’ is one of my favourite Mr. Bean sketches…. I chose to write about Mr. Bean and his

comedies because he has a personal meaning to me. My father lived in England for four

years and went to Seaford College, Petworth, West Sussex. When I was younger, he always

watched Mr. Bean with me, which made Mr. Bean become a kind of role model for me,

since in my eyes he reflected my father. What I want to do is to answer the question: ‘What

is the secret of Mr. Bean’s success?’ Certainly the main point of my seminararbeit will be

the question: ‘What is it that makes Germans think Mr. Bean is typically English?’, and to

find a reasonable explanation for this phenomenon.”

(b) “Atkinson’s relationship to Mr. Bean gets very clear when he talks about the character

and the work which is related to it. But it is a surprise that Mr. Bean is no easy role for him

to play, but causes him discomfort. The comedian does not like the personality of Mr. Bean

but nevertheless likes to play the character because Bean is an old friend of Atkinson. He

thinks Mr. Bean is not a bad person but an aggressive and egocentric person who behaves

like a child. The fact leads to the question where the character Mr. Bean comes from. As

Atkinson says, it is possible that Mr. Bean is a reflection of his own subconscious, and has

features of him as a child.”

(c) “Mr. Bean lives from physical comedy; he tries to make the audience laugh by using

mostly his body, like Charlie Chaplin did decades before. The fact that there are just small

dialogues in the series is one reason for the success of Mr. Bean all over the world.”

(d) “Generally Brits are believed to be polite, helpful and very reserved. The British

stereotypical man gets changed for dinner, has a deadpan humour and wears tweed, an

umbrella and a billycock. The humour is often directed against themselves, but only Britons

are tolerated to make fun of their own country. Their politeness could be understood as

friendship, although it is a long way to win a Briton’s trust.” (www.alles-klischees.de, and

www.zeit.de/Kultur/film/2011-10/interview-rowan/atkinson).

(e) “Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean embodies every cliché in existence about the Britons

across-the-board. The first…is Mr. Bean’s typical British outfit he wears in every single

episode. It is composed of a tweed jacket, a white shirt, a pair of brown trousers, black

shoes and a red tie.

This combination is the stereotype-outfit the world believes all Britons to look like. To

Germans even Mr. Bean’s face and hair are typical of Britons. This impression might be

caused by Mr. Bean’s remarkable resemblance to Prince Charles. In the sketch ‘Hair by Mr.

Bean’ he is in a hair salon and even orders a Prince Charles hairstyle. Even his green Mini is

supposed to be typically British…. The British politeness is conveyed in the sketch ‘Mr.

Bean: The Church.’ Mr. Bean is in church, but obviously extremely bored and tired. He tries

not to fall asleep, and to conceal his feelings from the gentleman sitting next to him, so that

he does not feel pressure from Mr. Bean. The Britons’ perfection in queuing and their

missing sportiness get caricatured in the sketch ‘Mr. Bean-Judo Class’ in which the series-

hero wants to learn Judo. When it is his turn to practice the throw with the teacher, Mr.

Bean becomes frightened because he knows he cannot do any Judo, and bolts.

Even though Mr. Bean embodies all the clichés of a typical Briton and the way they are

imagined to look like and behave, the biggest feature that might make him seem so British

to Germans is his sense of humour and the ironic image of the Britons he himself conveys to

Germany.”

(f) “I think one may say Mr. Bean’s comedies did not change the image of the British in

Germany a lot. The comedies rather added to the stereotype. From it emerges a Briton who

does not show his feelings and is very reserved towards other persons, but is accident-prone

and tries to manage the disasters happening in his life with a large dose of self-

deprecation.”

MIRJAM ON JOHN LE CARRÉ’S PORTRAYAL OF THE GERMANS

(a) ”As a British spy he spent some years in Germany during the Cold War. But on his travels

through Germany and Europe he fell in love with the Germans, their language and their

literature. He was especially influenced by his teacher in Bern, from whom he learned to

believe in another non-adversarial Germany.”

(b) “In 1961 John le Carré published his first book ‘Call for the Dead’, in which he introduces

George Smiley, the main character of this and many other novels. He described Smiley as a

smart guy who does not judge Germans for their recent history, and accepts them open-

mindedly. In particular ‘he resented, too, the way in which the Faculty had tampered with

his subject: his beloved German literature’ (p.5). Therefore le Carré wants to show the

British that the German history was not only influenced by right-wing radicalism: it has also

several positive intellectual and cultural aspects…. Smiley is a quieter, more thoughtful

person. This is the way he solves his detective cases. Smiley can only get a general view if

he knows all the details. Le Carré is of the opinion that this serves as a good example for

everyone: he wants people to be open-minded to and interested in other cultures, and only

judge them when they know the entire background…there have been black moments in

German history, but the German people have changed their minds and learned from the

mistakes of their fathers and grandfathers. One cannot be prejudiced towards Germans in

general. One has to create a new image of a new German generation.”

(c) ”Unlike in ‘Call for the Dead’, the setting of le Carré’s novel ‘A Small Town in Germany’ is

not in England, but in Bonn, the former capital of Germany. Leo Harting disappears from

the British Embassy, and with him some secret documents. At the same time a resurgence

of the new radical right-wing party takes place in Germany with the party leader Klaus

Karfeld. Through the interrogation of Harting’s lover he (Alan Turner, an agent of the British

Foreign Office) finally finds the missing files, and it turns out that Harting only wanted to see

Karfeld being accused of war crime.

Harting also speaks Italian and knows the English culture, as he emigrated to England

during the war. There he experiences what it means to be a misfit. ‘He could speak Italian.

And he learned it in England at the Farm School. The other kids wouldn’t speak to him, see,

him being German, so he used to go out on a bicycle and talk to the Italian prisoners of war.

He’s never forgotten it. Never.’ (p.94). Le Carré wants to show, with this upgrade of a

German, that there are also nice Germans, and that it is important to learn languages for a

full understanding of culture.”

(d) “ Although the East-West conflict provides the background of the book, many comments

that foster a positive image of the Germans can be found if one reads thoroughly between

the lines. In contrast to “Call for the Dead’, le Carré describes the media and the secondary

characters as supportive of the Germans…’They insist that they are not brownshirts and

hooligans, but young Germans wholly disenchanted with the institution of Bonn. Both Welt

and Frankfurter Allgemeine draw parallels with recent events in England: they refer

specifically to the anti-Vietnam protests in London.’ (p. 27)

(e) “Mass media is for le Carré a medium through which totalitarianism can spread freely.

‘When had mass philosophies ever brought benefit or wisdom?’ (Call for the Dead p.147).

People blindly accept what is shown to them. ‘He read it in the newspaper. After a few

minutes he spoke with sudden venom: Krauts. Bloody Krauts. God, I hate them!’ (p. 51).

Here he shows how easily people can be influenced by the media.”

(f) “ Le Carré’s intention (speech to the Youth 25.6.2010) is to motivate young people to

learn German, to become acquainted with German history and to avoid stereotypes. Only a

fraction of those students will have any idea of the price Germany itself has since paid for

the Third Reich; of the miraculous creation of the new German democracy, of the

upheavals…. Instead, encouraged by our frequently appalling media, one British generation

after another is encouraged to moulder in that vanished golden age when Britain was great

and good and all alone, and Germany was awful. Germany and Britain today have nothing

to fear from one another, and much to learn, and now is the time to learn it. By learn, I

mean listen. And not only listen, but learn it and speak it.’ (Speech to the Youth 25.6.2010).

He reveals exactly the weaknesses of the English school system to learn foreign languages

appropriately, especially the proper imparting of the past and the present of a foreign

culture. As a consequence there are many deficits in their knowledge about their

neighbours ‘on the continent’. “

(g) “’Le Carré has always been convinced that language-learning is the key to understanding

foreign cultures’ writes the Goethe Institute of Germany in the course of awarding the

Goethe-Medaille to him.”

(h) “’I don’t need to tell you that we Brits in the large know almost nothing of the real

Germany today. And our popular media do precious little to enlighten us: quite the reverse’

(Speech to the Youth 25.6.2010).