23 reactions to this article

mike kucherov posted: 27-02-2008 | 3:30 PM

Dear Mr. Behrendt,

I don't know what your family backround is, but if it so happens that you have a Jewish ancestor who was stripped of German citizenship (as all Jewish Germans were) under the NS regime, you then have an automatic, fast-track claim to German citizenship.

This is how I got my German citizenship, and I must say it was a speedy and painless process (I was able to document everything of course).

Mike Kucherov

denise posted: 27-02-2008 | 6:41 PM

Why would anyone of Jewish background even want to live in Germany with all the attrocities that happened to their people that by the way is stil happening except the Germans have widened the reach of racial discrimination to any foreignor. I would put it behind me. As a foreignor living in Germany (American with a hint of color), I've discovered Germany is the wrong place to live....especially in the EAST. But I guess if you are GERMAN BY BLOOD...and obviously that doesn't mean a foreignor then good luck...you'll join the rest of Germans in denial.

Peter posted: 27-02-2008 | 9:25 PM

I have been in Germany for 18 years and wonder sometimes why I've stayed so long. I'm tall, white, blond hair and blue eyed so you would think I would fit in but when I speak German with a foreign accent things change fast. I received a traffic ticket once with big bold letters on top of the citation "Foreigner" and received the maximum fine possible. Do yourself a favor and move to Wisconsin where there are lots German decendants but are very polite and considerate people unlike the real Germans. If you really must move here, get a job with the US military where you don't need any of the normal German "papers" to live here. To be fair though, there are a lot of good reasons to live here. ps. Germany technically is a US colony because a peace accord has never been signed and Germany's Grundgesezt was developed by the US Army around 1945 or 46.

Daniel Syme posted: 28-02-2008 | 11:44 AM

Have visited Germany many of times over the past seven years (mostly in Berlin and Rostock) and have experienced nothing of the foreign racial treatments mentioned above. Nothing but the utmost kindness from the people there. Of course, visiting is far different from actually living there - or perhaps they just don't hate Australians. ;)

Alan Kruger posted: 28-02-2008 | 2:25 PM

I have lived in Germany for the past 2 years with my family and we love it here. The big breakthrough came for us when I used a relocation specialist. You register though the city you are living in. The people at the consulates in the US never told me this. I have mostly had nice experiences with the German people but one bad experience with the LandesPolizei at Stuttgart airport when my laptop was stolen.

Peter posted: 28-02-2008 | 7:52 PM

I have lived in and visited Germany for various periods of time (three years to one month). I can honestly say I never experienced any difficulties with the natives. According to the above messages, this may be due to the fact that I am caucasian and of German extraction. But I seriously doubt it.
The stigma of the Nazi period is alive and well for most residents in or visitors to Germany. Amazingly, the other side of the coin is unknown or forgotten.
The Allies committed their share of atrocities also.
The teror inspired airware cost Germany 500,000 dead primarily women, children and old people. The racial cleansing of Germans from their provencial homelands in the East (East/West Prussia, Silesia and East Pommerania etc.) resulted in the brutal relocation of some 15 million and the death of 2 million (again primarily women, children and the old.) The imprisonment of thousands of German prisoners of war in open fields with no cover and no or little food resulted again in the loss of thousands. Being in Germany, I often wondered how a country that experienced such losses could have again become a functioning member of the human community. I truly respect and admire Germany for what she is today not for what she was 65 years ago.

Andreas posted: 28-02-2008 | 9:46 PM

I have heard many people making the claims concerning racism denise makes above. Strangely enough non-caucasian people that have grown up in germany don't make that claim. Take soccer player Navina Omilade as an example who said in an interview: "If I didn't look into the mirror from time to time I wouldn't know that I'm not white."
The german etiquette often seems offensive to the english speaking world (and vice versa!). I think that is often mistaken as racism by people that don't know better.

Ava Birgit posted: 29-02-2008 | 2:49 PM

I live in Germany due to my work and I must say I have never had a problem the germany or it's people yes I must admit that some of the older generation can be a little stand-offish with regards to speaking the english language but then again you are a visitor and in visiting any country it might be a good idea to learn a few phrases if you show willing most people respect that and give a little smile and are most obligu-ing. Maybe the reason so many people, tourist or other is because they think they are something important and think because most of the world speaks the english language speaking a second language is beneath them.

Teajay posted: 29-02-2008 | 5:14 PM

Interesting comments. We have lived in Bayern for 6 years and are both white, English blondes. We hear "Auslander" all the time, and I agree with Andreas. German can be a harsh sounding language and often wrongly interpretted. On the whole, we've had very few problems, and as we usually get mistaken for being Dutch (must be our dodgy german accents!), they are amusingly surprised once they know we are actually English, knowing how lazy us Brits are at second languages. Obviously, there are the odd people in our street who still resent our presence, but hey, you can't get on with everyone! We jumped straight in at the deep end when we first arrived, armed only with "Danke", but were welcomed fairly well on the whole. We are lively, outgoing people and have made some good friends here, and there have been some good old humdingers when we don't agree on certain things, but doesn't that happen at home as well. We keep talking about going home, but just can't seem to tear ourselves away from the beer!

Teajay posted: 29-02-2008 | 5:14 PM

Interesting comments. We have lived in Bayern for 6 years and are both white, English blondes. We hear "Auslander" all the time, and I agree with Andreas. German can be a harsh sounding language and often wrongly interpretted. On the whole, we've had very few problems, and as we usually get mistaken for being Dutch (must be our dodgy german accents!), they are amusingly surprised once they know we are actually English, knowing how lazy us Brits are at second languages. Obviously, there are the odd people in our street who still resent our presence, but hey, you can't get on with everyone! We jumped straight in at the deep end when we first arrived, armed only with "Danke", but were welcomed fairly well on the whole. We are lively, outgoing people and have made some good friends here, and there have been some good old humdingers when we don't agree on certain things, but doesn't that happen at home as well. We keep talking about going home, but just can't seem to tear ourselves away from the beer!

Hossein Zakani posted: 12-03-2008 | 9:54 AM

Dear reader
I as well am an Iranian who is planning to move to Germany this year and would like to obtain employment.
I am currently working as a Manager for Radio and Televsion , I have a M.A degree media manegement and I have two B.S in Communication and Computer "software" management from the University. As a result, I am very proficient in oral and written English language.
I do not speak German;however, I do intend to take German classes and become very proficient once I move there.
my reason to move to Germany are also purely personal.
My fiancee is German and that is where we intend to live our life.
I would like to be able to obtain employment prior to moving as I do not want to be solely dependent upon him
Please email me at h.zakani@gmail.com if you have any suggestions. Thank you!

Mike posted: 05-04-2008 | 12:38 PM

Isn't it wonderful that we live in a world with so much variety and difference - it would be very boring otherwise! Good and evil, tolerance and intolerance, arrogance and patience, friendliness and hostility, respect and ignorance as well as exaggeration and understatement, are personal characteristics in every race, religion and colour, as some of the comments in some of the above demonstrate. The important thing is that we all try harder to abide by wholesome attributes and also not embellish or exaggerate. In this far from perfect World however we are probably all guilty of one or other of the more 'unwholesome' attitudes, at some time or other. We should recognise this and try at least to be more temperate members of the one human race!

So, well done to all those who have managed to adapt to life in Germany - and for those who are having difficulty, good luck in the future either in Germany or wherever else you 'land'.

Me - I am English, married to German with 2 grown up sons who have dual nationality. We have lived here for 24 years and prior to that I was in the Royal Air Force - the same Air Force that bombed Dresden and, until reunification, was also prepared to drop bombs on Eastern German cities! Myself and my family are nevertheless well integrated into the local German community, we go to parties, celebrations etc., and have very good friends in all sections of the community, including from the Seychelles, the USA, Russia, Pakistan, Turkey AND Kurdistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Australia (except during Cricket matches or Rugby, where of course England excel!!) - and even Scotland, Wales and Ireland - and many others.

HITLER LOVER posted: 18-04-2008 | 4:36 PM

screw you all ,,, HAIL HITLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jen posted: 22-04-2008 | 5:01 PM

I'll choose to ignore that last comment. I'm half German and half English and moved to Germany a year ago after having spent 22 years living in London. In my last year here I have experienced no problems concerning my background, infact people seemed to be more interested in me when they heard my accent and asked me where I was from. All the people in my company have shown an interest in my culture and have been ready to help when I've needed to fill in any official forms or didn't understand anything. My mother however had many problems in England, as even after living there for 30 years she had a very strong German accent and often was hit with racist comments, even by people in official roles like at our local council. I think it is very unfair to generalise about any race, not all English are racist towards Germans and not all Germans are racist towards English or any other race come to that, but there will always be acceptions.

I am very happy here and although London will always be my home I would like to stay here a for a few years longer before returning or maybe going somewhere new.

Ken posted: 16-05-2008 | 3:46 PM

I hear these complaints, mainly on expat sites. They usually seem to come from Americans, who still have a WWII mentality. Why so many Americans are still fighting a war that ended more than sixty years ago, is beyond understanding.People who live in glass houses, should not throw stones!

If you are a "foreigner" in any country, you naturally are going to be treated somewhat different than natives. That is a fact of life, and cultural differences add to that. I live in a predominantly Cuban American area, and believe me I feel like a foreigner much of the time.

I would simply tell these complainers "if you don't like it, leave".

an american posted: 19-05-2008 | 11:29 PM

i feel that americans are sterio typed as racist and ignorant. but unlike england we don't make racist comments about other white people because most americans are mixed whites and are the majority race. yet it is the minoritys who get all kinds of special governmant help and complain about how they are poor, but when white people came to america from eastern europe and ireland, and itally they were living in slums that today would be condemed as unfit to live in. now they are the middle and upper class. the problen with america is a combination of the democratic party and minoritys trying to form a seperate culture is what causes racisim mostly. i bet when euro immigrents showed up at america the people living there were predjudece toward them. but they assimilated because they wanted to fit in

impitty posted: 05-06-2008 | 10:30 AM

My rwo cents:
I'm an American, been living in southern Germany for a year. My husband's job brought us here. I like Germany, but don't think I would stay here forever. I also don't think I'd go back to the U.S. though... My experience here has been very similar to the U.S... people can be very nice and helpful here, and they can be rude jerks... just depends... There is some level of racism here, just like in the U.S. and pretty much anywhere... I think cities (in any country) are worse for this than the country (we live in the country and even though I speak very little German, people have been very nice and helpful.)

Mac posted: 26-06-2008 | 3:40 PM

The nonsense about excessive levels of racism does not belong here. I have found 99% of the Germans that I have met to be freindly, courteous and very interested in Americans, or anyone of any formal religious background. The Germans have gone so far as to outlaw Mein Kampf, pay out billions in reparations and have a huge memorial to the Holocaust. Germany is way past the WWII stereotype, and I encourage anyone to visit the country to see for themselves. I suspect much of the negativity here is from people who have never been, or have had a negative experience and have exaggerated it to include the entire nation in their judgement.

trier-deutschland posted: 26-06-2008 | 8:47 PM

I'll ignore the level of ignorance expressed by some here. I recently had an experience when some Alabama local (about 60 yrs old) heard me conversing with a German at the post office and said "Heil, Hitler!" to us. I had to apologize for the stupidity of this man many times.

My experience of the process was rather easy. In 200 when I graduated from my university, I returned with my German girlfriend to study in Trier. As I recall, all I did was to fill out the student application for the uni, and once accepted, present the forms to the Auslaenderamt, along with documentation that I have a German bank account, health ins, etc. Once I did this, I paid nearly 50 DM and received a Student Aufenthaltsgenehmigung which allowed me to work for no more than three months (combined) in a year.

It was renewable on a yearly basis, which, for some reason I am not sure of, I didn't have to pay for a renewal. I simply showed up at the office and presented my passport and student documentation to the authorities. Now that I am married to the said girl, the process is easier than before, though I have allowed it to expire since we have been in the USA for the past two years working toward my doctorate.

Liam Reid posted: 30-06-2008 | 8:35 PM

The first few replies present a Germany I have never experienced.

Although my experience is limited the Germans I have interacted with are unbelievably helpful and most are very friendly.

From the woman who overheard us asking for directions and then running aftr us in the street when we went the wrong way to the Landlady who gave us a lift to the airport which was more than an hour away from her home my experiences have always been positive. Make an effort with the language and most people in Germany are happy to help.

Chuck posted: 01-07-2008 | 11:36 AM

Well, I thought the original topic was about this guy's frustration and helplessness in the German bureaucratic maze... Anyway, from my own personal experience I have to say that Germany is not the easiest place to integrate into. Dealing with the authorities and officialdom is certainly difficult at times. I came here as a freelancer and worked for a few years until my German was fluent enough to find a job in my professional field. I remember quite distinctly the absence of any "how to" guides at negotiating the bureucratic mass of forms, etc. Also, unlike many countries, Germany makes no effort to translate basic forms or documents into English. Lazy English speakers aside, it does nothing to streamline the process or present an inviting atmosphere. At any rate, obtaining a Visa was easy, the real devil was in the details: i.e., how nobody tells you the fact that once privately insured (Health Ins.), you most likely will not be admitted back into the AOK, what your Rente (pension) obligations are (and if you are a member of a professional class (e.g., lawyer, doctor, etc.) that you have to join a "Versorgungswerk" and be "freed" from the normal Rente. If you don't do everything correctly, then you end up with a whopper bill. Other examples abound (GEZ, taxes, the various licenses (scheine) you have to obtain for almost every activity whether it be sailing or playing golf)), but my point is that the Germans are fixated with procedure and formalism and generally make the system unnessecarily and overly complicated (that is not to say that many folks within the various bureaus are not helpful and friendly, they often times are). Germany is a very nice place to live, with the caveat that you are formally integrated into the "system." My advice is if you are new to Germany, take a German friend along in all dealings with government and when signing any important contracts, obligations, etc. Also, don't think the behavior, just because its different, is racist. Its just another culture and the abrasiveness and moutain of bureaucracy is typically German (and just plain old vanilla socialism).

David Fulton posted: 17-07-2008 | 10:59 PM

I was born in Germany to a German Mother and an American Father. If I wished to immigrate to Germany from the USA would this fact help my ability to seek work papers and citizenship for myself and my family?

BerlinGirl posted: 19-07-2008 | 1:43 PM

Just happened to come across this site and I am astonished about some of the comments, but instead of complaining about bureaucracy I would ask all of the people who immigrate to Germany to rather give infos instead of lenghty complaints, this doesn't help anyone. As someone how as tried unsuccessfully to recieve a work permit inside the US I have to say that the process for Americans to settle down in Germany is cheap, easy and just in comparison for Germans to the U.S.. You are allowed to stay in Germany as an American for 3 months and even look for a job and ask for the residence permit even afterwards. You have to present a heathcare insurance either an American one and you have to declare that you won't go on socail welfare, having done that you are allowed to work immediatly in Germany as a freelancer. A permanent work looks different, but it doesn't cost you the montrous sums like 10.000 US$ instead you go online to the German embassy and look into the section of working in Germany. The guy on the here calling the German embassy in Florida should have just gone online and look for infos. Additionally I would nevere recommend to anyone to move to a country where you don't spek the language suffiently unless you don't need to work or the business culture is so diverse that it is mainly in English like it is in Switzerland or Russia or China. Germany in gerneral is not a racist country but Germans ARE in fact very outspoken and direct and making jokes about cultural differences of all ethnicities belongs to a European identify that serves a bigger aim: trying to get along with each other while sitting almost on top of each other in terms of little space...Asians have solved this in the other extremity by remaining very very polite and kepp smiling but for the same reason, many, many perople, with littel space trying to get a long. The other nice thing about Germany is that criminal law and general law doesn't vary dramatically from state to state like in the U.S.,also taxes are everywhere the same, and one last remark to the one who said, Germany is socialist: Germany has a social market structure economywise and not socialist. Big difference, but some people just don't want to understand the huge impact three little letters can have or the absence of the latter (-ist). So much for this, to all expats here a warm welcome to Germany, the land of outspoken, direct, warmhearted, thourough rude forgiving, diverse people. Cheers