Why Germans are leading Europe.
By topffer
@topffer (42156)
France
June 19, 2017 6:54am CST
When my previous house was sold last month, I could not walk, and I sent a procuration to the notary with a letter asking to the new owner to toggle the electric meter at his name as soon as possible. He did it, and as I have opted to receive my bills by internet, I received the last bill for this house at the end of May. But today I am receiving a letter from the electric company with a form to complete to tell them what is my main address now and the references of the electric meter at this address
. Well, I pay for several electric meters, and they perhaps do not know, but why instead of sending an email are they sending me a snail mail... to my previous address as they know that I do not live there anymore 
!
Today we have officially a heat wave in French schools. There are several weeks that we were above 30° C, but it was not official. To be official the ministry of health has to inform of the heat the ministry of Education. The ministry of Education informs the rectorats (kind of boards of education) and teachers should apply many rules when the heat is official. It is very long and starts by :
-- Keep the children in a fresh ambiance ;
-- Control the functionality or the installation of blinds and shutters ;
-- Study the possibilities of limiting the entrance of heat in the rooms ;
Etc, etc, etc. It is 2 pages long 
! Do you know how the Germans are dealing with heat ? They have a thermometer on the wall of the classroom, and when it reaches 25 or 26°C, they tell to children to go back home
.
I have been asked several times why I was preferring to send archeological items in Germany to restore them than to have them restored in France ? There was often a tone of blame in the voice asking that. However it is easy to understand : in France a restorer starts by doing a Master in History of Art and/or Archeology, or by going to «Ecole du Louvre», and then does a diploma to become an «Heritage Restorer». This diploma is only accessible at master level. In Germany the restorers have studied first to become boilermakers or watchmakers before studying restoration. There is a big difference : a French restorer can tell if the sword he/she is restoring is from the 5th or the 10th century, while a German restorer knows only how to make use of his hands to restore it, and most of the time they do a better job or they do it faster : having a master does not do automatically a good manual worker when it comes to restore something.
I would be able to give many other examples, but I stop here. Germans are leading Europe not because they work harder, not because they are smarter, but because THEY HAVE COMMON SENSE !
. Well, I pay for several electric meters, and they perhaps do not know, but why instead of sending an email are they sending me a snail mail... to my previous address as they know that I do not live there anymore !
Today we have officially a heat wave in French schools. There are several weeks that we were above 30° C, but it was not official. To be official the ministry of health has to inform of the heat the ministry of Education. The ministry of Education informs the rectorats (kind of boards of education) and teachers should apply many rules when the heat is official. It is very long and starts by :
-- Keep the children in a fresh ambiance ;
-- Control the functionality or the installation of blinds and shutters ;
-- Study the possibilities of limiting the entrance of heat in the rooms ;
Etc, etc, etc. It is 2 pages long ! Do you know how the Germans are dealing with heat ? They have a thermometer on the wall of the classroom, and when it reaches 25 or 26°C, they tell to children to go back home.
I have been asked several times why I was preferring to send archeological items in Germany to restore them than to have them restored in France ? There was often a tone of blame in the voice asking that. However it is easy to understand : in France a restorer starts by doing a Master in History of Art and/or Archeology, or by going to «Ecole du Louvre», and then does a diploma to become an «Heritage Restorer». This diploma is only accessible at master level. In Germany the restorers have studied first to become boilermakers or watchmakers before studying restoration. There is a big difference : a French restorer can tell if the sword he/she is restoring is from the 5th or the 10th century, while a German restorer knows only how to make use of his hands to restore it, and most of the time they do a better job or they do it faster : having a master does not do automatically a good manual worker when it comes to restore something.
I would be able to give many other examples, but I stop here. Germans are leading Europe not because they work harder, not because they are smarter, but because THEY HAVE COMMON SENSE !9 people like this
8 responses
@GardenGerty (157551)
• United States
19 Jun 17
The Germans have a reputation for being practical. We all should. When my kids were in school most of the buildings had air conditioning. For the middle school (12-14 yr. olds) that did not, there was a written rule. If the temperature was at a certain degree at 11 a.m. then students were sent home at 1. Everyone knew when and if the kids were dismissed early. To play outside, in the heat. The 1 o'clock time meant the entire day was counted as an attendance day and students were fed lunch before going home.
5 people like this
. Yes, they have a practical mind and more common sense than us
. I was thinking that we were not that bad for bureaucracy. If you tell me that it is worse in Italy, I will be deceived@LadyDuck (458091)
• Switzerland
19 Jun 17
@topffer It is ten time worse in Italy than it is in France and Venice is not an exception. If Venice and Lombardy would have stayed with Austria and maintained surely the old Kingdom of Lombardy-Ventia would have been very similar to Austria and Germany. Stupid ancestors.
2 people like this
@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
12 Aug 19
@topffer @thelme55 I had forgotten this post. It's really interesting to read how members from other nations are discussing the German character.
I'd like to add something. Germany has very many foreign workers from Turkey and Southern European countries. They may find the Germans a bit stiff compared to their own countrypeole but they love the effectiveness of German bureaucracy! If an Italian loses his driving license, he drives his car for half a year without a driving license always praying that the police won't catch him. In Germany, you go to the office where you get driving licences, queue until it is your turn and go home with an ersatz driving license which is valid until you get a new one.
The fact that workers get their salaries regularly and always on the same day of the month is also something which makes many foreigners love the country.
It's good to see that the image Germany had after the war has changed.
3 people like this
.@topffer (42156)
• France
12 Aug 19
@MALUSE WWII was the last episode of a conflict started by Bismarck when he decided to annex Alsace. For somebody having been a diplomat in Paris and knowing well French people, it was a stupid move.
Both WW are taught in schools, but we were no more resentful the day after the armistices because we won, except a minority of people. Maybe more difficult in Germany. The twinning between my town and a German town is from 1965, it was not that far from the end of WWII. Our parents realized that we needed to get closer to avoid new wars in the future. I really dislike the nationalism of all the populists we have today in Europe and in the rest of the world (I just told it to a proud Indian), it is dangerous for the peace of the world.
1 person likes this
@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
12 Aug 19
@topffer But the Second World War shows that there was no love lost between the Germans and the French. And it took many years until the two countries got closer to each other again.
It is a great pleasure to see that young people who know next to nothing about history have no problems with each other. There have been successful exchange programmes between towns and schools for many years.
3 people like this
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
19 Jun 17
I drove and worked on several VW Beetles for many years and that is the full extent of my experience with German-made products. I have fond memories of those vehicles and admire German workmanship. But I don't think that all areas of life are the same or should try to be as precise, inflexible, or practical as the German approach demands.
After all, laissez-faire is a French term and works quite well in many instances. The tight girdle, the rigid rules, are not always best.
We all have our individual talents and should be allowed to march to our own drummer, not in lockstep. Variety is the spice of life.
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
19 Jun 17
Since many years French car manufacturers prefer to create cheap cars, it is a different approach and the buyers know that they will have failures
. It does not mean that we cannot design top cars, and Germans know it very well : the more expensive cars sold in Europe are Bugatti ; the brand is now owned by VW, and everything, from the conception to the construction is made in France : when it comes to luxury products, it is difficult to beat Frenchs. Italians can do it sometimes, but certainly not Germans.
It is weird that you seem to see Germans as psychorigid (well, "precise, inflexible and practical", maybe is it not psychorigid, but it is the word that came to my mind) : when it comes to bureaucracy, they are a lot more cool and less psychorigid than our centralized administration, which has less common sense than their administration. Like @GardenGerty told it, they have a practical mind, and it makes a difference
.
. It does not mean that we cannot design top cars, and Germans know it very well : the more expensive cars sold in Europe are Bugatti ; the brand is now owned by VW, and everything, from the conception to the construction is made in France : when it comes to luxury products, it is difficult to beat Frenchs. Italians can do it sometimes, but certainly not Germans.
It is weird that you seem to see Germans as psychorigid (well, "precise, inflexible and practical", maybe is it not psychorigid, but it is the word that came to my mind) : when it comes to bureaucracy, they are a lot more cool and less psychorigid than our centralized administration, which has less common sense than their administration. Like @GardenGerty told it, they have a practical mind, and it makes a difference.2 people like this
@blitzfrick (2890)
• United States
19 Jun 17
@topffer of course practicality makes a difference, I agree. But there is something to be said in some areas for looseness and natural flow. There's room for all, practicality has its place and its place isn't everywhere, that's all I mean.
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
19 Jun 17
@blitzfrick Yes, but beware of clichés. What may be true in one area of France or Germany will not be true in another
.
.2 people like this
@much2say (53959)
• Los Angeles, California
19 Jun 17
That makes perfect sense and I completely agree with that. This reminds me of my own dentist who said she minored in art, particularly sculpture, at her university. Often she has the job of fixing/reconstructing teeth . . . so this art knowledge helped her to take into account the shape of the tooth, how it relates to the other teeth, tooth color, etc - so the result would be a natural look for the patient. Makes total sense!1 person likes this
@YrNemo (20261)
•
20 Jun 17
- My German neighbor told me that German workers always have a no-nonsense approach, hence they work faster and extremely thorough in whatever they do.
- You are very right about people having a master degree, may not be a good manual worker... Sad in a sense! (to people who are gifted in academic field but nothing else.)
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
20 Jun 17
German restorers work faster, but I think it is because they are primarily good manual workers. People cannot be gifted for everything, and I think stupid to believe that a student with a master degree has always the potential to become a good manual worker. I have seen a few who had written good master's thesis in archeology, but where unable to understand what they were excavating. The problem might come from a problem with their eyes or from their brain, and although they have the knowledge needed, they will never be able to direct an excavation, or it will turn to a disaster.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
21 Jun 17
@YrNemo I have not seen this series. Well, I rarely watch series. I just wanted to tell that there is a difference between mastering the theory of something and applying it practically.
Germans have not invented sliced bread, but they know how to make use of it : if you present them something that would work better than what they do, they will adopt it.
. I just wanted to tell that there is a difference between mastering the theory of something and applying it practically.
Germans have not invented sliced bread, but they know how to make use of it : if you present them something that would work better than what they do, they will adopt it.1 person likes this
@YrNemo (20261)
•
20 Jun 17
@topffer Your last comment made me think more of the main character in 'The Librarians' at the beginning of the first movie. It was hilarious, sad at the same time (because I have seen similar cases like that in real life) to see another guy with many degrees, but just couldn't get a job.
By the way, my Scottish/Irish neighbor thought Germans in general, are too stiff in their ways of thinking with no imagination (when hearing of the German no-nonsense approach re: work).
1 person likes this
