List of terms used for Germans
There are many alternative terms for the people of Germany. In English the demonym, or noun, is German. During the early Renaissance, "German" implied that the person spoke German as a native language. Until the German unification, people living in what is now Germany were named for the region in which they lived: examples are Bavarians and Brandenburgers.
Some terms are humorous or pejorative slang, and used mainly by people from other countries, although they can be used in a self-deprecating way by German people themselves. Other terms are serious or tongue-in-cheek attempts to coin words as alternatives to the ambiguous standard terms.
Many pejorative terms for Germans in various countries originated during the two World Wars.
English
Hun (pejorative)
Hun is a term used in reference to the Huns of the Migration Period. This term was used heavily during World War I and was often seen on Allied war posters.The origin of the term was a reference to Attila the Hun in Wilhelm II's "Hun speech" delivered on 27 July 1900, when he bade farewell to the German expeditionary corps sailing from Bremerhaven to defeat the Boxer Rebellion. The relevant part of the speech was:
The theme of Hunnic savagery was then developed in a speech of August Bebel in the Reichstag in which he recounted details of the cruelty of the German expedition which were taken from soldiers' letters home, styled the Hunnenbriefe.
The Kaiser's speech was widely reported in the European press and then became the basis for the characterisation of the Germans during World War I as barbarians and savages with no respect for European civilisation and humanitarian values. The term "Hun" from this speech was later used for the Germans by British propaganda during World War I. The comparison was helped by the spiked Pickelhaube helmet worn by German forces until 1916, which would be reminiscent of images depicting ancient Hun helmets. This usage, emphasising the idea that the Germans were barbarians, was reinforced by Allied propaganda throughout the war. The French songwriter Théodore Botrel described the Kaiser as "an Attila, without remorse", launching "cannibal hordes".
By coincidence, Gott mit uns, a motto first used in the Kingdom of Prussia and later the German Empire, may have contributed to the popularization of 'Huns' as British Army slang for Germans by misreading 'uns' for 'Huns'.
The usage of the term "Hun" to describe Germans resurfaced during World War II, although less frequently than in the previous war. For example, Winston Churchill 1941 said in a broadcast speech: "There are less than 70,000,000 malignant Huns, some of whom are curable and others killable, most of whom are already engaged in holding down Austrians, Czechs, Poles and the many other ancient races they now bully and pillage."
Later that year Churchill referred to the invasion of the Soviet Union as "the dull, drilled, docile brutish masses of the Hun soldiery, plodding on like a swarm of crawling locusts." During this time American President Franklin D. Roosevelt also referred to the German people in this way, saying that an Allied invasion into Southern France would surely "be successful and of great assistance to Eisenhower in driving the Huns from France."
Fritz
soldiers employed a variety of epithets for the Germans. Fritz, a German pet form of Friedrich, was popular in both World War I and World War II, with Jerry, short for "German", but also modeled on the English name, favoured in the latter.Heinie (pejorative)
The Americans and Canadians referred to Germans, especially German soldiers, as Heinies, from a diminutive of the common German male proper name Heinrich. For example, in the film 1941 the Slim Pickens character calls a German officer "Mr Hynee Kraut!"Heinie is also a colloquial term for buttocks, in use since the 1920s. In German, :de:Heini|Heini is a common colloquial term with a slightly pejorative meaning similar to "moron" or "idiot", but it could be of different origin.
Jerry
Jerry was a nickname given to Germans during the Second World War by soldiers and civilians of the Allied nations, in particular by the British. The nickname was originally created during World War One..The name Jerry was possibly derived from the stahlhelm introduced in 1916, which was said by British soldiers to resemble a chamber pot or Jeroboam. Alternatively, it may be a simple alteration of the word German.
Kraut (pejorative)
Since World War II, Kraut has come to be used in the English language as a pejorative term for a German. This is probably based on sauerkraut, which is popular in various South German cuisines but not traditionally prepared in North Germany. The stereotype of the sauerkraut-eating German pre-dates this, as it appears in Jules Verne's depiction of the evil German industrialist Schultze as an avid sauerkraut eater in The Begum's Fortune. Schultze's antagonist is an Alsatian who hates sauerkraut but pretends to love it to win his enemy's confidence."Kraut" may refer to the practice of distributing sauerkraut on German ships to prevent scurvy just as the English were referred to as limeys by Americans for their use of lime juice in navy ships.
The rock music genre krautrock has been commonplace in music journalism since the early 1970s and is of English invention; it is not considered pejorative.
Nazi (pejorative)
Nazi, a shortening of Nationalsozialist a derogatory word for a backwards peasant, which may have influenced the use of that abbreviation by the Nazis′ opponents and its avoidance by the Nazis themselves.Teuton (poetic)
In a more poetical sense Germans can be referred to as Teutons. The usage of the word in this term has been observed in English since 1833. The word originated via an ancient Germanic tribe, the Teutons.Boche (pejorative)
Pronounced, boche is a derisive term used by the Allies during World War I, often collectively. It is a shortened form of the French slang portmanteau alboche, itself derived from Allemand and caboche. The alternative spellings "Bosch" or "Bosche" are sometimes found. According to a 1916 article in the New York Times magazine Current History, the origin is as follows:Boxhead (pejorative)
Boxhead is a British-English pejorative term commonly used within the British Armed Forces. Its origins are unknown.Erics
First came to prominence in the English 1983 television show Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. It was a term used by the English and Irish when referring to Germans without them knowing it was them being talked about.Other countries
Austria
Piefke (pejorative)
The Austrian ethnic slur for a German is Piefke. Like its Bavarian counterpart Saupreiß, the term Piefke historically characterized only the people of Prussia, and not people of other Germanic states. There are two hypotheses on how the term developed; both of them suggest an origin in the 1860s. One theory suggests that the term came from the name of the popular Prussian composer Johann Gottfried Piefke, who composed some of the most iconic German military marches, for example Preußens Gloria and the Königgrätzer Marsch – particularly since Piefke and his brother conducted the Prussian music corps in the parade in Austria following the Prussian victory of the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. The second theory suggests an origin in the Second Schleswig War in 1864, where Prussians and Austrians were allies. A Prussian soldier with the name Piefke and a stereotypically Prussian gruff and snappy manner made such a negative impression on his Austrian comrades that the term came to refer to all Prussians.Since Prussia no longer exists, the term now refers to the cliché of a pompous northern Protestant German in general and a Berliner in particular. However, the citizens of the free Hanseatic cities and the former northern duchies of Oldenburg, Brunswick and Mecklenburg are also quite offended by the terms Piefke and also by Saupreiß. In 1990, Austrian playwright Felix Mitterer wrote and co-directed a TV mini-series, Die Piefke-Saga, about Germans on holiday in Tyrol. Sometimes the alteration "Piefkinese" is used. Some Austrians use the playful term "Piefkinesisch" to refer to German spoken in a distinctly northern German – that is, not Austrian – accent.
Marmeladinger (pejorative)
The term Marmeladinger originated in the trenches of World War I. It is derived from the German word "Marmelade", which is a fruit preserve. While Austrian infantry rations included butter and lard as spread, German troops had to make do with cheaper "Marmelade" as ersatz. They disdainfully called it Heldenbutter "hero's butter" or Hindenburgfett. This earned them ridicule from their Austrian allies who would call them Marmeladebrüder or Marmeladinger. Germans would conversely call Austrians Kamerad Schnürschuh "comrade lace-up shoe" because the Austrian infantry boots used laces while the German boots did not. This term has survived, but it is rarely used.Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia
Švabo, Švaba (pejorative)
The Term Švabo is most often used in jokes but also very popularly used by the Yugoslav Partisans during the Second World War. In the SFR Yugoslavia it was commonly used in movies depicting battles betweens the Partisans and Nazi forces. The word in its origin is not pejorative since it is used to depict a person from the German region of Swabia; however, the word probably entered the Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Serbian languages in relation to the Danube Swabians. The variant Švaba is primarily used in the Serbian language. The female form is Švabica.China
Jiamen (colloquial)
In Shanghainese, a German can be colloquially called a Jiamen, which is an adaptation of the English word "German".This word carries a somewhat negative meaning of a stereotypical German being proud, withdrawn, cold and serious. Today, this phrase, when pronounced as "Ga-Men", can mean "disdainful, indifferent, or uninterested in someone or something".
Czech Republic
In Czech, a German can be called a Skopčák, originally meaning just someone from the highlands. Due to the negative perception of the Sudeten Germans′ role in the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in 1938-9, it is generally perceived negatively, relating to rough and stupid manners ascribed to Germans.Finland
During the Lapland War between Finland and Germany, the terms saku, sakemanni, hunni and lapinpolttaja became widely used among the Finnish soldiers, saku and sakemanni being modified from saksalainen.France
Boches (pejorative, historical)
Boches is an apheresis of the word alboche, which in turn is a blend of allemand and caboche. It was used mainly during the First and Second World Wars, and directed especially at German soldiers.Casque à pointe (historical)
Casque à pointe is derived from the French name for the traditional Prussian military helmets worn by German soldiers from the 1840s until World War I. In modern British and American sign language, the word for Germany continues to be an index finger pointed to the top of the forehead, simulating the Pickelhaube.Chleuh (pejorative)
Chleuh derives from the name of the Chleuh, a Berber ethnic group in Morocco. It also denotes the absence of words beginning in Schl- in French.Germany
Ossi/Wessi
The term Ossi, derived from the German word Osten which means east, is used in Germany for people who were born in the area of the former German Democratic Republic.The term Wessi, derived from the German word Westen which means west, is used in Germany for people who were born or live in the old states of Germany. Sometimes it is also modified to "Besserwessi", from the German word Besserwisser which means Know-it-all, reflecting the stereotype that people from the Western part of Germany are arrogant.
In 2010 there was a lawsuit in Germany because a job applicant was denied employment and her application was found to have the notation "Ossi" and a minus sign written on her application documents. A German court decided that denial of employment for such a reason would be discrimination, but not ethnic discrimination, since "East German" is not an ethnicity.
Other Terms
The term Saupreiß, derived from the German words Sau which means female pig and Preuße which means Prussian, is used in Bavaria for people who were born or live in any German area north of the Danube river, or at least north of the Bavarian border. A number of other terms exist. Similar to the Polish Szwab, the term Schwab can be pejorative and be used to express Schwabenhass. Various – more or less good-humoured – nicknames are being used between the different German states or areas, such as Gelbfüßler for the inhabitants of Baden.Hungary
Sváb
The term sváb derives from the German word "Schwaben", describing people from Swabia. The first German-speaking people first arrived to the Carpathian basin in the 12th century, their numbers and territory of settlement were limited, mainly in towns. In the 18th century various German-speaking peasant groups settled in Hungary in large numbers to inhabit the vast territories being depopulated during the Osman rule, they are known as Danube Swabians, though most of their forefathers have Bavarian or Thuringian roots. They settled mainly where the destruction was most severe, especially around Buda, Danube valley and southern part of Hungary. Although they have assimilated in large parts until the beginning of the 20th century, they maintained strong cultural identity up to date. These people, and through them German people in general are called svábok, having a hint of pejorative nature.Labanc
The term labanc came into use during Rákóczi's War of Independence. It was specifically used for the soldiers fighting for the Austrian/German soldiers of the Habsburg rulers. There are multiple theories about where it came from, such as being a strange concatenation of the German term "Lauf Hans!" or the French term Le Blanc, it might also be a reference to the Hungarian word lobonc which referred to the large, common wig, which used to be common in the Vienna court at the time. Now Labanc is exclusively used for Austrians, but becomes rare in usage as there are no tensions between the two countries. Still however, the expression describes mentality or behaviour that is counter to general Hungarian interest and describes persons not content with "true" Hungarian values.Italy
Crucco (pejorative)
The term crucco derived from the Slovenian kruh. Italian soldiers invented this word during World War I when they captured some hungry Austrian-Slovenian soldiers who asked for "kruh". Later, during World War II, it was applied to German people.Tuder / Tudro (pejorative)
Tudro designs Germans as a people lacking flexibility and fantasy, but also emotional intelligence. It is more widely adopted to describe a sturdy and stupid man. Tudro is mainly used in Northern Italy. Tuder is the Lombard usage of the word.Latvia
Fricis
Fricis derives from the German name Fritz.Zili pelēkie
Zili pelēkie, literally translated, means "The Blue-Grays", from the Prussian war uniforms of the pre-World War I era. The term appeared in a popular Latvian legionnaire wartime song Ik katru sestdien's vakaru about trouncing the blue-grays after beating up reds or lice-infested ones – the Soviets.Netherlands and Belgium
Mof (pejorative)
In Dutch the most common term for the German people, after the regular/official "Duitse", is mof. It is regarded as a pejorative term, used exclusively for Germans and reflecting Dutch resentment of the German occupation of the Netherlands during the Second World War and the respective German actions. The word "Mofrika" is a portmanteau of Africa and "mof" and is used as a humorous reference to Germany.In the late 16th century the area now known as East Frisia and Emsland and the people that lived there were referred to as Muffe. At the time the Netherlands was by far the richest country in the whole of Europe, and these people were looked down upon greatly by the Dutch. The area of Western Lower Saxony was at that time very poor and a good source for many Dutch people looking for cheap labour. The inhabitants of this region were regarded as being rather reserved and were often described as grumpy, rude and unsophisticated by the Dutch. Later the term was used to describe the whole of Germany, which, at the time, was not much better off economically than Western Lower Saxony, mainly due to the various wars waged on its territory by foreign powers. The term seemed to have died out around 1900, but returned after the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940.
A popular humorous etymology of the word mof by the Dutch is that it is a German abbreviation meaning Menschen ohne Freunde.
Poland
Fryc (pejorative)
Means novice, and comes from the German name Fritz, which is a diminutive of Friedrich. German trade and settlements acquainted Poles with this name. German coming to Poland was actually a novice hence was called Fryc.Prusak (pejorative)
Historically characterized only the people of Prussia, not people of other Germanic states. During Partitions of Poland under Prussian Partition gained negative connotations. Prusak also refers to German cockroach.Szkop (pejorative)
Contemptuous term for a German, especially a soldier of the Wehrmacht during World War II. In the past, the word szkop in the Polish language meant a castrated ram.Szwab (pejorative)
Another popular term, originally meaning a person from Swabia. It is worth noting that a colloquial verb "oszwabić" means "to rook", "to fleece".Other terms
Another pejorative term for a German woman is niemra, coming from a word "Niemka". This term can also mean a female German language teacher or German language classes. Similarly, the term for the Germans can be niemiaszki. It does not have to be pejorative, it may be permissive or irreverent, but it may also be used in an almost caressing way. Next term is Helmut that refers to the popular german name. Another pejorative term for a German is szołdra. However, it is an old Polish term, out of use nowadays. It can be found in 19th century historical novels by Henryk Sienkiewicz and Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. It comes from a term meaning pork or ham. Next pejorative and historical term is pluder came from Hose being the part of warderobe.Russia
Fritz = German, from the nickname Fritz.Nemetz = German, from the word German.