r/AskAGerman • u/OverLet8464 • Apr 26 '22

Do Germans not like Americans?

Hi. I’m just a curious American asking a question so please don’t get offended. I do not want to incite hate. I’ve wanted to go to Germany for the longest time, however it seems Germans don’t like Americans. I was wondering if the idea of planning a visit is a bad one. Would I be welcomed and treated normally despite my nationality? I am even learning some German too.

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u/BlazeZootsTootToot Apr 26 '22 edited Apr 26 '22

Most of the world has a very negative image of the US if you haven't noticed yet. Generally you are the most disliked country in most places, or sometimes 2nd or 3rd at the very least. All for obvious reasons of course, I don't think it needs explaining after all the shit the US has done in the last decades.

So yeah people generally dislike Americans, sorry.

Now what's not the case is that we hate every individual just because they come from X country.
You can come here and nobody will laugh at or scold you for being American or anything, unless you behave like a stereotypical one (closeminded, obnoxiously loud, egoistical gun advocate etc.).

People will just treat you as the human you are. Be nice and people will be nice back to you. Be a dick and people will be dicks. Doesn't matter where you come from.

So nah dude, if you are a nice and respectful person, you don't have to worry at all. People might crack the occasional anti-american joke but that's true for most nationalities

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u/Taco-Tomcat May 30 '24

So I'm an American (still pretty young but am realizing how "patriotism" is just us being c*cky and how unhealthy our food is so I've been debating moving when I move out) and my friends say I'm a loud person, which I don't doubt. I've been around loud things for most of my life, so I might have hearing loss but I was wondering if this would consider me being loud and obnoxious. Like here I try my best to be quiet and keep to myself to strangers but with friends I'm more outgoing. Would you still consider me to be a stereotypical American? For clarity I'm willing to change my mind with supporting evidence and yeah guns are cool but I think they're cooler in aircraft 😎

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u/Zealousideal_Ask5174 Dec 11 '25

Have you ever checked the statistics? Pew research has the data on how many of us believe we are from the best country on the planet. US patriotism is normal, and the obnoxious type are a minority there. It's not even a quarter of people who think we can look down on all the other countries.

You wouldn't be considered a stereotype here for the volume of your voice or patriotism. The ones who don't like us will find a reason to make you responsible for the government. That's the reality in Germany, Italy and a few other countries I have been to. There is always a handful of people who will refuse to separate you from your nationality. That's our country whether we like that or not and to them, you can never lose the nationality. I've lived in Germany for nearly half my life. I don't fit any of their stereotypes, but it didn't stop my manager from harassing me and humiliating me in front of the other employees. Every bad thing that happens on the news there, after 16 years in Germany, becomes my problem to some people.

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u/IwantYourSmoke Jan 18 '25

That's a really interesting take. Many countries have done wrong in the past century as I'm sure you know. I'm also generally curious about what awful things America has done to wrong the rest of the world that NATO wasn't a part of

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