An Essay by Ullrich Fichtner
Today, 68 years after the end of the war and 24 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, we Germans are respected, admired and sometimes even loved. The fact that we generally don’t know what to do with all this admiration, because we collectively still seem to assume that we are not likeable and therefore must be unpopular, is a problem that very quickly becomes political. It’s obvious that Germans’ perception of themselves and the way we are perceived by others differ dramatically.
Even if some would not consider a travel guide to be the most credible basis for political reflections, it’s easy to find other sources of praise for Germany and the Germans. The BBC conducts an annual poll to name the “most popular country in the world.” Germany came in a clear first in the latest poll, and it wasn’t the first time. Some 59 percent of 26,000 respondents in 25 countries said that the Germans exert a “positive influence” in the world (and not surprisingly, the only country in which the view of Germany is overwhelmingly negative at the moment is Greece).
In the “Nation Brands Index” prepared by the American market research company GfK, which surveys more than 20,000 people in 20 countries about the image of various nations, Germany is currently in second place, behind the United States. This index is not some idle exercise, but is used as a decision-making tool by corporate strategists and other investors. GfK asks questions in six categories, including the quality of the administration and the condition of the export economy, and Germany is at the top of each category. But when Germans do acknowledge their current standing in the world, they always seem to be somewhat coy or even amused.
The rest of the world doesn’t understand this (anymore). The rest of the world is waiting for Germany. But instead of feeling pleased about Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski’s historic statement that he fears Germany’s power less than its inactivity, we cringe anxiously over such sentiments. When US President Barack Obama calls Germany a leading global power, we hope that he doesn’t really mean it. And when politicians in Israel say that Germany should wield its power more actively, we don’t interpret it as a mandate to become more committed, but are puzzled instead.
We Germans? Exercise power? Take action? Lead?
A ‘Europeanized’ Germany
The German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), Germany’s government-run aid organization operating in 130 countries, made a concerted effort in 2012 to question decision-makers around the world about their views on Germany. Instead of quickly flipping through a list of questions, the GIZ conducted real, in-depth conversations with participants, and essentially arrived at two conclusions: Germany’s reputation in the world is sky-high, yet Germany is considered anything from spineless to completely incapable when it comes to investing this “soft” capital in an effective way for the benefit of everyone.
The positive image we enjoy worldwide is fed by a large number of widely dispersed sources, but it’s obvious that Germany’s accounting for its Nazi past, its clear acknowledgement of historic culpability and its development of a model democracy in the West laid the foundation for the Germans to be given a new chance in the 20th century.
But it is also clear that Germany’s reputation has received its biggest boost since the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification. Since then, the Germans have managed to demonstrate repeatedly that they are capable of producing economic miracles, which is precisely what reunification and the development of the former East Germany are. At the same time, Germany was able to dispel widely held fears of the return of a gloating major power in the middle of Europe. To everyone’s relief, especially that of our European neighbors, Germany has kept its feet on the ground, only waving its black, red and gold flag during football matches.
Perhaps the European financial crisis — and the key role Germany is playing in the effort to overcome it — has rekindled unease among our neighbors at the moment. But even if there is disagreement over the right way out of the crisis, and even if the German government has often proved to be too intransigent, no European in his right mind fears that Germany is pursuing some sort of secret plan to dominate the continent once again. Instead, Germany has “Europeanized” itself, both intentionally and credibly. But now it’s time to share Germany’s rich experiences along the winding paths of the 20th century with the rest of the world. Click link for full article.