Xenophobe's guide to the Germans I

How they see others
...The Germans admire Americans for their (un-German) easy-going pragmatism and dislike them for their (un-German) superficiality. For the Germans, the United States is the headmaster in the school of nations, and accorded due respect if not always affection. Germans are strong believers in authority. "If you know how to obey then you too can be a master" runs the refrain.
If experience has taught them one thing, it is that there is no future outside the community of nations. No other nation has a stronger sense of the importance of getting along with others. Tolerance is not only a virtue, it's a duty...

How they see themselves
...Generally speaking, the Germans regard themselves as modest, rather ordinary sort of people. Give them a beer, a wurst, a bit of cosiness and another German with whom to argue politics or bemoan the stress of life, and they will be content. They are not greedy, do not expect something for nothing, and pay their bills on time. Simple, honest folk...
...They see themselves as profoundly well educated. Contrary to popular belief, the Germans do not know everything, they just know everything better...

How others see them
...The emotions which Germans arouse in others oscillate between admiration and fear - they are said to be either "at your knees or at your throat". They are thought of as efficient, self-obsessed, arrogant and domineering - altogether too good at finance and manufacturing...

How they would like others to see them
...The Germans long to be understood and liked by others, yet secretly take pride that this can never be...
...The Germans would like to be respected for their devotion to truth and honesty. They are surprised that this is sometimes taken as tactlesness or worse. After all, if I know you to be in error, surely it is my duty to correct you? Surely the Thruth is more important than pretending to like your ghastly shirt? Foreigners just cannot seem to appreciate this...

to be continued