What my German roots taught me about humor

In my German class freshman year, my teacher remarked about having studied in Germany and witnessing firsthand the German’s lack of a sense of humor. I’m here to tell you that this is one stereotype that’s completely false.

“Germans have no sense of humor”

This summer, I traveled to Germany to meet some of my relatives for the first time. Here’s some background on my family history: My grandfather, or as I call him “Opa”, moved to New Jersey in the 1970s with his family, including my then teenage dad, Clemens.

/r/cringeworthy

Now, my dad has always been one of the funniest people (intentionally or not) that I know, and Opa… well, he tried, but often his jokes were lost in translation. We all had to laugh along as if we knew what was happening. I’d never met any of Opa’s brothers, but I assumed they were like him: old, quiet, and very German. As it turns out, only two of my assumptions were correct.

When I arrived in Germany, the first relative I met was Uncle Adolf, who was surprisingly spry despite his age. If you were wondering, no, he didn’t get on that trampoline at any point, but he did play a lot more soccer than is probably healthy for a man his age. My first reaction, that stands to this day, was, “THIS guy grew up in postwar Germany?!”

When we parted ways, he left me with the wisest and most German advice I’ve ever gotten, or will ever get: “Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei.” Or, “Everything has an end, only the sausage has two”.

Uncle Robert was 93 years old when I met him, the oldest of all my relatives. I had heard stories of him fleeing from his home during the war, escaping from Nazis in Germany, and then from Russians in Poland. He was hardly what I expected. He didn’t hold any resentment for being born at the wrong place at the wrong time. Instead, he talked about his love for Coca-Cola (he drinks it every day) and his guilty pleasure, Red Bull. He told us how when his wife, Wanda, naps, he eats butter. Straight up. He force fed us ice cream, sausage, and, of course, Coca-Cola – that was just breakfast.

‘When my wife naps, I have my freedom!’ After saying this, he proceeded to eat a slice of butter

Germans sometimes get a bad rap. They may drink too much beer, or eat too much sausage, they may speak too loudly and yell too much, they may be too good at soccer and too obsessed with their train system. But if you think Germans aren’t hilarious, just let me introduce you to my family.