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Postcards From Berlin #17: Rules and Order
By Jeff Allers
July 5, 2007
German word of the month: Verboten (forbidden)
Everything was an adventure in those first months. Every step out the door of my new Berlin apartment was a voyage of discovery. Often, I would spontaneously leave the U-Bahn (subway) in the middle of my journey home from work so that I could walk the distance to the next station and explore a new part of Berlin.
This ritual was even more exciting after I finally found a job at a German architectural firm downtown. On my way to work, I climbed the stairs from the crowded U-Bahn station and walked briskly through the quieter side streets to my new office, filled with anticipation. As I came to the last pedestrian crossing, the red “don’t walk” sign was lit and an elderly gentlemen stood obediently at the corner. There wasn’t a car in sight nor was there the sound of an engine in earshot, so I crossed anyway—only to be verbally assaulted by the man at the corner for my blatant disregard of the rules. I wasn’t sure if I was shocked more by the way he spoke to me or by the simple fact that my “taking my life into my own hands” could actually matter to him. I might have simply considered him a “grumpy old man” had the experience not repeated itself in other situations with younger people after that.
One of the biggest challenges for someone living in a foreign culture is learning the unwritten rules. In Germany, there are very few of these as it seems that every rule is written down. And, amazingly enough, German citizens actually follow most of them. What’s more, most are eager to make sure everyone else is following the rules as well.
An architect colleague once told me that, while in the United States, everything is allowed that is not specifically forbidden; in Germany, everything is verboten (forbidden) that is not specifically allowed.
That may be an exaggeration, but only a small one. Rules are everywhere and cover everything from the exact process breweries must follow in order for their product to be called “beer” to the percentage of land that is required to be planted with vegetables in a person’s private garden. Even the anarchists in Berlin follow the rules, rioting on schedule during the First of May celebrations every year.
Every citizen is aware of the rules and is usually more than happy to enforce them. When moving into a new apartment, our friends from South Africa were pleasantly surprised to be greeted immediately by the neighbors. The warm welcome was, however, quickly followed by a reminder that the Ruhezeit (quiet time) was to be strictly adhered to every afternoon from one to three o’clock. Some of our own former neighbors in the apartment beneath us even complained that I “walked too loudly” in those hours. I tried to be courteous and tip-toe around our flat—I refuse to wear the typical Birkenstock house shoes—but they still labeled us the “loud foreigners” and soon moved out, much to our relief. Our new neighbors are much more tolerant, even after we added a dog and two babies to our family. The youth in our courtyard weren’t so lucky. First, an unhappy resident placed a lock on the basketball hoop there because he wanted to sit on his balcony without the “noise pollution,” and later, after the lock was removed, I awoke to find that the entire basket had been sawed off.
I’ve also heard ridiculous threats for some of my minor rules infractions. A chain-smoking lady walking her dog once commanded me to turn off my idling car engine while I waited for a friend because I was polluting the air. Others have told me that I can actually lose my driver’s license for walking across the street on a red light. The reasoning, they’ve told me with a completely straight face, is that if a person is irresponsible on foot, he or she would be more prone to run a red light behind the wheel as well.
I find it funny that, after growing up in a relatively conservative part of the U.S., I now suddenly find myself viewed as much more of a “free spirit.” Still, when it comes to board games, I play very much within the rules.
And though I’ve conducted no scientific study, it does make sense that a society enamored with rules and regulations would be the starting point for a revolution in modern board games. What other country could support a market that releases hundreds of new games each year, each with new rules to learn? Even families who don’t attend regular gaming groups still purchase at least one game a year, usually the Spiel des Jahres winner. And for those who get hooked, there are plenty of gaming groups where new games and new rules are picked up rather effortlessly.
Of course, one of the attractions of the German board game is that the rules are clear, well-organized, and relatively short compared to the war games and other traditional hobby games in America. Perhaps this is partly because Germans are much more used to having limited options, while Americans like to think that anything is possible. I noticed this when I first started working with German teenagers, who often feel locked into a particular career track due to the school regulations that force many to make those kinds of decisions before they enter into the seventh grade. American university students, on the other hand, switch majors an average of three times. The question is, then, why would a democracy impose so many limitations on its own people?
An Italian comedian living in Germany once compared the two cultures using their famous foods as examples. Italian spaghetti, he explained, is all mixed up, has no clear beginning or end, and tastes different every time. The German Bratwurst, however, is shaped like a straight line, it has a clear beginning and a clear end, and it always tastes the same.
The reason for so many rules is that nothing is more desirable to the average German than order. When you want to say “everything’s alright” in the German language, you say, “Alles in Ordnung,” which literally means “everything’s in order.”
Marc Fisher, the Washington Post’s correspondent to Germany for several years, wrote in his book “After the Wall” that the German need for order has much to do with the country’s history of instability. Wars, occupations, dictatorships and divisions have all taken their toll, and even new generations inherit their parents’ fear of instability and strong desire for order—so strong that having over 100,000 regulations governing behavior does not seem oppressive to the average citizen. Fisher quotes Monika Maron, a German novelist, who said that her people suffer from an “irrational love of order and security because Germany was born out of war and insecurity, and periodically, insecurity turns to panic and then the Germans go crazy!” Election campaign slogans from the major political parties since the time of (and including) Hitler have been filled with promises for “order and stability.” Furthermore, the Germans’ tendency towards pacifism is only in part due to their desire to make a break from their militaristic past—it also comes from the belief that it will safeguard order and stability. No wonder, then, that East Germans often say they would prefer a life under their former totalitarian government because of its greater sense of stability, even at the cost of the personal freedoms they have since gained.
It’s this desire for order that drives the average German to enforce the rules even by confronting a complete stranger. My traffic light incident is an example: Even though crossing at the red light presented absolutely no danger to the older gentleman who was compelled to correct me (and no children were there to be influenced by my bad example), my small breach of the rules disturbed the order of German life—because German life is remarkably ordered. Trains arrive on time, automobile drivers signal every turn and lane-change, and traffic on the city streets moves along quickly, even when a lane is closed, because the “zipper” rule is closely adhered to. (Each car in the open lane allows exactly one car stuck in the closed lane to cut in.)
Even with these benefits, though, it can be annoying to be corrected by strangers multiple times in the same day. When I drop a coin on the floor of a supermarket, I barely have time to bend over and pick it up before I am alerted by the customers standing in line behind me. “Hallo!” is often shouted to get one’s attention, and I was corrected so many times when I first moved to Berlin that I started to assume that whenever I heard someone say it, they were talking to me. “What have I done now?” I would sigh.
Of course, there have been many exceptions when Germans were kind enough to break the rules to help me, such as the bus driver who decided to become my personal taxi in getting me to a job interview on time, even though he was not scheduled to leave the bus stop for a half-hour. Although he admitted to me that he could get into trouble with his employer, he still did not accept my offer for a tip above the normal bus fare.
There are also signs that Germans are loosening up, even as economic instability increases (and the German bureaucracy is forced to loosen some of its strict regulations in order to compete globally). When Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006, journalists and fans from around the globe were pleasantly surprised—not by the superb organization of the biggest event in sports (which was to be expected from the Germans)—but by how relaxed and friendly the hosts were with the hordes of foreigners that descended on the orderly German cities for the event.
Of course, these traits have always been present in the German gamers I’ve met. Though there may be an occasional “rules lawyer” among them, the friends I get together with regularly at our game nights are some of the most relaxed and accepting people I know. Perhaps it’s because all the rules we need for the evening are already clearly defined, well-organized, and conveniently included with each game box.
© 2007 Jeff Allers
Posted by Jeff Allers on Jul 5, 2007 at 09:00 AM in Special Features, Postcards from Berlin / 1559
Comments:
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The idea that in Germany, everything not allowed is verboten explains a lot about rules writing differences. Classic American games do include a LOT of sections explaining what you cannot do. When teaching the earlier Eurogames to Americans, we did occasionally have problems with a few gamers saying things like “The rules don’t say that I can’t do this....” Posted by Frank Branham on Jul 5, 2007 at 09:10 AM | #
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Thanks for another interesting glimpse into German life, Jeff. I might chafe under the constraints a bit, but a society where the trains are on time and motorists obligingly merge from two lanes into one would definitely have its attractions! Posted by Larry Levy on Jul 5, 2007 at 02:59 PM | #
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Excellent article on cultural differences and their possible effect on rules. There’s something to be said for order, but I’m with Larry: the constraints would be difficult for me. This has nothing to do with your piece really, but I’m reminded of the time my wife and I went to Germany in ‘85. We were driving in Garmische (sp?) and laughing at the silly Germans who seemed to have named every street “Einbahnstrasse.” We’re driving along, not finding our hotel, and lots of people are waving at us. We’re waving back. Finally, the mental fog lifts and we realize Einbahnstrasse means One Way Street. We had been going the wrong way on several of them. Fortunately no gesticulating Germans or silly Americans were injured. Posted by Steve Bennett on Jul 5, 2007 at 06:23 PM | #
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Great article!
As for the great hospitality during World Cup 2006, no one has come up with a good explanation. World Cup 1974 or Munich Olympics 1972 were not like that. So what has happened with the Germans, or the perception of the Germans? /Patrik, from Sweden Posted by Patrik Strömer on Jul 6, 2007 at 12:46 AM | #
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That’s very interesting, Frank, and reminds me of Scott Tepper’s father, who I doubt very much has an ounce of German blood in him (thanks, Scott, by the way--your column inspired me). Yes, Larry, order certainly has it’s advantages, and, being an architect, I very much appreciate order, but it can be constraining when I’m used to more freedom. Now, thanks to terrorism, the order/stability vs. freedom issue is something that’s come much more to the forefront on your side of the ocean. That’s funny, Steve, and reminds me of the Brit who, while driving on the Autobahn, wondered why there were so many towns in Germany named “Ausfahrt"--which means “Exit.” I did not realize that Sweden was also very rules-oriented, although, from what I know, it’s a very ordered society (IKEA is certainly very well organized!) As for the World Cup, I think it’s simply the effects of globalization on the younger generations, who have been brought up to think of themselves as “Europeans” and are further removed from the instability of the years of war and division. Posted by Jeff Allers on Jul 6, 2007 at 02:52 AM | #
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I showed this article to a coworker who grew up in Berlin and she got a big kick out of it. She says that she had an impulse to write a similar article but from the opposite perspective when she first came to New York City, where she was the solitary person standing at the corner waiting for the WALK signal while everyone else just strolled across the street. “It was like a herd of animals running loose,” she says. No one scolded her for standing there, though, so at least we have that going for us. Posted by Joe Gola on Jul 6, 2007 at 08:14 AM | #
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