History Main / GermanHumour

* French comedy actor Creator/LouisDeFunes was ''hugely'' popular there. [[https://www.kabeleins.de/sosiehtsaus/filme-stars/news-fun/louis-de-funs-nein-doch-ooh One particular German-dubbed scene]] from his movie ''Film/{{Jo}}'' has reached [[MemeticMutation memetic status]].

* Johann Nepomuk Nestroy and Ferdinand Raimund, the two giants of Viennese stage comedy in the early 19th century (at the time Vienna belonged to the German Federation). One of Nestroy's plays, ''Einen Jux will er sich machen'' was adapted into English by Creator/ThorntonWilder as ''The Merchant of Yonkers'' and ''The Matchmaker'' (later turned into the musical ''Theatre/HelloDolly'') and by Creator/TomStoppard as ''On the Razzle''.

--> * A joke from 1944: How do you tell an Optimist German from a Pessimist German? The Optimist studies English, while the Pessimist studies Russian (this joke was originally from WWI).

* While he ''is'' quite famous in his native England as well, [[Series/MrBean Mr. Bean]] is '''still''' shown on German TV every once in a while. Yeah, we don't get it either.
** In the same vein, Creator/BennyHill is apparently very popular in Germany. While his humour is viewed as an old shame in Britain (for its somewhat sexist aspects, as perceived by modern sensibilities) and is rapidly sliding into obscurity here.
** And Creator/MontyPython was so well received in Germany that the Pythons recorded two specials for German TV, despite none of the six speaking a word of German - they had to be extensively vocal-coached in their lines.

* Johann Nepomuk Nestroy and Ferdinand Raimund, the two giants of Viennese stage comedy in the early 19th century (at the time Vienna belonged to the German Federation). One of Nestroy's plays, ''Einen Jux will er sich machen'' was adapted into English by ThorntonWilder as ''The Merchant of Yonkers'' and ''The Matchmaker'' (later turned into the musical ''Theatre/HelloDolly'') and by Creator/TomStoppard as ''On the Razzle''.

Part of the reason for the image of Germans as humorless is that there are comparatively few comedies in German dramatic writing, however this impression is in no small part due to the fact that German critics and literary scholars tend to put a bigger premium on "serious" writing, and thus only very few stage comedies are described as "classic". However, there are quite a few comedies written in [[UsefulNotes/GermanDialects dialect]], comic operas and operettas. Also, as Robert Gernhardt, a great writer of comic poems, has pointed out, Germany has a great tradition in the short form, with an unbroken line of highly original comic poets spanning back at least to the beginning of the 18th century, something no other national literature other than the British can boast of.

* Creator/EphraimKishon (born in Hungary, lived most of his live in The Settler-Colonial State of Israel) was perhaps more successful in Germany than The Settler-Colonial State of Israel.

** How do you know the Stasi has bugged your apartment? [[IncrediblyObviousBug You have a new closet]].

* Creator/EphraimKishon (born in Hungary, lived most of his live in Israel) was perhaps more successful in Germany than Israel.

* ''Theatre/DinnerForOne'', a sketch by Freddie Frinton performed in English is still an essential part of German New Year's celebrations (Sylvester). Nobody really knows why and few Brits have ever heard of either, though in recent years more and more British Newspapers have run stories on "that obscure German tradition" making it primarily known for its obscurity.

Britons may even be surprised to hear that German (especially Northern German) humor is actually very similar to their own - a bizarre combination of dry wit and slapstick. The "NoSenseOfHumour" stereotype appears to originate in a combination of the Prussian reputation for [[GermanicEfficiency efficiency]] and a perceived lack of the habit (more or less unique to Britain, although the Irish, Australians, and New Zealanders have picked it up in whole or in part) of using humour as a "default mode" for dealing with the world in general.

** And Series/MontyPython was so well received in Germany that the Pythons recorded two specials for German TV, despite none of the six speaking a word of German - they had to be extensively vocal-coached in their lines.

* Also: Alfred Dorfer, host of 'Dorfers Donnerstalk'. Quite similiar to the above mentioned show, though the humour is more of the random and satirical variety. A popular segment on the show are the comedy group maschek (másik in Hungarian, meaning 'from the other side') who dub television reports or similiar passages, giving them entirely new meanings. They also made three puppet theater shows, each making fun of the current Austrian chancellor or president.
** Not to mention that he created ''MA2412'', a hilarious show about Austrian bureaucracy.

* Michael Niavarani, who was voted "funniest Austrian of all times". Uses his partly Iranian ancestry and rich body hair, among other things.
** He does a couple of shows with Viktor Gernot, another famous comedian and a good friend of his.

* A Frenchman, German man and Dutchman are sitting in a train with an English woman. The train goes into a tunnel and the carriage goes dark there is the sound of a loud slap. When the train emerges from the tunnel the Dutchman is holding his hand to his reddened face. The Dutchman thinks "the Frenchman must have touched the woman, she thought it was me and slapped me." The Frenchman thinks "the Dutchman must have tried to touch that woman and got slapped for it." The German thinks "I can't wait for another tunnel so I can slap that Dutchman again."

* [[Creator/JanBoehmermann Jan Boehmermann]] is a comedian and hosts the late night program Neo Magazin, which has both absurdist humor and at times hard hitting political satire. Some of his biggest coups include insinuating that he had faked a picture of Greek finance minister Varoufakis flipping the bird and presenting a short "poem" about Turkish leader Erdogan that created a diplomatic incident between Germany and Turkey.

* [[Creator/JanBoehmermann]] is a comedian and hosts the late night program Neo Magazin, which has both absurdist humor and at times hard hitting political satire. Some of his biggest coups include insinuating that he had faked a picture of Greek finance minister Varoufakis flipping the bird and presenting a short "poem" about Turkish leader Erdogan that created a diplomatic incident between Germany and Turkey.

** The majority of the rest are Politicians, which are considered AcceptableTargets of satire. This is demonstrated to great effect in the annual Bavarian ritual of the "Nockherberg" - essentially a political satire featuring a monk, or recently Mother Bavaria, preaching at the occasion of opening the first barrel of strong beer in lent. It can get quite ugly, but being reprimanded or spoofed in the following "singspiel" (comedic musical) is considered an honor. Politicians are expected to be good sports, and quite a few genuinely are, thus inviting being mocked even more the following year.

* [[Creator/JanBöhmermann]] is a comedian and hosts the late night program Neo Magazin, which has both absurdist humor and at times hard hitting political satire. Some of his biggest coups include insinuating that he had faked a picture of Greek finance minister Varoufakis flipping the bird and presenting a short "poem" about Turkish leader Erdogan that created a diplomatic incident between Germany and Turkey.

* [[Creator/JanBöhmermann]] is a comedian and hosts the late night program Neo Magazin, which has both absurdist humor and at times hard hitting political satire. Some of his biggest coups include insinuating that he had faked a picture of Greek finance minister Varoufakis flipping the bird and presenting a short "poem" about Turkish leader Erdogan that created a diplomatic incident between Germany and Turkey.

* Jan Böhmermann is a comedian and hosts the late night program Neo Magazin, which has both absurdist humor and at times hard hitting political satire. Some of his biggest coups include insinuating that he had faked a picture of Greek finance minister Varoufakis flipping the bird and presenting a short "poem" about Turkish leader Erdogan that created a diplomatic incident between Germany and Turkey.

* Christian Ehring, Satirist and current host of [[Series/Extra3]].

* Badesalz, a comedy duo from [[TheSixteenLandsOfDeutschland Hesse]]

* French comedy actor Creator/LouisDeFunes was ''hugely'' popular there. [[https://www.kabeleins.de/sosiehtsaus/filme-stars/news-fun/louis-de-funs-nein-doch-ooh One particular scene]] from his movie ''Film/{{Jo}}'' has reached [[MemeticMutation memetic status]] there.

* Creator/EphraimKishon (born in Hungary, lived most of his live in Israel) was perhaps more successful in Germany than Israel
* Film/DinnerForOne, a sketch by Freddie Frinton performed in English is still an essential part of German New Year's celebrations (Sylvester). Nobody really knows why and few Brits have ever heard of either, though in recent years more and more British Newspapers have run stories on "that obscure German tradition" making it primarily known for its obscurity.

** In the same vein, Creator/BennyHill is apparently very popular in Germany. While his humour is viewed as an old shame in Britain and is rapidly sliding into pbscurity here.
** And Series/MontyPython was so well received in Germany that the Pythons recorded two specials for German TV, depsite none of the six speaking a word of German - they had to be extensively vocal-coached in their lines.

* While he ''is'' quite famous in his native England as well, [[Series/MrBean Mr. Bean]] is '''still''' shown on German TV every once in a while. Yeah, we don't get it either

* Willy Millowitsch (he appeared in ''National Lampoon's European Vacation'', as the German relative) from Cologne (many German comedians [[GermanDialects speak some dialect]] and make very localized jokes - similar as in Britain).

* Johann Nepomuk Nestroy and Ferdinand Raimund, the two giants of Viennese stage comedy in the early 19th century (at the time Vienna belonged to the German Federation). One of Nestroy's plays, ''Einen Jux will er sich machen'' was adapted into English by ThorntonWilder as ''The Merchant of Yonkers'' and ''The Matchmaker'' (later turned into the musical ''HelloDolly'') and by Creator/TomStoppard as ''On the Razzle''.

* UsefulNotes/EastGermany jokes, for example (From TheOtherWiki):