I want to go to Germany, but... whats it like there?

Question

i want to go to germany, but I'm Black and I just want to know how peole react to black people there. r they racist there like they r here? Is there anything i need to watch out for? and do any black people actually live in germany? if so, about how many percent of the population. (I dont mean to sound so shallow, but i just need to know how to keep myself safe)

p.s. im going to berlin to visit potsdam and all those historic sites

Answer 1

You will not have any problem at all except possibly if you go to some VERY strange neighborhood in east Berlin or some other east German city. In most parts people are quite nice and in the places you normally go as a tourist you will have no problem at all.

In Berlin there are some black people living although not so many as in other european cities. Anyway Berlin has 14% foreigners as residents and a lot of tourists so people are used to any kind of foreigner regardless of color.

Answer 2

http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/inde...

Avoid the east, in general.Unfortunately, Berlin is in the east but the city itself should be more or less safe.

Exercise proper caution, don't be out late at night alone, for example.

Answer 3

Depends where you go.  You shouldn't have problems in most of Germany, though I would avoid small towns in the East because that is where you will find the strongest presence of racist groups and the ones most inclined to ask act on that racism.  I don't think there are a lot of blacks in Germany, the biggest minority groups are Turks and Eastern Europeans.  I don't see blacks that often when I am in Germany other than when I go to the English language service of church.  From what I have seen more Germans are just surprised to see blacks and will be nice because they assume they are tourists or visitors of some sort.  I have been principally in the big cities in the West so I can't say from observation how people act in the East, so I have to go by what I hear in the media.  I would be surprised if you had any problems in Berlin, it is rather cosmopolitan, never been to Potsdam but it is a big enough city that you should be fine.

Answer 4

I'm taking German as my world language class in high school. My German teacher was born in Germany and she said that it's amost always raining...

but the good news is that they have no drinking laws (like you have to be 18 or over to drink alcohol) they even have a holiday where all you do is eat and drink til you puke.

and as far as i know about the whole racism in GErmany thing, I don't think they have that in Germany... (i don't really know, but its worth a shot to try and help...)

Answer 5

I should be very surprised if you encountered any problems.

Luckily the hate-centres are at the backside of the world, where you certainly won't want to go.

In most of Germany racism is an absolute no-no, and permeates society far less than in the US or England. There are plenty of black people living in Germany, a lot of them Germans.

You can't get real figures because officially there is no racial differenciation between immigrants, so all you can do is to assume that the half million people that are supposed to have immigrated from sub-saharan Africa are black, but that might not be the case, because e.g. South Africans are among them, and most people emigrating from there are whites these days.

Answer 6

In general you will be SAFE SAFE SAFE !!!!

Also in Berlin. It's very international.

I would avoid the EAST (small villages) but feel free to travel to Cologne, Duesseldorf,Hamburg, Munich, the black forest area, Bavaria.....all the touristy stuff.

I am very sure you will find people friendly and welcoming.

Show your big smile and they will smile back!  Have fun!!!

Answer 7

germany is ok there are lots of races there i went last year i dont think anyone is going to mind you are black cause they already went throuigh a bad war sometimes there are demonstrations just stay away from them as long as you mind your own buisness i would say you are safe.

Answer 8

It's sad that the first thing you think about when traveling to another country is "Are they racist against blacks like they are here?"  What a lame-o question.  You know, if you didn't see racism towards you around every corner, you might notice that there is a he|| of a lot less racism than you think there is.  Not everyone hates blacks.  And most people that you think are "racist" don't hate blacks, they hate the people with attitudes like "whites are holding me back" and "whites owe me because my great-great-great-great aunt on my mothers side twice removed was a slave".  Stop thinking of yourself as black, white, yellow, brown, whatever, and start thinking of yourself as a person.

Sorry for the rant.

So: No, they are not racist in Germany.  They accept people for WHO they are, not what they are.  If you come over here with a positive attitude and respect those around you, you will have a great time.  If you come over here and start acting ignorant and with a bad attitude, you will not have a great time.  Be positive.

Answer 9

In general: germany is much more a safe country than the USA. There are a lot of foreigners but not so many black people (compared to the USA). There is a racistic minority, especially in some places in former east germany, but if you are going to visit only touristic sites you will be safe, no worries! Berlin is a multi-cultural city and very international.

My recommendation: avoid going (alone) to poorer regions / towns / suburbs with high unemployment, especially at night. That's not difficult since you won't find there any sites of cultural / historic interest.

Answer 10

Don't worry so much. You are always welcome to Germany. My husband is African American and working as US Army. In Germany we have so many different people from all over the world. There is always some stupid people they don't like anything than themselves so we have that here too this crazy people. But don't worry. Most of them called Neonazis is at the East side in some little towns. I'm from Turkey and living over 30 years here in Germany, I don't had any problems not in East and not in the West. Just enjoy your trip to Berlin you love this place. I was there already 4 times. My husband went there for himself and he loved Berlin.

Answer 11

There are lots of black people in Germany. Unfortunately a lot of them a peddlers on the streets and muslim so there is a lot of racism against them. Look at the news lately... there was a man i the army telling his troops to imagine killing black people in harlem...

Also Germany has the most amount of adoptions from africa. There's a lot of black babies with white parents..