To be honest, I find the test kind of funny. Why do you need to know these things, why are you a "good" German if you know who built the Berlin Wall? There are certainly masses of Germans who don't know that (anymore). For me personally, it would only be important that the applicant can speak and understand good German. That is surely the most important quality one should possess. Ask any American on the street in the USA what "Independence Day" (4th July) means exactly.... according to which at least half of all Americans are not Americans, because they cannot answer such questions correctly. Certainly, many Germans also do not know what is celebrated in Germany on October 3. Nevertheless, they are Germans.
@@rhalleballe Yeah, those tests are only made by the "conservative" to make it harder to come to the country (or to be able to say so to their voters). The content of the test is actually less important than it's existance.
@@rhalleballeor my Canadian citizenship I also had to take a test about Canadian history, society and politics. And I am convinced that someone becoming a citizen should have some basic knowledge about the new country .
I've never seen "a scantron" in my life. Multiple choice isn't that common in german education, probably that's why. We had some exams in uni that where partly multiple choice though. These were evaluated automatically but printed on normal printer paper.
Well, even an immigrant, of other denominations, has holidays like Easter, Christmas, and free. Ok not in the US, but here it is. A bit of general education about the new country and culture should be there.
Some chamber of commerce (IHK) exams are multiple choice, but they are not graded automatically, either. The choice is made on a transparent sheed and correctors will have a template solution they put under it to see if correct answers have been chosen. The advantage over automated grading is that there's more leeway in interpreting corrections.
@@ohaussthere are also digital ones but even then the last time I took one I still had to wait a couple hours for results so they might still manually grade the digital ones. Also fun fact a lot of what's called multiple choice tests (at least on Germany) aren't actually multiple choice but are single choice.
@@DeltaCortisThey were adopted in Christianity to make the transition smoother. Just like having guides for Mac users how to convert to Windows and vice versa.
@@PassportTwo It's the manual homework of teachers. But multiple choice in schools are not so common anyway. There are essays evalutated or mathematical transformations.
I've never seen one in Germany and never heared of the word as a German, to be honest. But in our schools, multiple-choice tests are not common at all. It makes the job of the teachers and pupils harder, but as there are subject matters that cannot be easily transformed into multiple-choices, there is more diversity in tasks to solve in our tests which is IMHO a more profound and flexible way of testing. (This is a bit different in university, as in medical school the state examinations are done by multiple-choice tests which are standardized over the whole country; in law school however, you typically have to write legal opinions and there are some state-specific parts - guess where it is harder to pass in the end; if the presented case in our law exams is too exotic, you fail pretty quickly as in multiple-choice tests you can always skip the ones you don't know and can still answer the others).
pertaining to the Christmas question: from my perspectiv this isn't really a question about religion but on tradition and culture. I think that's a general difference when it comes to the topic of religion. In germany religious tradition and faith are seen kind of seperate. We are fine with religious traditions (mostly christian ones) being part of our culture even if we don't actually believe and therefore this is fine in politics as well. What we seperate from politics is faith. RQOTW: sour
Then taking evergreen plants inside and decorating them is a Yuletide custom that simply got repurposed for Christianity. For the longest time it wasn't whole trees but you had branches on the wall and stuff. The Vatican only recently (couple of years ago) relented and got a Christmas tree for themselves. Same thing applies to painting eggs, or hiding chocolate eggs: The tradition itself isn't Christian at all. Probably derived from old spring customs, think fertility.
@@aoeuable Christmas trees were not a thing before the 16th century and became popular in the 19th century. So they are not an old tradition (Like many 19th century traditions that claim to be old).
Fyi, 50% actually is a passing score in Germany. Though contrary to the citizenship test, you don't get multiple choice questions in school (there might be a true/false section or similar but it's never entirely multiple choice) Also never seen a scantron before. Just printing tests on ordinary printing paper is the norm
Actually Multiple Choice is permitted at schools in Germany. However, it is very rare indeed. Also, the scoring would then be done in a manner to eliminate advantages by just guessing. For example, instead of just awarding points for correct answers, you may also have points deducted for incorrect answers. So when you really have no clue, not answering at all would be better than guessing.
They definitely are rare but I think we did have a handful of multiple choice tests in school (though only for smaller tests) and we also had a few in university. And yeah, at my university, the exam regulations even specifed minimum requirements to make it unlikely to pass by chance. Though it didn't require stuff like negative points for wrong answers (which sucks and doesn't qualitatively reduce the chances to pass by guessing more than just having more questions or answer choices). Iirc the regulations just required the chance to pass by guessing to be below a threshold. Also, in some university exams, we did have automated grading done by scanning, though most of the time, the questions were still corrected manually (most of the questions didn't have a single answer anyways) and the scanners only summed up the points. Tbh not sure how much time that really saves but I guess it also allows reviewing the exams online and maybe avoids biases better, since the exams got QR-code stickers instead of our names.
Such a test is not necessarly to check you knowledge. It's to show you are willing to put in some effort to become german. This principle is quiet common in education. If you have a degree in something, you show you are able to learn something, to finish a project in your life. This qualifies you to work on another project, not based on the subject of your education. With limits, but that's the idea.
I dont have a degree in beeing german, it came totaly natural to me, cause i was born here, so if a forgain person gets the citicenship does he can call him self phd germanicus as a name addition?
Plus, surprisingly there are people who don't pass the test because they actually manage to reveal that they have ideas which don't fit with our basic law at all - so you won't catch those smart enough to pretend for a little bit, but at least those who are so fanatic that they won't be able to do that.
Bubble Sheets are an American thing. Not used here in general. I only know them from the USAF. Edit: Fallersleben. As A German, you learn that in school.
I think the tests are supposed to be easy and simply check if a candidate for citizenship has the motivation to study a few questions by heart (so they really want to be German). With the added benefit that after studying for the test, they know at least a few things about how Germany works. Those that are eligible to apply for citizenship already had to live a few years (not sure how many) in Germany and that comes with the requirement to have been able to finance themselves. For most people that means having a job and thus being somewhat integrated into society.
That is pretty much how I would prepare for these kinds of tests. Assume they offer a pen (to make sure you're not cheating) but bring one anyone just on case. And that "quietly leaving the class once you're done" is how I remember it from school. Students that stay in the room will obviously get bored and might disturb the class. And they're done, so why should they keep sitting there. And obviously it's on paper, how else would they fax it back to the office.
I had to remain in the classroom during one "Klausur", because it was a 3 "hour" test, and I was finished after 1 "hour". I had to stay, in case someone had to go to the toilet.
That is so typical German, economize on the paper ... don't even think about it as beeing part of the test to be able to read the bad prints. They centralise the rating of the test, but they never ever consider that it might be cheaper to print all the tests at a big print house. Yes I am allowed to write like that 😂 because I am a German who lives already years abroad and that opened my eyes to see how inefficient the oh so efficient German system is. And what did you dream about, tablets for the Einbürgerungstest? in a country where a lot of schools have not enough computers? 😂
Multiple choice tests are very rare in germany and with the exception of my Führerscheinprüfung I never had a test which had only multiple choice questions. Maybe it's just not worth it to invest in a system nobody knows, when somebody can do it manually within minutes. (Edit: I thought they would grade the test locally. With a centralised grading system they could also invest in one scantron.) And the reason for the blurry font is most likely just a badly maintained printer. Most germans won't go to church every sunday, but things like christmas are still a big thing in our culture. I might even argue that it is more important to know things about our local, regional and national culture than to know all chancellors(Adenauer, Erhard, Kießinger, Brandt, Scheel, Schmitt, Kohl, Schröder, Merkel, Scholz). And in my opinion it's a cultural question and not a religious one. A religious question would ask why we celebrate christmas or eastern.
But is christmas a really Christian holiday today? I mean it is, but in Austria many atheist people or even Musilms celebrate christmas. Not as a religious holiday, but as a general holiday. All the Turkish families, even the more religious ones, from my high school celebrated christmas at home, because today it is less seen as a Christian holiday and more as a profane holiday here.
I don't see why the test should be difficult or overly patriotic. He should only clarify whether the person was willing to deal with German culture and history. And let's be honest: I would say that the majority of German-born would fail this test. I even think it's a good thing that the test is evaluated externally. Prevents corruption and "personal rejection" because there is no direct contact between the evaluating and the tested. And question of the week: Rather sour dill.
The weirdness with the printing just comes from old, poorly maintained printers. The rubber on the paper rollers gets covered in paper dust and toner and hardens with age, so the paper slips around as it tries to feed it through the machine. That makes it hard to keep everything lined up as it prints.
Als ich meine Geburtsurkunde das erste mal angefordert habe, dachte ich auch dass ich eine Urkunde bekomme aus hochwertigem Papier mit sauberem klarem Druck. Am Ende bekam ich ein 08 15 Papier mit billigem Druck. Dazu noch 2 mal gefaltet. Das alles für 10 Euro.
Multiple choice is considered an easy form of tests (medical school would be excluded here) thats why in school there are usually near to no multiple choice tests. In Bavaria every test in school has to have three parts: 1. Reproducation of learned facts 2. Reorganisation of learned facts 3. Transfer of knowledge 4. Problem solving (not in all subjects) 1. is the lowest bar to not be so bad getting grad 6 , 3+4. the highest bar you have to be able to do, to earn grade 1
I think the 6 month waiting period is the real test, to see how accustomed you are to German bureaucracy. The questionnaire is just a pretence for that.
My guess on this: You are trying to make sense of the questions themselves. This does not exist. As far as I have seen, there is always one correct, two possible and one completely absurd answer. If it's filled in purely at random, you'll inevitably catch a few absurd ones, which shows that you didn't understand the question. Ah yes, and reading a completely unknown language in miserable printed quality is even more difficult and adds the final touch. Which then means you don't know German. And THAT is the real test. It's all about whether you know the language and know the culture. Because those are the only relevant criteria. And that's why the tests have to be evaluated by a person, which then takes longer. So the whole thing would make sense to me.
the " miserable printed quality" is probably not part of the test - either the printer was just broken or the setup of the printer was not right. And they were to lazy to reprint b/c "ach... geht schon".
Pickles? I have a sweet tooth, so I like the sweet and sour sandwich slices and the cornichons. Now a real pickle has been fermented, like sauerkraut, and is naturally sour, traditionally flavored with dill and garlic. It is still alive! I grew up in New York, you would find them in the Jewish deli in a big wooden barrel - back in the 50s. There has been a renaissance of farmers markets and cultured food in some areas of the US (we were living in Washington State). We could get real pickled - that is fermented - cucumbers and sauerkraut direct from the farmer, and we could buy their products in the fridge section only of some supermarkets and natural food stores as well. But most people think a pickle is made by cooking it in vinegar... that is what you find in stores. They can sit on the shelf (or in your fridge) for years because they are embalmed. It is said that eating live fermented foods is good for your digestive tract, they have friendly bacteria, like yogurt. Most vinegar has had the life distilled out of it. If anyone has gotten this far in the video - I mean Comment - where do you find live pickles in Germany? Or must you make them yourself? I see "fermentierte Gurken" but if they are not in the fridge, they are no longer alive... gell?
Maybe a reason for the lack of efficiency in the process of “naturalization” is that it doesn’t impact Germans who are already citizens so that group doesn’t see the need to improve the process (although it does seem like a pretty easy exam to pass, although I’m guessing that one has to take it in German which would doom many non-native speakers in general)
RQotW: both, but I think I like sweet relish best. 🤭 As to the citizenship questions to become Austrian, I read somewhere that not even half of those who are Austrian, long time i.e. 3rd 4th generation could pass the test. Not sure what the questions are, and if would pass the test, but now I am curious.
I was naturalised 3 years ago. But I can't say that my test looked cheap like that example. So that seems to vary. Yes, I took my time, but I don't think it took me longer than 10 minutes or so. Sour pickles of course 😀
@@Mamaki1987 thank you for replying. I read on the internet that the process takes up to three years in states with high populations and about one year in states with lower ones. Do you mind telling us in which state do you live? Also, congratulations on getting your citizenship!
I like what Schopenhauer said about national pride: “The cheapest sort of pride is national pride; for if a man is proud of his own nation, it argues that he has no qualities of his own of which he can be proud; otherwise he would not have recourse to those which he shares with so many millions of his fellowmen. The man who is endowed with important personal qualities will be only too ready to see clearly in what respects his own nation falls short, since their failings will be constantly before his eyes. But every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud adopts, as a last resource, pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and glad to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.”
@@peterpain6625 Yes, they were told that they were the „good Germans“ and the fascist lived on the other side of the wall. Today we see the results of that.
You have heard about the concept of Vergangenheitsverwaltigung? Which clearly has no equivalent in the USA; a country mainly in denial about slavery, the Civil War and US imperialism all over the world, but especially in Mexico and the rest of Spanish speaking America.
It's not even just regional pride. Unified Germany is so young we even still have ethnic pride. Eg. in Saxony some people consider themselves Sorbian first, Saxon second and German after that. With multi-regional ethnics it becomes even more complex. For example I as an ethnic Prussian from Saxony though I was born and raised there, cuturally have more in common with Brandenburgians or even Slesians (situated in Poland) than I have with my fellow Saxons. Differences have eroded over time and by now are mostly lost in more recent generations. That said especially in more rural areas the sentiment of ethnic tribalism and prejudice against cultural outsiders is still very much alive 🤨 There probably aren't a lot of questions about older German history or culture because well .. Germany as an entitiy is technically only 152 years old. The germany of the past was so fragmented that asking questions about our history before the unification would probably be an overkill for applicants. Not to mention a lot of it isn't even taught in school, so where would prospective nationals even learn about it in the first place ^^ Eg. Who was the reigning Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach at the time of the "Silver Ages"?
The chance to pass the test by guessing at random on every question is less than 0.1% i.e. less than 1 in 1000. Though it definitely still makes it easier. If you knew 16 questions and only need to guess one, the chance to guess correctly at least once on the remaining questions is above 99%. If you need 2, it's 96%, and for 5, it's still above 50%. And ofc, even if you don't know the answer, you often at least know that some of the options are definitely wrong, which increases the chances further (though I guess if you know that little, it's also possible you misjudge and think an answer is definitely wrong when it's not, which would bring the chances down).
When I was going through the naturalization process almost 10 years ago, I went through the 311 questions online and missed exactly 2 (true, at that time I had already lived here for almost 40 years and have always been interested in history and politics). Ultimately, I did not have to take either the language or the civics test because I had certificates from the university from 3 1/2 years of law studies. The driving license test (written) is the same thing; you can go through all the possible questions online until you have them down if necessary. One slight difference; there is not always only one right answer to a question. Still, I finished the test in less than 10 minutes (this was about 20 years ago) and it was graded on the spot. I got everything right.The amusing thing was that my best friend congratulated me and gave me a present because for him that was the hard part of the test; driving was a snap. I, on the other hand, failed the driving test the first time and had to retake it (even though I had had a Texas driving license since I was 14). I think my problem was trying too hard to drive perfectly. Not a great fan of pickles of any sort.
9:18 if you just guess the correct answer out of 4 alternatives without knowing, you will, on average, get 1 in 4 answers right. So, the expected outcome is 33/4 = 8.25 correct answers, with a standard deviation of a little under 2.5. In order to pass, you need 17, which is 8.75, or about 3.5 standard deviations, above the expected value. Looking up in a standard normal distribution table, it turns out that the probability that a completely clueless person will pass the test by simply guessing is about 0.023 per cent. So not particularly good, actually.
Using a computer or laptop for the questions In Germany? Maybe we still have a few punch cards for it... But the officers have to be busy so that they can't learn such complicated techniques. It is already difficult enough for the officers to read the printouts and compare them with the results.
I thought like you did that there were unlikely to have controversial issues or things that could make the USA. The questions that you showed were really not that controversial (as you predicted they didn’t demand knowledge of the Trail of Tears. Also they allowed States Right as justification for the South going to war to preserve slavery in perpetuity.
Well, your problem was that you still thought we were tge land of efficiency... nah ;) And of course the US test is harder, they don't want most people to become citizens while we think that it will make it easier for them to live here.
Als Deutscher finde ich den Einbürgerungstest sehr einfach. Ich habe mehrere Online-Tests für verschiedene Bundesländer gemacht und immer alles richtig beantwortet. 9:52 Reichsbürger certainly have problems answering this question.😄
The national anthem question is really kinda tricky... yes, fallersleben wrote the text, but the music is from haydn and was written for emperor franz II of austria. the original text was "gott erhalte franz den kaiser..." etc. i really found that funny when i learned that as a kid.
Honestly, I'm surprised that it's a multiple choice test at all. Throughout school and most examinations thereafter, those are the exception. You are supossed to show critical thinking and either illustrate the big picture or hone in on the details from memory. That's probably a big factor towards the lack of digitalization for the test. About the pickles, recently I've fallen in love with sour chili ones. Those from Aldi, which lead to my appreciation of hot dog style bratwurst. Just in time for the two student BBQs I had this week.
I suppose it's not all. Good friend (from scotland) just took this test a couple of months ago and now has an appointment with someone at the local Rathaus for some kind of "interview". We'll see how that turns out.
Decorating a Christmas tree or Easter eggs is not really a religious thing, in my opinion. Even German atheists might do it. It's more like a tradition or folk religion.
Christmas isn't really a religious holiday nowadays in many households in Europe. It's more of a family celebration than anything else. I'm an atheist and anti-theist and I celebrate Christmas...
"Not showing national pride" is not a German thing, nor is it a remnance of our shameful WW2 legacy. Most European countries fortunately are equally liberated from the concept of patriotism.
Two more things: How can there be a "reading and writing requirement" in the USA, when the USA do not have an official language? I think that's odd... And the pickles thing: sour. Of course.
Welcome to Germany, the inefficient analog way of doing things and the total lack of transparency of how local officials handle these things is actually the hard part of the process to get that German citizenship. To get 52% of the questions right is easy-peasy in comparison!
@@teilzeitbernd >To get 52% of the questions right is easy-peasy in comparison! No, if multiple choice, its not easy-peasy. Its only easy-peasy when only ONE answer fits, But with multiple choice it very hard to get it right by random access.
I had the complete opposite test to take - I was German and became a US Citizen in 2006, lol. I think, the test I was given was waaaaay too easy. They asked for the different branches of our Govenment, how many stars on the flag, who do they represent - same with the stripes on the flag...who is the President, who is the current Governor of my State, how many Senators to a State, etc. I had one single question wrong from all the 10 questions I got, which was who is the newest member of the Supreme Court is (back then, the newest Judge was just 2 weeks in office, and the Homeland Security guy that tested me told me right away, I mostlikely get the question wrong, lol). After the writing sample was done, he congratulated me and said ( and jokingly scolded me), that he does not understand, why it took me so long to finally become a US Citizen, lol. I have been living in the States since 1986 already...It was just an awesome experience and I looked through the "Learning Booklet" once - right before my test, in other words: I didn't study at all. But again - I had previously lived in the States so long, that it wasn't a big deal to answer the somewhat very easy to me questions...and to answer the question of why I took my test so late - well, every 10 years to go for the green card again and pay the fees, well the citizenship cost me slightly more then to renew my greencard again, and I always felt like an American anyways !
I think the German Einbürgerungstest should be about history and social peculiarities in Germany but even more about the German language. I guess that would really show if you're willing to live and adapt to a foreign country if you make an effort to learn and understand the local language.
If there is some device to check multiple choice questions, it's a card with holes, layed over the answers, and they count the checkmarks visible in the holes (the correct checkmarks). That's it. There are almost no scanners for anything. Even although passports are machine readable , I have never seen machines reading them.
Ah yes, the theoretical part of the driving test. Those stupid practice sheets with the templates 😂At least in that respect, Germany is digital these days.
Scantron is not a thing in Germany. The first and last time I saw these tests was in my exchange student year in the USA in the 90s. Wow. It’s crazy that the results for this simple tests takes months ! 🤯That’s really ridiculous. It’s as if they try to be as inefficiently possible.
The results of the test comes after a long wait 4 to 6 months its funny because if they use a paper which is scannable by computer, it coukd be done in under 5 minutes 😂
I have never seen anything like a scantron before. Totally not a thing in germany. Plain DinA4 paper is standard for every kind of tests in germany (especiqlly in school)
Well, you probably nailed it about the print quality: they're cheap. I'd guess their printers are as old as the founding of the resp. department. You can't just have a budget for working tools and buy some if necessary, can you? For all I have experienced with buerocracy, surely the internal paperwork procedure for replacing a printer is even worse than getting access ticket A 38. - ah, about the pickles: neither sour, dill or sweet. Salted. Mjam mjam!
Scantrons are not a thing in Germany. Multiple choice tests are extremely rare and if you come across parts of a test that are MCish, it is most often still expected to write one or two sentences in addition to ticking the box.
@@PassportTwo there are different passing scores in school we have grades from 1-6 with a score of 51% you would pass = grade 4 In other circumstances 40% might be enough to pass or 60% might not so . Gor us the passing score is what ever is required to pass, not ONE persentage
Yeah, not gonna lie, I''m kinda second-hand embarrassed and angry right now at how deliberately "hingerotzt" everything about this test seems to be. The questions themselves up to the question mark seem appropriate to me. But everything about the process as you describe it seems almost designed to make acquisition of German citizenship as undignified an experience as possible. I can't imagine any applicant feeling closer ties to our country than before as a result of running this gauntlet of low effort.
Your problem is that you dont get, these questions are in German! Would you pass a similar test (easy peasy questions) if they were in Mandarin (Chinese)? Aaahh.... do you get it?
Apologies, but do you "get it"? If I applied for citizenship of a country (which means I'm concluding a thorough integration and language acquisition process to turn from a foreigner into a citizen, I didn't just arrive in that country,), of course you should expect the applicant to pass the test in the official language! Apart from the fact that you seem to have missed that the questions themselves are not what I have a problem with, as I literally said. I'm criticizing how cheap and unceremonious everything about taking the test is.
As someone with strong beliefs concerning religion (I prefer to phrase it that way to avoid offending anyone), even I didn't read that Christmas tree question as a question on religion. Maybe that's bc Christians are now in the minority in Germany but everyone still celebrates Christmas, at least in some fashion. It's just a cultural thing. That said, I personally think most citizenship test questions are useless. How would knowing a specific thing about history really, truly qualify you to contribute to our society? There should be a lot more questions about the general goings on, how systems work, how to do your taxes and the like bc having to know that will actually help people integrate into society.
Ok, just did the internetversion of the test for fun. I needed 5 min and had 32 of 33 questions correct. The one I missed , I missclicked and didn't realize it until I hit confirm. So yeah, the test might be a tad easy.
A lot of these tests are. Like the examples given from the American test about "The Father of Our Country' (Washington) and what was a major accomplishment of Lincoln (Emancipation Proclamation). The only one that would require a bit of history was the one that the guy missed about who was President during WWI (Woodrow Wilson for the record).
I found it weird you showing us a German passport several times (3:38 and 7:57) during the video. One could think that after the test, if successful, the new German citizen will get a German passport. But no, a passport is just a means to travel that you buy when travelling to countries without bilateral agreement with Germany. When a new German gets the German citizenship, you will get the ID (Ausweis) which is the size of a credit card.
The german bureaucracy has its roots, when Germany got unified in 1871 and the infamous prussian bureaucracy became the way things got done in the entire country. The prussian bureaucracy in turn got built in the 18th century beginning with Frederic the first (the prince elector) and Frederic the second (the great). So, it has kind of been that way for ever and the idea, that german bureaucracy is torturous and slow and expansive shouldn't be a surprise to anybody. I don't even know, where the idea of supposed "german efficiency" comes from, not from how things are actually run, that's for sure. In fact, in the 18th and early 19th century, germans had a reputation for being slow, very stuck in their ways, overly precise. Germans had a reputation for not being able to get things done and for being very inefficient.
I guess the demand for bureacratic processes wasn't as high back then as it is now. Yet they're still trying to use the same processes for everything i suppose. "Gibts kein Formular für" i heard more than once in my time ;)
Sour Dill... sweet pickles, come on! Regarding the Anthem: Von Fallersleben wrote the lyrics, but what's more interesting here is: where does the melody come from? No, it's not for this song, it is actually Joseph Haydn's String Quartet, the "Kaiserquartett", written as a "birthday song" in 1797 for the birthday of Francis II, (Holy) Roman Emperor (and the last one at that) also called the “Kaiserhymne”. Also the lyrics are just stanza three because one is politically no longer accurate ("von der Maas bis an die Memel" - "from the Meuse to the Neman" - current names in English) and the second one, which I would *love* to have as an anthem, is a *drinking song* ...^^ And yes, Germany is... well... it's bureaucracy is *insanely* backwards... including the citizenship test... just try leaving the church, I mean *you* wouldn't of course, but id it and it's... simple but it's also done by idiots who need to be rather pointedly reminded that it's of no concern to them why I do this. Not everywhere, might just be Karben in Hessia^^. Best regards Raoul G. Kunz
The questions about Christmas and Easter traditions fit perfectly with German politics. I doubt that the U.S. is as secular as you claim it to be, but Germany is even worse: The German government still pays the two main Christan brands (protestant EKD and the Catholic church) reparations of about 540 million(!) Euros per year(!!) for the annexiation of church properties during the Napoleonic age(!!!), which was some 220 years ago... A real estate deal for the ages... And that is from general taxes that everyone pays, be they religious or not, be they Christians or not.
2:30 "a ton of questions" - That is part of the test: Germans plan ahead and are prepared. (As you did.) 7:13 "low quality print": Again, part of the test. (The applicants can read this? - And they give the correct answer? - Let them come in.) (10:33 I know that, I know that: Herr Hoffmann von Fallersleben!) Answer to "Question of the week": What? - That depends on the weather, my mood and many other things. (As I said: Be preprared.) Anyway, have a good time!
I like to have my legal texts on paper. Papier ist geduldig, but also sturdy compared to any electronics. And I also vastly prefer to make tests on paper. And no, l there are no scantrons. But a lot of very old printers. It's more likely it was a printout of a low-res .pdf though. Have you ever seen the maps they put in the "Amtsblatt"? I swear some of them have single digit dpi.
That's Germany😂 a few years ago, I guess in 2015 Chancellor Merkel quoted that the internet is quite new to us. But honestly, Germans are very keen about their data privacy, so everything online ist still somehow suspicious😂 And no worries, I guess you will pass with full score😂👍🤞
Pickles - it's not an either/or; it's - for what purpose. For all of my 'salads', it's sweet. For munching-down it's sour - BUT, sour is not sour is not sour. My favorite in Germany is Specht's Bayerische Gewürz Gurken. num, num, num!
Hello Donny, instead of a comment not just for this video but also on your video about christianity culture shocks in Germany I have some riddles for you (and possibly an inspiration for your next videos: as for this video about the German immigration test: what is the neighing white horse of German public administration two questions on the religious topic: a) in English history literature the early 18th century (1700 ad) onwards gets called the "age of enlightenment". Nothing could be further from the truth when you consider the German term for it. Can you guess why? (and why this German way of seeing it has perhaps the biggest impact on how we deal with religion in general...) and b) (as an answer on how many Germans look at the American christian denominations): what could possibly be a "halleluia shed". Answers preferably given by private communication....
As long as the office which regulates the naturalisation of new citizens is named "Ausländerbehörde" I do not have much hope that Germany will gain the Race for qualified immigrants. In the USA the same institution is called "immigration service", asaik?
The holiday questions show the nature of the role of what used to be Christian holidays in modern Germany: They have reverted to the pre-Christian, purely cultural, version of the holidays. The holidays remain holidays, but their Christian character is lost to many, especially since 1989, when the former East Germany, which had been intensely secularized, had to be reintegrated into a common German state. (Re-) Enter Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny
Funfact. I once came im hand of an original DDR Einbürgerungsformular. About 50 sheets of paper asking your whole life and in which way you are willing to support/join the secret services.
What is a Scantron? Also standardized tests like you have in US schools are not common in Germany for students. FOr the pickles I like the German Schwarzwald variety, I think in the US that would qualify as sour
The lack of efficiency in a lot of processes in Germany is a result of the lack of digitalisation and just keeping the old ways it's always been done. İt's often painful to watch...
Keep in mind those tests are a rather new development, introduced to please conservative pundits who wanted tight selection. Equally important, when one reaches the point of taking that test, he has already shown considerable desire to become a citizen, which is more important then any detailed knowledge. Likewise the questions are more of a bottom line agreement what politics could agree as acceptable. Last but not least, you're not the kind of person this test is intended to be a hurdle for. Mentioning of Christmas Trees and Easter Eggs shows that neither is seen as religious at all. They are cultural habits - items new citizens are supposed to know and at some point embrace. Religion as such is way less present and even less important in Germany than in the US. Not to mention that their roots are not exactly Christian at all. Any kind of pickles is good. Sweet simply goes well with more dishes.
6:52 The only thing that reminds me of something similar in Germany is a "Lottoschein". Do you play Lotto in Germany? That could or should be a necessity for getting the citizenship in the future. So, be prepared! 😊
The printing being warped is probably because they bought a €50 consumer grade printer and mishandled it for ages printing thousands of pages :) There is probably no money "available" for a new one. Scantrons are not "a thing" anywhere but the us. This test is more about your willingness to learn and understand german in context i suppose.
Well... Maybe the actual test is if one is able to wait 5+ months for a German Amt to do one simple little thing for you that would literally just take seconds to do for any sane person. So it basically tests your ability to put up with the inefficiencies of our system. Looking from that perspective it pretty much begins to make sense, no? 😂
National pride is nonsense. You can be proud about something you or someone close has accomplished. And you can consider yourself lucky to be born into a rich country with a functioning social system. But that’s about it.
Maybe they speculate, that people anwering these questions get the impression, that they apply for the citicenship of the 3rd Reich and then run away screaming in full panic...
Yea thats german school. To dark or to light writings on white sheets😂 or crouked. Really nice if you have a picture to describe but it like melts together color wise😅.
![New Law: Becoming a German Citizen Faster! [2024 Update]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VgFfkhQT9zg/mqdefault.jpg)
So what do you think? Too easy? Too hard? Just right?? 😅
Funny is when e.g. AfD people fail the test. Strangely they don't insist on losing German citizenship then.
To be honest, I find the test kind of funny. Why do you need to know these things, why are you a "good" German if you know who built the Berlin Wall? There are certainly masses of Germans who don't know that (anymore).
For me personally, it would only be important that the applicant can speak and understand good German. That is surely the most important quality one should possess.
Ask any American on the street in the USA what "Independence Day" (4th July) means exactly.... according to which at least half of all Americans are not Americans, because they cannot answer such questions correctly.
Certainly, many Germans also do not know what is celebrated in Germany on October 3. Nevertheless, they are Germans.
@@rhalleballe Yeah, those tests are only made by the "conservative" to make it harder to come to the country (or to be able to say so to their voters). The content of the test is actually less important than it's existance.
@@rhalleballeor my Canadian citizenship I also had to take a test about Canadian history, society and politics. And I am convinced that someone becoming a citizen should have some basic knowledge about the new country .
I think it is just right. In fact in some countries only a few questions are asked when applying to the cititzenship.
I've never seen "a scantron" in my life. Multiple choice isn't that common in german education, probably that's why. We had some exams in uni that where partly multiple choice though. These were evaluated automatically but printed on normal printer paper.
For each form there is a template that you put on the boxes, like in the old days with the driver's license.
Well, even an immigrant, of other denominations, has holidays like Easter, Christmas, and free. Ok not in the US, but here it is. A bit of general education about the new country and culture should be there.
Some chamber of commerce (IHK) exams are multiple choice, but they are not graded automatically, either. The choice is made on a transparent sheed and correctors will have a template solution they put under it to see if correct answers have been chosen. The advantage over automated grading is that there's more leeway in interpreting corrections.
@@ohaussthere are also digital ones but even then the last time I took one I still had to wait a couple hours for results so they might still manually grade the digital ones.
Also fun fact a lot of what's called multiple choice tests (at least on Germany) aren't actually multiple choice but are single choice.
Ich habe mal vor ca. 30 Jahren ein Fernstudium an der Fernunivrsität Hagen versucht. Da haben sie das Verfahren ausgiebig verwendet.
Scantrons and Multiple Choice exams are almost non-existent in Germany… Exams in schools and at university are usually essay-based questions.
And yes: Germany's tradition comes from Christianity, but decorating a tree and colouring eggs are not very religious;)
It's a bit like: we forget about god, but we keep the rest.
Both traditions technically predate Christianity and were adopted from Germanic paganism
Hauptsache Feiertag 😂
Actually not very Christian 😅
@@DeltaCortisThey were adopted in Christianity to make the transition smoother. Just like having guides for Mac users how to convert to Windows and vice versa.
7:00 No, scantrons aren't a thing in Germany. I doubt most germans would even know what they are.
Super interesting as this is THE way to give tests in schools in the US. Thanks for the info 😃
here in Italy I never saw a single one, and before today I ignored the word.
@@PassportTwo It's the manual homework of teachers. But multiple choice in schools are not so common anyway.
There are essays evalutated or mathematical transformations.
I've never seen one in Germany and never heared of the word as a German, to be honest. But in our schools, multiple-choice tests are not common at all. It makes the job of the teachers and pupils harder, but as there are subject matters that cannot be easily transformed into multiple-choices, there is more diversity in tasks to solve in our tests which is IMHO a more profound and flexible way of testing. (This is a bit different in university, as in medical school the state examinations are done by multiple-choice tests which are standardized over the whole country; in law school however, you typically have to write legal opinions and there are some state-specific parts - guess where it is harder to pass in the end; if the presented case in our law exams is too exotic, you fail pretty quickly as in multiple-choice tests you can always skip the ones you don't know and can still answer the others).
Right, I am a teacher and I've never heard of a scantron.
As a German I think it's weird that you're making such a big fuss out of getting letters and doing the test with a pen. 😅
As a "non American" I find it weird too.
Especially when in America, they often still use cheques/checks to pay bills....
pertaining to the Christmas question: from my perspectiv this isn't really a question about religion but on tradition and culture.
I think that's a general difference when it comes to the topic of religion. In germany religious tradition and faith are seen kind of seperate.
We are fine with religious traditions (mostly christian ones) being part of our culture even if we don't actually believe and therefore this is fine in politics as well.
What we seperate from politics is faith.
RQOTW: sour
I agree, many non-christian Germans are getting a christmas tree. That dead-tree-decorating predates christs in Germany to begin with.
Then taking evergreen plants inside and decorating them is a Yuletide custom that simply got repurposed for Christianity. For the longest time it wasn't whole trees but you had branches on the wall and stuff. The Vatican only recently (couple of years ago) relented and got a Christmas tree for themselves.
Same thing applies to painting eggs, or hiding chocolate eggs: The tradition itself isn't Christian at all. Probably derived from old spring customs, think fertility.
@@aoeuable Christmas trees were not a thing before the 16th century and became popular in the 19th century. So they are not an old tradition (Like many 19th century traditions that claim to be old).
I agree. It is purely a cultural question - there is no christmas tree in the bible ...
Also, the mentioned traditions (decorating a tree, painting eggs) are actually pagan traditions.
Fyi, 50% actually is a passing score in Germany. Though contrary to the citizenship test, you don't get multiple choice questions in school (there might be a true/false section or similar but it's never entirely multiple choice)
Also never seen a scantron before. Just printing tests on ordinary printing paper is the norm
Actually Multiple Choice is permitted at schools in Germany.
However, it is very rare indeed. Also, the scoring would then be done in a manner to eliminate advantages by just guessing. For example, instead of just awarding points for correct answers, you may also have points deducted for incorrect answers. So when you really have no clue, not answering at all would be better than guessing.
They definitely are rare but I think we did have a handful of multiple choice tests in school (though only for smaller tests) and we also had a few in university. And yeah, at my university, the exam regulations even specifed minimum requirements to make it unlikely to pass by chance. Though it didn't require stuff like negative points for wrong answers (which sucks and doesn't qualitatively reduce the chances to pass by guessing more than just having more questions or answer choices). Iirc the regulations just required the chance to pass by guessing to be below a threshold.
Also, in some university exams, we did have automated grading done by scanning, though most of the time, the questions were still corrected manually (most of the questions didn't have a single answer anyways) and the scanners only summed up the points. Tbh not sure how much time that really saves but I guess it also allows reviewing the exams online and maybe avoids biases better, since the exams got QR-code stickers instead of our names.
Such a test is not necessarly to check you knowledge. It's to show you are willing to put in some effort to become german.
This principle is quiet common in education. If you have a degree in something, you show you are able to learn something, to finish a project in your life. This qualifies you to work on another project, not based on the subject of your education. With limits, but that's the idea.
I dont have a degree in beeing german, it came totaly natural to me, cause i was born here, so if a forgain person gets the citicenship does he can call him self phd germanicus as a name addition?
Plus, surprisingly there are people who don't pass the test because they actually manage to reveal that they have ideas which don't fit with our basic law at all - so you won't catch those smart enough to pretend for a little bit, but at least those who are so fanatic that they won't be able to do that.
Scantrons are basically unknown in Germany. The only time I encountered something similar in Germany was, when I took the Mensa IQ-test. 🤣
And? Big difference to outdoor temperature?
@@rhalleballe yes, because the result was higher.
@@rhalleballe We measure temperature in Celsius, so above 30 is a heatwave ...
@@insulanerin7601 I know, I am german. Anyway ....
Bubble Sheets are an American thing. Not used here in general. I only know them from the USAF.
Edit: Fallersleben. As A German, you learn that in school.
I think the tests are supposed to be easy and simply check if a candidate for citizenship has the motivation to study a few questions by heart (so they really want to be German). With the added benefit that after studying for the test, they know at least a few things about how Germany works. Those that are eligible to apply for citizenship already had to live a few years (not sure how many) in Germany and that comes with the requirement to have been able to finance themselves. For most people that means having a job and thus being somewhat integrated into society.
no, the print quality has nothing to do with security, just with sh*tty IT. Welcome to Germany,
That is pretty much how I would prepare for these kinds of tests. Assume they offer a pen (to make sure you're not cheating) but bring one anyone just on case.
And that "quietly leaving the class once you're done" is how I remember it from school. Students that stay in the room will obviously get bored and might disturb the class. And they're done, so why should they keep sitting there.
And obviously it's on paper, how else would they fax it back to the office.
I had to remain in the classroom during one "Klausur", because it was a 3 "hour" test, and I was finished after 1 "hour". I had to stay, in case someone had to go to the toilet.
That is so typical German, economize on the paper ... don't even think about it as beeing part of the test to be able to read the bad prints. They centralise the rating of the test, but they never ever consider that it might be cheaper to print all the tests at a big print house.
Yes I am allowed to write like that 😂 because I am a German who lives already years abroad and that opened my eyes to see how inefficient the oh so efficient German system is.
And what did you dream about, tablets for the Einbürgerungstest? in a country where a lot of schools have not enough computers? 😂
Better they would have no computers at all. What amount of money is needed to keep this... Scrap... up to date?
I see. It's easier to get german citizenship than to get the german drivers licence.
If the same questions where in Mandarin (Chinese) - would you unterstand these? So what is easier - Chinese drivers licence or Chinise citizenship?
As it should be. A car can be a danger to yourself and others. Bit harder to hurt or kill someone with a german ID.
Multiple choice tests are very rare in germany and with the exception of my Führerscheinprüfung I never had a test which had only multiple choice questions. Maybe it's just not worth it to invest in a system nobody knows, when somebody can do it manually within minutes. (Edit: I thought they would grade the test locally. With a centralised grading system they could also invest in one scantron.)
And the reason for the blurry font is most likely just a badly maintained printer.
Most germans won't go to church every sunday, but things like christmas are still a big thing in our culture. I might even argue that it is more important to know things about our local, regional and national culture than to know all chancellors(Adenauer, Erhard, Kießinger, Brandt, Scheel, Schmitt, Kohl, Schröder, Merkel, Scholz). And in my opinion it's a cultural question and not a religious one. A religious question would ask why we celebrate christmas or eastern.
I guess Christmas and Easter are not seen as a religious undertaking, but part of the culture.
I thought the US test is more difficult e g naming the judges on Scotus. I doubt Germans can name the judges on Verfassungsgericht. I couldn't.
If you waited over 5 years to start naturalization, you can wait few more months for Einbürgerungstest result. :)
He'll do fine. I suppose most of his "this is weird" is more for us to engage rather than it's really weird for him ;)
But is christmas a really Christian holiday today? I mean it is, but in Austria many atheist people or even Musilms celebrate christmas. Not as a religious holiday, but as a general holiday. All the Turkish families, even the more religious ones, from my high school celebrated christmas at home, because today it is less seen as a Christian holiday and more as a profane holiday here.
With only about 60% declaring themselves as christian in germany, it truly has to be a cultural thing, not a religious one.
German national anthem: lyrics by Fallesleben, music by Haydn. That's common knowledge in Germany I think.
Also BASS-Remix by Dj.Bobo ;) No wait. He's swiss isn't he? ;)
I learned about scantron for the first time in my life 🙈 We didn't have that at school either, we very rarely had multiple choice tests.
I don't see why the test should be difficult or overly patriotic. He should only clarify whether the person was willing to deal with German culture and history.
And let's be honest: I would say that the majority of German-born would fail this test.
I even think it's a good thing that the test is evaluated externally. Prevents corruption and "personal rejection" because there is no direct contact between the evaluating and the tested.
And question of the week: Rather sour dill.
The weirdness with the printing just comes from old, poorly maintained printers. The rubber on the paper rollers gets covered in paper dust and toner and hardens with age, so the paper slips around as it tries to feed it through the machine. That makes it hard to keep everything lined up as it prints.
Als ich meine Geburtsurkunde das erste mal angefordert habe, dachte ich auch dass ich eine Urkunde bekomme aus hochwertigem Papier mit sauberem klarem Druck. Am Ende bekam ich ein 08 15 Papier mit billigem Druck. Dazu noch 2 mal gefaltet. Das alles für 10 Euro.
Aber mit Stempel und Unterschrift von "irgendwem" ;)
Multiple choice is considered an easy form of tests (medical school would be excluded here) thats why in school there are usually near to no multiple choice tests.
In Bavaria every test in school has to have three parts:
1. Reproducation of learned facts
2. Reorganisation of learned facts
3. Transfer of knowledge
4. Problem solving (not in all subjects)
1. is the lowest bar to not be so bad getting grad 6 , 3+4. the highest bar you have to be able to do, to earn grade 1
I think the 6 month waiting period is the real test, to see how accustomed you are to German bureaucracy. The questionnaire is just a pretence for that.
My guess on this:
You are trying to make sense of the questions themselves. This does not exist. As far as I have seen, there is always one correct, two possible and one completely absurd answer. If it's filled in purely at random, you'll inevitably catch a few absurd ones, which shows that you didn't understand the question. Ah yes, and reading a completely unknown language in miserable printed quality is even more difficult and adds the final touch. Which then means you don't know German. And THAT is the real test. It's all about whether you know the language and know the culture. Because those are the only relevant criteria. And that's why the tests have to be evaluated by a person, which then takes longer.
So the whole thing would make sense to me.
the " miserable printed quality" is probably not part of the test - either the printer was just broken or the setup of the printer was not right. And they were to lazy to reprint b/c "ach... geht schon".
Pickles? I have a sweet tooth, so I like the sweet and sour sandwich slices and the cornichons. Now a real pickle has been fermented, like sauerkraut, and is naturally sour, traditionally flavored with dill and garlic. It is still alive! I grew up in New York, you would find them in the Jewish deli in a big wooden barrel - back in the 50s. There has been a renaissance of farmers markets and cultured food in some areas of the US (we were living in Washington State). We could get real pickled - that is fermented - cucumbers and sauerkraut direct from the farmer, and we could buy their products in the fridge section only of some supermarkets and natural food stores as well. But most people think a pickle is made by cooking it in vinegar... that is what you find in stores. They can sit on the shelf (or in your fridge) for years because they are embalmed. It is said that eating live fermented foods is good for your digestive tract, they have friendly bacteria, like yogurt. Most vinegar has had the life distilled out of it. If anyone has gotten this far in the video - I mean Comment - where do you find live pickles in Germany? Or must you make them yourself? I see "fermentierte Gurken" but if they are not in the fridge, they are no longer alive... gell?
Maybe a reason for the lack of efficiency in the process of “naturalization” is that it doesn’t impact Germans who are already citizens so that group doesn’t see the need to improve the process (although it does seem like a pretty easy exam to pass, although I’m guessing that one has to take it in German which would doom many non-native speakers in general)
Yes, it has to be taken in German
@@karinland8533 thanks! I kinda figured. But I guess that that’s part of the test as well!
RQotW: both, but I think I like sweet relish best. 🤭
As to the citizenship questions to become Austrian, I read somewhere that not even half of those who are Austrian, long time i.e. 3rd 4th generation could pass the test. Not sure what the questions are, and if would pass the test, but now I am curious.
I was naturalised 3 years ago. But I can't say that my test looked cheap like that example. So that seems to vary. Yes, I took my time, but I don't think it took me longer than 10 minutes or so. Sour pickles of course 😀
Hello, may i ask you how long did the processing time take after you submitted your application?
@@argaz_nifri About six Month
@@Mamaki1987 thank you for replying. I read on the internet that the process takes up to three years in states with high populations and about one year in states with lower ones. Do you mind telling us in which state do you live? Also, congratulations on getting your citizenship!
I like what Schopenhauer said about national pride:
“The cheapest sort of pride is national pride; for if a man is proud of his own nation, it argues that he has no qualities of his own of which he can be proud; otherwise he would not have recourse to those which he shares with so many millions of his fellowmen. The man who is endowed with important personal qualities will be only too ready to see clearly in what respects his own nation falls short, since their failings will be constantly before his eyes. But every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud adopts, as a last resource, pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and glad to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.”
National pride was "educated out" of the germans born after the war for a reason. Didn't take in eastern germany it seems though ;)
@@peterpain6625 Yes, they were told that they were the „good Germans“ and the fascist lived on the other side of the wall. Today we see the results of that.
You have heard about the concept of Vergangenheitsverwaltigung? Which clearly has no equivalent in the USA; a country mainly in denial about slavery, the Civil War and US imperialism all over the world, but especially in Mexico and the rest of Spanish speaking America.
They're even banishing/burning books about that in some states now. History repeats itself i guess :(
It's not even just regional pride. Unified Germany is so young we even still have ethnic pride. Eg. in Saxony some people consider themselves Sorbian first, Saxon second and German after that. With multi-regional ethnics it becomes even more complex. For example I as an ethnic Prussian from Saxony though I was born and raised there, cuturally have more in common with Brandenburgians or even Slesians (situated in Poland) than I have with my fellow Saxons. Differences have eroded over time and by now are mostly lost in more recent generations. That said especially in more rural areas the sentiment of ethnic tribalism and prejudice against cultural outsiders is still very much alive 🤨
There probably aren't a lot of questions about older German history or culture because well .. Germany as an entitiy is technically only 152 years old. The germany of the past was so fragmented that asking questions about our history before the unification would probably be an overkill for applicants. Not to mention a lot of it isn't even taught in school, so where would prospective nationals even learn about it in the first place ^^ Eg. Who was the reigning Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach at the time of the "Silver Ages"?
The chance to pass the test by guessing at random on every question is less than 0.1% i.e. less than 1 in 1000. Though it definitely still makes it easier. If you knew 16 questions and only need to guess one, the chance to guess correctly at least once on the remaining questions is above 99%. If you need 2, it's 96%, and for 5, it's still above 50%. And ofc, even if you don't know the answer, you often at least know that some of the options are definitely wrong, which increases the chances further (though I guess if you know that little, it's also possible you misjudge and think an answer is definitely wrong when it's not, which would bring the chances down).
When I was going through the naturalization process almost 10 years ago, I went through the 311 questions online and missed exactly 2 (true, at that time I had already lived here for almost 40 years and have always been interested in history and politics). Ultimately, I did not have to take either the language or the civics test because I had certificates from the university from 3 1/2 years of law studies.
The driving license test (written) is the same thing; you can go through all the possible questions online until you have them down if necessary. One slight difference; there is not always only one right answer to a question. Still, I finished the test in less than 10 minutes (this was about 20 years ago) and it was graded on the spot. I got everything right.The amusing thing was that my best friend congratulated me and gave me a present because for him that was the hard part of the test; driving was a snap. I, on the other hand, failed the driving test the first time and had to retake it (even though I had had a Texas driving license since I was 14). I think my problem was trying too hard to drive perfectly.
Not a great fan of pickles of any sort.
😀German efficiency relates to industry rather than bureaucracy. German offices (Ämter) have always been very slow and cumbersome
Und für diese Lahmarschigkeit kriegen die n fettes Gehalt und Rente und sie gängeln noch Menschen, wie man bei „Realer Irrsinn“ sehen kann.
9:18 if you just guess the correct answer out of 4 alternatives without knowing, you will, on average, get 1 in 4 answers right. So, the expected outcome is 33/4 = 8.25 correct answers, with a standard deviation of a little under 2.5.
In order to pass, you need 17, which is 8.75, or about 3.5 standard deviations, above the expected value.
Looking up in a standard normal distribution table, it turns out that the probability that a completely clueless person will pass the test by simply guessing is about 0.023 per cent. So not particularly good, actually.
Using a computer or laptop for the questions In Germany? Maybe we still have a few punch cards for it...
But the officers have to be busy so that they can't learn such complicated techniques.
It is already difficult enough for the officers to read the printouts and compare them with the results.
I thought like you did that there were unlikely to have controversial issues or things that could make the USA. The questions that you showed were really not that controversial (as you predicted they didn’t demand knowledge of the Trail of Tears. Also they allowed States Right as justification for the South going to war to preserve slavery in perpetuity.
fun fact… many of my German friends didn’t know all the answers on those test questions 😅
Well, your problem was that you still thought we were tge land of efficiency... nah ;)
And of course the US test is harder, they don't want most people to become citizens while we think that it will make it easier for them to live here.
Als Deutscher finde ich den Einbürgerungstest sehr einfach. Ich habe mehrere Online-Tests für verschiedene Bundesländer gemacht und immer alles richtig beantwortet.
9:52 Reichsbürger certainly have problems answering this question.😄
It's missing the "GmbH" option 🤪
@@Ph34rNoB33r 😂
If you take a citizenship of any country in eruope your a european citizen and travel through Europe with just Ur ID and access to EU benefits
The national anthem question is really kinda tricky... yes, fallersleben wrote the text, but the music is from haydn and was written for emperor franz II of austria. the original text was "gott erhalte franz den kaiser..." etc. i really found that funny when i learned that as a kid.
The original Text was: Hopfen und Malz, Gott erhalts...:-)))
Honestly, I'm surprised that it's a multiple choice test at all.
Throughout school and most examinations thereafter, those are the exception.
You are supossed to show critical thinking and either illustrate the big picture or hone in on the details from memory.
That's probably a big factor towards the lack of digitalization for the test.
About the pickles, recently I've fallen in love with sour chili ones. Those from Aldi, which lead to my appreciation of hot dog style bratwurst. Just in time for the two student BBQs I had this week.
I suppose it's not all. Good friend (from scotland) just took this test a couple of months ago and now has an appointment with someone at the local Rathaus for some kind of "interview". We'll see how that turns out.
Decorating a Christmas tree or Easter eggs is not really a religious thing, in my opinion. Even German atheists might do it. It's more like a tradition or folk religion.
Why do people want to be citizens? To keep a backdoor open (dual citizenship) is probably not the answer.
No, I don't think a german child has ever seen a scantron in school. Standardized tests every year aren't a thing here.
Christmas isn't really a religious holiday nowadays in many households in Europe. It's more of a family celebration than anything else.
I'm an atheist and anti-theist and I celebrate Christmas...
"Not showing national pride" is not a German thing, nor is it a remnance of our shameful WW2 legacy. Most European countries fortunately are equally liberated from the concept of patriotism.
Two more things:
How can there be a "reading and writing requirement" in the USA, when the USA do not have an official language? I think that's odd...
And the pickles thing: sour. Of course.
Welcome to Germany, the inefficient analog way of doing things and the total lack of transparency of how local officials handle these things is actually the hard part of the process to get that German citizenship. To get 52% of the questions right is easy-peasy in comparison!
You could say, the real test is taking the test, and to experience German bureaucracy (like waiting half a year for the result).
@@teilzeitbernd >To get 52% of the questions right is easy-peasy in comparison!
No, if multiple choice, its not easy-peasy. Its only easy-peasy when only ONE answer fits, But with multiple choice it very hard to get it right by random access.
I had the complete opposite test to take - I was German and became a US Citizen in 2006, lol. I think, the test I was given was waaaaay too easy. They asked for the different branches of our Govenment, how many stars on the flag, who do they represent - same with the stripes on the flag...who is the President, who is the current Governor of my State, how many Senators to a State, etc. I had one single question wrong from all the 10 questions I got, which was who is the newest member of the Supreme Court is (back then, the newest Judge was just 2 weeks in office, and the Homeland Security guy that tested me told me right away, I mostlikely get the question wrong, lol). After the writing sample was done, he congratulated me and said ( and jokingly scolded me), that he does not understand, why it took me so long to finally become a US Citizen, lol. I have been living in the States since 1986 already...It was just an awesome experience and I looked through the "Learning Booklet" once - right before my test, in other words: I didn't study at all. But again - I had previously lived in the States so long, that it wasn't a big deal to answer the somewhat very easy to me questions...and to answer the question of why I took my test so late - well, every 10 years to go for the green card again and pay the fees, well the citizenship cost me slightly more then to renew my greencard again, and I always felt like an American anyways !
I think the German Einbürgerungstest should be about history and social peculiarities in Germany but even more about the German language. I guess that would really show if you're willing to live and adapt to a foreign country if you make an effort to learn and understand the local language.
There are extra language tests!
I don’t like any pickles - the only vinegar that I like is Balsamic.
If there is some device to check multiple choice questions, it's a card with holes, layed over the answers, and they count the checkmarks visible in the holes (the correct checkmarks). That's it. There are almost no scanners for anything. Even although passports are machine readable , I have never seen machines reading them.
Ah yes, the theoretical part of the driving test. Those stupid practice sheets with the templates 😂At least in that respect, Germany is digital these days.
Both, to decorate a christmas tree and to paint easter eggs are not christian but pagan traditions.
Fallersleben without looking it up. We learned it at school, using a "snaily" paper....
Scantron is not a thing in Germany. The first and last time I saw these tests was in my exchange student year in the USA in the 90s.
Wow. It’s crazy that the results for this simple tests takes months ! 🤯That’s really ridiculous. It’s as if they try to be as inefficiently possible.
The results of the test comes after a long wait 4 to 6 months its funny because if they use a paper which is scannable by computer, it coukd be done in under 5 minutes 😂
I have never seen anything like a scantron before. Totally not a thing in germany. Plain DinA4 paper is standard for every kind of tests in germany (especiqlly in school)
No scantrons anywhere in Germany.
Well, you probably nailed it about the print quality: they're cheap. I'd guess their printers are as old as the founding of the resp. department. You can't just have a budget for working tools and buy some if necessary, can you? For all I have experienced with buerocracy, surely the internal paperwork procedure for replacing a printer is even worse than getting access ticket A 38.
- ah, about the pickles: neither sour, dill or sweet. Salted. Mjam mjam!
The instructions are the first test.
Scantrons are not a thing in Germany. Multiple choice tests are extremely rare and if you come across parts of a test that are MCish, it is most often still expected to write one or two sentences in addition to ticking the box.
"Not a passing score, just half the answers correct"
Half the answers correct is a passing score in most tests, pretty much precisely.
Yes! Obviously thats passing score🤷♀️
In the US, a passing score would typically only be 70% and up (sometimes 60% and up). Anything below that is considered failing 😊
@@PassportTwopassing score is the score you need to pass no standard here.
@@PassportTwo there are different passing scores in school we have grades from 1-6 with a score of 51% you would pass = grade 4
In other circumstances 40% might be enough to pass or 60% might not so . Gor us the passing score is what ever is required to pass, not ONE persentage
Yeah, not gonna lie, I''m kinda second-hand embarrassed and angry right now at how deliberately "hingerotzt" everything about this test seems to be. The questions themselves up to the question mark seem appropriate to me. But everything about the process as you describe it seems almost designed to make acquisition of German citizenship as undignified an experience as possible. I can't imagine any applicant feeling closer ties to our country than before as a result of running this gauntlet of low effort.
Your problem is that you dont get, these questions are in German! Would you pass a similar test (easy peasy questions) if they were in Mandarin (Chinese)? Aaahh.... do you get it?
Apologies, but do you "get it"? If I applied for citizenship of a country (which means I'm concluding a thorough integration and language acquisition process to turn from a foreigner into a citizen, I didn't just arrive in that country,), of course you should expect the applicant to pass the test in the official language!
Apart from the fact that you seem to have missed that the questions themselves are not what I have a problem with, as I literally said. I'm criticizing how cheap and unceremonious everything about taking the test is.
As someone with strong beliefs concerning religion (I prefer to phrase it that way to avoid offending anyone), even I didn't read that Christmas tree question as a question on religion. Maybe that's bc Christians are now in the minority in Germany but everyone still celebrates Christmas, at least in some fashion. It's just a cultural thing.
That said, I personally think most citizenship test questions are useless. How would knowing a specific thing about history really, truly qualify you to contribute to our society? There should be a lot more questions about the general goings on, how systems work, how to do your taxes and the like bc having to know that will actually help people integrate into society.
Ok, just did the internetversion of the test for fun. I needed 5 min and had 32 of 33 questions correct. The one I missed , I missclicked and didn't realize it until I hit confirm. So yeah, the test might be a tad easy.
Would Americans pass the US citizen test? 😂
No
It's really strange how this test is so ridiculously easy.
A lot of these tests are. Like the examples given from the American test about "The Father of Our Country' (Washington) and what was a major accomplishment of Lincoln (Emancipation Proclamation). The only one that would require a bit of history was the one that the guy missed about who was President during WWI (Woodrow Wilson for the record).
Why though? It should'nt be an intelligence pass and a German should be able to pass without studying.
@@jhbadger And the USA joined WW1 in 1917 under Wilson. I even know that as a German. :-)
I found it weird you showing us a German passport several times (3:38 and 7:57) during the video. One could think that after the test, if successful, the new German citizen will get a German passport. But no, a passport is just a means to travel that you buy when travelling to countries without bilateral agreement with Germany. When a new German gets the German citizenship, you will get the ID (Ausweis) which is the size of a credit card.
The german bureaucracy has its roots, when Germany got unified in 1871 and the infamous prussian bureaucracy became the way things got done in the entire country. The prussian bureaucracy in turn got built in the 18th century beginning with Frederic the first (the prince elector) and Frederic the second (the great). So, it has kind of been that way for ever and the idea, that german bureaucracy is torturous and slow and expansive shouldn't be a surprise to anybody. I don't even know, where the idea of supposed "german efficiency" comes from, not from how things are actually run, that's for sure. In fact, in the 18th and early 19th century, germans had a reputation for being slow, very stuck in their ways, overly precise. Germans had a reputation for not being able to get things done and for being very inefficient.
I guess the demand for bureacratic processes wasn't as high back then as it is now. Yet they're still trying to use the same processes for everything i suppose. "Gibts kein Formular für" i heard more than once in my time ;)
Sour Dill... sweet pickles, come on!
Regarding the Anthem:
Von Fallersleben wrote the lyrics, but what's more interesting here is: where does the melody come from?
No, it's not for this song, it is actually Joseph Haydn's String Quartet, the "Kaiserquartett", written as a "birthday song" in 1797 for the birthday of Francis II, (Holy) Roman Emperor (and the last one at that) also called the “Kaiserhymne”.
Also the lyrics are just stanza three because one is politically no longer accurate ("von der Maas bis an die Memel" - "from the Meuse to the Neman" - current names in English) and the second one, which I would *love* to have as an anthem, is a *drinking song* ...^^
And yes, Germany is... well... it's bureaucracy is *insanely* backwards... including the citizenship test... just try leaving the church, I mean *you* wouldn't of course, but id it and it's... simple but it's also done by idiots who need to be rather pointedly reminded that it's of no concern to them why I do this.
Not everywhere, might just be Karben in Hessia^^.
Best regards
Raoul G. Kunz
Decorating a christmas tree has nothing to do with religion, quite the opposite. It is a pagan tradition which the church adopted to please the crowd.
The questions about Christmas and Easter traditions fit perfectly with German politics. I doubt that the U.S. is as secular as you claim it to be, but Germany is even worse: The German government still pays the two main Christan brands (protestant EKD and the Catholic church) reparations of about 540 million(!) Euros per year(!!) for the annexiation of church properties during the Napoleonic age(!!!), which was some 220 years ago... A real estate deal for the ages... And that is from general taxes that everyone pays, be they religious or not, be they Christians or not.
2:30 "a ton of questions" - That is part of the test: Germans plan ahead and are prepared. (As you did.)
7:13 "low quality print": Again, part of the test. (The applicants can read this? - And they give the correct answer? - Let them come in.)
(10:33 I know that, I know that: Herr Hoffmann von Fallersleben!)
Answer to "Question of the week": What? - That depends on the weather, my mood and many other things. (As I said: Be preprared.)
Anyway, have a good time!
I like to have my legal texts on paper. Papier ist geduldig, but also sturdy compared to any electronics. And I also vastly prefer to make tests on paper.
And no, l there are no scantrons. But a lot of very old printers. It's more likely it was a printout of a low-res .pdf though. Have you ever seen the maps they put in the "Amtsblatt"? I swear some of them have single digit dpi.
Good old needle printer like thy have them in doctors offices :D
That's Germany😂 a few years ago, I guess in 2015 Chancellor Merkel quoted that the internet is quite new to us. But honestly, Germans are very keen about their data privacy, so everything online ist still somehow suspicious😂
And no worries, I guess you will pass with full score😂👍🤞
Haha, my goal was 33/33! We’ll see in a few months if that happens 😅
@@PassportTwo You'll do fine.
Pickles - it's not an either/or; it's - for what purpose. For all of my 'salads', it's sweet. For munching-down it's sour - BUT, sour is not sour is not sour. My favorite in Germany is Specht's Bayerische Gewürz Gurken. num, num, num!
Hello Donny,
instead of a comment not just for this video but also on your video about christianity culture shocks in Germany I have some riddles for you (and possibly an inspiration for your next videos:
as for this video about the German immigration test: what is the neighing white horse of German public administration
two questions on the religious topic:
a) in English history literature the early 18th century (1700 ad) onwards gets called the "age of enlightenment". Nothing could be further from the truth when you consider the German term for it. Can you guess why? (and why this German way of seeing it has perhaps the biggest impact on how we deal with religion in general...)
and b) (as an answer on how many Germans look at the American christian denominations): what could possibly be a "halleluia shed".
Answers preferably given by private communication....
Sour dill :) 9 seconds vs. 5 months hurts a lot. German bureaucracy and the resistance to digitalize things is really horrible. I'm German btw.
As long as the office which regulates the naturalisation of new citizens is named "Ausländerbehörde" I do not have much hope that Germany will gain the Race for qualified immigrants. In the USA the same institution is called "immigration service", asaik?
The holiday questions show the nature of the role of what used to be Christian holidays in modern Germany: They have reverted to the pre-Christian, purely cultural, version of the holidays. The holidays remain holidays, but their Christian character is lost to many, especially since 1989, when the former East Germany, which had been intensely secularized, had to be reintegrated into a common German state. (Re-) Enter Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny
Funfact. I once came im hand of an original DDR Einbürgerungsformular. About 50 sheets of paper asking your whole life and in which way you are willing to support/join the secret services.
What is a Scantron? Also standardized tests like you have in US schools are not common in Germany for students. FOr the pickles I like the German Schwarzwald variety, I think in the US that would qualify as sour
The lack of efficiency in a lot of processes in Germany is a result of the lack of digitalisation and just keeping the old ways it's always been done. İt's often painful to watch...
Keep in mind those tests are a rather new development, introduced to please conservative pundits who wanted tight selection.
Equally important, when one reaches the point of taking that test, he has already shown considerable desire to become a citizen, which is more important then any detailed knowledge. Likewise the questions are more of a bottom line agreement what politics could agree as acceptable.
Last but not least, you're not the kind of person this test is intended to be a hurdle for.
Mentioning of Christmas Trees and Easter Eggs shows that neither is seen as religious at all. They are cultural habits - items new citizens are supposed to know and at some point embrace. Religion as such is way less present and even less important in Germany than in the US. Not to mention that their roots are not exactly Christian at all.
Any kind of pickles is good. Sweet simply goes well with more dishes.
Sounds a bit like the test (theory part) for the driving license ...
6:52 The only thing that reminds me of something similar in Germany is a "Lottoschein". Do you play Lotto in Germany? That could or should be a necessity for getting the citizenship in the future. So, be prepared! 😊
The printing being warped is probably because they bought a €50 consumer grade printer and mishandled it for ages printing thousands of pages :) There is probably no money "available" for a new one. Scantrons are not "a thing" anywhere but the us. This test is more about your willingness to learn and understand german in context i suppose.
Well... Maybe the actual test is if one is able to wait 5+ months for a German Amt to do one simple little thing for you that would literally just take seconds to do for any sane person. So it basically tests your ability to put up with the inefficiencies of our system. Looking from that perspective it pretty much begins to make sense, no? 😂
Do you wanna fit in society? It's not about knowledge, I think. It's about, do you "express" germanismianism, isn't it?
National pride is nonsense. You can be proud about something you or someone close has accomplished. And you can consider yourself lucky to be born into a rich country with a functioning social system. But that’s about it.
Maybe they speculate, that people anwering these questions get the impression, that they apply for the citicenship of the 3rd Reich and then run away screaming in full panic...
Yea thats german school. To dark or to light writings on white sheets😂 or crouked. Really nice if you have a picture to describe but it like melts together color wise😅.
The real test is whether you complain about the quality of the print and the questions. If you complain enough you'll pass 😂
You have to wait 5 months for the results of your test? Another example of our beautiful and inefficient German bureaucracy …
Sour/dill/sweet pickles? Horseradish mustard pickles from the Spreewald, of course.