German humour encompasses traditions such as Kabarett and other forms of satire as well as more recent trends such as TV shows and stand-up comedy.
German humour often follows many conventions which, due to similarities in cultural perception of events and day-to-day life (and other such universal themes which may be discussed through comedy), may be readily interpreted by natives of other countries.
[3] Harald Schmidt, referring to and criticizing the importance of political correctness in Germany, suggested a Nazometer, a mock measurement device (and causing a minor scandal).
[4] The device allegedly will give alarms even for minor Nazi-specific formulations and politically incorrect wording.
Liberman also finds many possibilities for a "pull back and reveal" joke structure in German language.
Loriot
, an icon of refined German humour († 2011)
The German language's finesse offers a sort of unintentional humour through ambiguity: The sentence above is intended to mean:
This area is under video surveillance by the police to prevent crimes
but can also be understood as
This area is under video surveillance to prevent crimes committed by the police
.
From a series of woodcuts (1545) usually referred to as the
Papstspotbilder
or
Papstspottbilder
in German or
Depictions of the Papacy
in English,
[
5
]
by
Lucas Cranach
, commissioned by
Martin Luther
.
[
6
]
Title: Kissing the Pope's Feet.
[
7
]
German peasants respond to a papal bull of
Pope Paul III
. Caption reads: "Don't frighten us Pope, with your ban, and don't be such a furious man. Otherwise we shall turn around and show you our rears."
[
8
]
[
9
]