Proud

Germans claim they invented everything
By Ruth Elkins in Berlin
Published: 24 July 2005
Germans are being reassured that they invented the world as part of a new government- and industry-backed campaign intended to restore their self-esteem. Thought John Logie Baird invented the television? Wrong, it was a German, Manfred von Ardenne, in 1930. Light bulbs, the work of Thomas Edison? Apparently not true. The German Heinrich Göbel invented them in 1854. Tea bags? The telephone? The computer? Not the work of Thomas Sullivan, Alexander Graham Bell and George Stibitz, but all flashes of Teutonic brilliance. That is the message in the campaign's book, Deutsche Stars: 50 Innovationen die Jeder Kennen Sollte (German Stars: 50 Innovations Everyone Should Know About), now being shipped to schools and universities all over the country.

If the claims seem dubious, "we're honestly not trying to claim the Germans invented everything", says Lars Heitmüller of Fischer Appelt, the Berlin-based PR agency that produced the book. In fact, the catalogue is the response to a survey showing that most countries, including Britain, are fonder of Germany than Germans are of themselves.

"We were so shocked at how negatively the Germans view themselves, we felt we had to do something," Mr Heitmüller said. "It's fair to say many German figures have made significant contributions to innovations, even if they don't hold the patent. We thought it was a good idea to remind the Germans of that and let them know it's OK to feel good about it."

"Outrageous nonsense," wrote Der Spiegel magazine this week, quickly pointing out all the book's flaws. "The book cites Johannes Gutenberg as the inventor of the printing press. But it is well documented that the Chinese invented this 300 years earlier."

Germans are being reassured that they invented the world as part of a new government- and industry-backed campaign intended to restore their self-esteem.

Thought John Logie Baird invented the television? Wrong, it was a German, Manfred von Ardenne, in 1930. Light bulbs, the work of Thomas Edison? Apparently not true. The German Heinrich Göbel invented them in 1854. Tea bags? The telephone? The computer? Not the work of Thomas Sullivan, Alexander Graham Bell and George Stibitz, but all flashes of Teutonic brilliance. That is the message in the campaign's book, Deutsche Stars: 50 Innovationen die Jeder Kennen Sollte (German Stars: 50 Innovations Everyone Should Know About), now being shipped to schools and universities all over the country.

If the claims seem dubious, "we're honestly not trying to claim the Germans invented everything", says Lars Heitmüller of Fischer Appelt, the Berlin-based PR agency that produced the book. In fact, the catalogue is the response to a survey showing that most countries, including Britain, are fonder of Germany than Germans are of themselves.
"We were so shocked at how negatively the Germans view themselves, we felt we had to do something," Mr Heitmüller said. "It's fair to say many German figures have made significant contributions to innovations, even if they don't hold the patent. We thought it was a good idea to remind the Germans of that and let them know it's OK to feel good about it."

"Outrageous nonsense," wrote Der Spiegel magazine this week, quickly pointing out all the book's flaws. "The book cites Johannes Gutenberg as the inventor of the printing press. But it is well documented that the Chinese invented this 300 years earlier." - in "Independent"