Tattoo Design

Definition of “Germania”?

I want to get a tattoo to represent my German Heritage. I wanted to get the word “Germania” tattooed on my wrist. My family has been in America for the last four generations but before then my ancestry in Germany dates all the way back to when Germany was known as Germania. I want to make sure that before I get a word tattooed on me that I know exactly what it means. I’ve done my research but there are some things that aren’t explained in history books.

Do yourself a favor and google “Hitlers Germania”. “Germania” is the name of his pet project, the “world capital”, with pompous buildings and ugly, idealizing and “threatening” architecture. By that I mean the buildings were just designed as being huge, having high, very high ceilings, letting you walk very long ways… everything to make the visitor feel small and insignificant, as he wanted ever other nation to feel after he had conquered the world. He had already started building a couple of these houses in Berlin, which was to be renamed to “Germania” after the war, that he of course wanted to win. Those buildings are still used (if they survived the war), mostly belong to the state, still, so there are departments of state in there (department for aviation, for instance, in the building the Nazis build as part of “Germania” and used as office building for the war department. It is across the street from “Topgraphie des Terrors” (topography of (the nazi) terror), which is an open air exhibition in the ruins of the cellar rooms of the main office of GESTAPO in Berlin. The building (GESTAPO) was bombed down during the final days of the war, than the area was at the border between what was under Russian and what was under US/British/French order, so you can also see a piece of the Berlin wall standing around there… Let me tell you, that is a place in Berlin that you get run over by history just standing on the street looking around. It is crushing. Honestly.)

Also, A German having grown up in Germany would not (usually) get tats like that. There are Neonazis who do that, but “normal” German people, while meanwhile knowing the text to the national anthem and happy waving flags for their favorite national sports team at every occasion and every surface, like those things to be removable. The sticker tats of the German flag – everybody has them lying around to be used at convenience! Flags for the car, flags to be waved in hands, scarfs, flower necklaces… yes. Permanent tats of the German flag, words like “Deutsch”, “Deutscher”, “Deutschland”… Never! Never ever. In the minds of most German people, you might just as well get a swastika tattooed onto your forehead!
Having something like that done would make you, I am very sorry to say that, an ignorant American in the eyes of German people.

Why not get the name of the city your ancestors came from tattooed onto your wrist? It won’t be that obvious, and it wont have that negative meaning. Germans would likely ask you why you had that city tattooed on, and than you could just explain that that was where your ancesters came from, and they’d likely be like: “Really? Cool!” and leave it at that or ask when they emmigrated. Much better reaction!

Anyway, think twice about using the word “Germania”. I wouldn’t, if I were you, but than again, it is your wrist.

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