East Frisian jokes

The East Frisian joke belongs to the group of the jokes on population groups, in this case, living in the north-west Germany East Frisian.

The basic structure of these jokes is usually a simple challenge-response scheme in which often after a supposed peculiarity of the East Frisian is asked and the humor mostly comes at the expense of the supposedly stupid and / or primitive level without East Frisian; often the East Frisians are here described as farmers or rural population or as coastal residents. Many punchlines describe a failure of the East Frisians in that they literally take a phrase or a used figuratively word ( pun ). Occasionally, the reverse situation occurs in which the East Frisians are the wiser, said for the other side usually has a population group from the southern German-speaking area is used. Subsequently jokes were also comedians such as Otto Waalkes and Karl Dall, mostly to completely free scheme, told with or East Frisian.

In Ostfriesland even these jokes are taken mostly left. Welcomed and appreciated is the positive effect of greater awareness of the relatively small Ostfrieslands by just those jokes, especially in regard to there economically relatively significant tourism industry. An urban legend, however, is that the East Frisians had invented these jokes themselves.

Since the East Frisians were at the time when these jokes also often abbreviated as Easterners - until this term passed in the wake of German reunification East Germans - and one said back then of Ossiwitzen.

Examples of typical East Frisian jokes

• Why have East Frisians a flat back of the head? - Because they always the toilet seat falls on the head while drinking water.
• Why do East Frisians a stone and a box of matches to bed? With the stone throwing off the light, and with the matches they check to see if they also have really hit.
• Why do East Frisians a knife with the sea? - To order go to sea.
• Why always take ostfriesische policemen with a pair of scissors to the manhunt? - To cut the crooks the way.

• What does the East Frisians at low tide? - Sell land to the Austrians.

• Why there is low tide and high tide? - When the sea saw the East Frisians, it got such a fright that it fled. Now it comes back twice daily and checks to see if they are still there.
• From the stage program of Otto Waalkes: " The East Frisians and the Bavarians play football. There is a train passing nearby and whistles. The East Frisian think the game is over, and go home. (Pause) A half hour later of first goal for Bayern. "
• In the East Frisian handstand one stands on the palms. Feet and legs stay down. Succeeds well each with possibly knees bent a perfect handstand.

History of the East Frisian jokes

The type of the East Frisian jokes originated in the late 1960s and sparked one of the first large, nationwide jokes waves in Germany. Unlike other jokes on population groups, the legislative history is known relatively accurately for the East Frisian joke. The gymnasium in Westerstede in the Ammer country, a neighboring region of East Friesland, was and is also visited by the East Frisian students. As with many other neighboring regions, there are also between the populations of East Friesland and the Ammer Lands repeatedly taunts and teasing. On the high school said this culminated in the years 1968 and 1969 in a " Trumpeter " published by the students Borwin Bandelow in the school newspaper series called " From research and teaching." This was the so-called "Homo ostfrisiensis " reported the supposedly clumsy and stupid inhabitants of East Friesland. Wiard Raveling, even Ostfriese and teachers at this school, has published in 1993 the "History of the East Frisian jokes " in book form.

What followed on the series in the school newspaper, was a jokes wave, which spread first in the region, but soon became public via radio, newspapers and magazines across Germany. Media such as the star or the Mirror reported on the curious neighborhood disputes between East Frisians and Ammer countries - and spread this way the jokes on. These were soon adapted to the scheme of recently arisen in the 1960s in the U.S. Polish jokes and numerous variants, also of jokes about other groups were adopted.

Already in 1971 brought the East Frisian comedian and cabaret singer Hannes Flesner several LPs with the then new East Frisian jokes out ( " Ostfriesland, how it laughs and sings "). Later, among other things, the two originating from Ostfriesland comedian Otto Waalkes and Karl Dall built their careers on the East Frisian jokes or the cliché about the East Frisians and their country. Later jokes waves, such as who took over in the 1980s about German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, or those on Manta driver or shortly thereafter about blondes in the 1990s in part, the structure and content of the East Frisian jokes.