[IC Q&A; OPEN] The Imperial German Bureau of Enquiries

[The Great-German Empire]

The German government is committed to applying the principles of truth and transparency to information about its operations, German life and culture, the political situation at the moment and other information related to the Empire of Germany which might interest the general public of the [Multiverse]. As such, the IGBE is tasked with answering any such questions to the best of its ability. Feel free to ask any question that isn't... Totally and objectively inappropriate.

[The Great-German Empire]

(Timid bump)

[Quaeg]

Here's a question. The German stereotype is both a man in lederhosen chomping down sausage and chugging steins of beer and an efficient man in an impeccable business suit with a heart of ice and stone. Which is the truth?

[The Great-German Empire]

Here's a question. The German stereotype is both a man in lederhosen chomping down sausage and chugging steins of beer and an efficient man in an impeccable business suit with a heart of ice and stone. Which is the truth?

"Well, both and neither. In the experience of the Bureau's employees Germans are just that intense - we work as diligently as possible, enjoy time off as fully as possible and stick to our principles as fully as possible. That is why there are stereotypes of the ruthlessly efficient German, the unbelievably jovial German and the bizarrely ideological German, and they coexist. Most likely this spirit of intensity would survive a full-on attempt at cultural assimilation if our country were to ever be defeated."

[Quaeg]

Here's a question. The German stereotype is both a man in lederhosen chomping down sausage and chugging steins of beer and an efficient man in an impeccable business suit with a heart of ice and stone. Which is the truth?

"Well, both and neither. In the experience of the Bureau's employees Germans are just that intense - we work as diligently as possible, enjoy time off as fully as possible and stick to our principles as fully as possible. That is why there are stereotypes of the ruthlessly efficient German, the unbelievably jovial German and the bizarrely ideological German, and they coexist. Most likely this spirit of intensity would survive a full-on attempt at cultural assimilation if our country were to ever be defeated."

That seems to check out. And it goes some way to explaining why German fairy tails were some of the most exceedingly brutal as well. I doubt we'll ever understand what truly drives a German, but knowing we don't know is the first step to acceptance. Send the kaiser our regards.

[North German Realm]

OOC: After going through a trawl of your recently-resurrected puppet Republican Russia, I encountered something that sounds interesting: What is, or rather was, "the St. Andrew Revolution in 1998"?

[The Great-German Empire]

OOC: After going through a trawl of your recently-resurrected puppet Republican Russia, I encountered something that sounds interesting: What is, or rather was, "the St. Andrew Revolution in 1998"?

"The St. Andrew Revolution, so named after the flag used by the Russian Federative Republic as well as the Russian Naval Forces, was an aggressive change of government that had taken place in Russia in the year 1998, just as you said. A massive conspiracy headed by Admiral Vysotsky of the Russian Navy was at the heart of the rebellion, and included many officials and officers in key cities of the Russian State; It fomented discontent with the government through the secret funding of strikes and riots, intentional mismanagement of police resources and other similar tactics. When General Alexandr Cheka - a hardline revanchist in a time of moderate communitarian politics in Russia - seized the position of Vozhd, Vysotsky's web of disloyal officers made its move, starting with a defection of the Baltic Navy on November 19th, 1998. Their amphibious assault specialists and hastily-armed seamen took control of Saint Petersburg and the surrounding area, and were eventually joined by workers, soldiers and a plethora of other individuals in western European Russia. A well-timed mutiny of the Black Sea navy and then Army Group Kazan boxed in and apprehended Cheka's government, and a clique of intellectuals and officers proclaimed the Russian Federative Republic in Saint Petersburg on the 22nd of December, 1998. A constitutional convention in early 1999 established that State formally. The Republic secured its connections to Mongolia and Sinkiang as well as the Caucasian states, which were in danger of Turkish or Iranian infringements, by the end of that year, but only managed to quell remaining loyalists in Siberia by 2001. One must thank the quick work of the revolutionary operatives for the conflict's resolution with no use of nuclear weapons. After current President Porfiriy Raikin's inauguration in 2006, the RFR became a partner of the European Customs Union, formalizing the end to the most acute threat to Germany and the ECU over the past half-century."

[North German Realm]

Another OOC question: How different is your the culture of your world's Berlin compared to that of OTL? Compare with this barebone of an article, and please explain the Imperial Berlin's cultural situation (in terms of Galleries/Museums, the Nightlife, Festivals, Performing arts, Cuisine, Sports, Recreation, and anything else you have in mind that has not been mentioned in the Wikipedia article).

[The Great-German Empire]

Another OOC question: How different is your the culture of your world's Berlin compared to that of OTL? Compare with this barebone of an article, and please explain the Imperial Berlin's cultural situation (in terms of Galleries/Museums, the Nightlife, Festivals, Performing arts, Cuisine, Sports, Recreation, and anything else you have in mind that has not been mentioned in the Wikipedia article).

Well, as a foreword I must say that I've always imagined this Berlin to be significantly larger and more populated than IOTL, what with its status as the capital of the primary European World Power. I'd say its population approaches 9 million at this point. Moreover, most divergences of Berlin begin from 1933 or even 1945, and not 1917 - after all, the period of economic uncertainty and social+political liberalization happened in the 1930s to the same extent as, if not a greater one than, IOTL. That being said, Berliners are quieter and more reserved than New Yorkers, OTL Berliners and the like. They're not as interested in public and street events, and prefer to socialize - and party - in enclosed spaces.
When it comes to the difference in museums and galleries, the most notable thing would be the absence of museums related to East Germany or the Holocaust, as neither of them had the chance to happen in this timeline. The art galleries are similar to OTL but larger, and there are several new museums that have opened to catalogue the artistic achievements of Germans, particularly on-screen - TTL Babelsberg is a direct rival to Hollywood, and was the source of most Arnold flicks. Though not really falling into the category of museums, monuments are now extremely numerous in Germany, to the point that you'd usually be within walking distance of at least one major mounemnt if you're in inner Berlin (Not necessarily just the Mitte district, mind).
The 'Nightlife and festivals' section isn't that interesting. Obviously, there's a lot more money in this economic sector, and it's a bit cleaner because the 1994 Civil War did not reshape Berlin nearly as severely as the OTL Reunification did - while many clubs,bars, discotheques and the like did close and re-open under new owners and names, there was no period of illicit, uncontrolled activity in the city. As I said, the 1920s' social revolutions did happen, so the clubs of Berlin are just as... vibrant as the OTL counterpart. Festivals are actually more uncommon than IOTL because the Berlin public's cultural upbringing, as I said, makes them less prone to throwing massive street celebrations in general.
Cuisine is similar, but different. While as a world hub Berlin has examples of pretty much all world cuisines, in this timeline East African (Zanzibari) cuisine, as well as those of Japan, Brazil and as of recently Russia are the most actively-present, while OTL Berlin's staple borrowing from British/Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine is all but absent. For instance, Currywurst never had the chance to be developed because Germany was never occupied by British soldiers. Local cuisine hasn't deviated at all, hence my 'similar' remark at the start of this paragraph.
TTL Berlin's sports, recreation and performing arts are seriously just upsized versions of that they have IOTL. There is nothing to report.

[North German Realm]

Another OOC question: How different is your the culture of your world's Berlin compared to that of OTL? Compare with this barebone of an article, and please explain the Imperial Berlin's cultural situation (in terms of Galleries/Museums, the Nightlife, Festivals, Performing arts, Cuisine, Sports, Recreation, and anything else you have in mind that has not been mentioned in the Wikipedia article).

Well, as a foreword I must say that I've always imagined this Berlin to be significantly larger and more populated than IOTL, what with its status as the capital of the primary European World Power. I'd say its population approaches 9 million at this point. Moreover, most divergences of Berlin begin from 1933 or even 1945, and not 1917 - after all, the period of economic uncertainty and social+political liberalization happened in the 1930s to the same extent as, if not a greater one than, IOTL. That being said, Berliners are quieter and more reserved than New Yorkers, OTL Berliners and the like. They're not as interested in public and street events, and prefer to socialize - and party - in enclosed spaces.
When it comes to the difference in museums and galleries, the most notable thing would be the absence of museums related to East Germany or the Holocaust, as neither of them had the chance to happen in this timeline. The art galleries are similar to OTL but larger, and there are several new museums that have opened to catalogue the artistic achievements of Germans, particularly on-screen - TTL Babelsberg is a direct rival to Hollywood, and was the source of most Arnold flicks. Though not really falling into the category of museums, monuments are now extremely numerous in Germany, to the point that you'd usually be within walking distance of at least one major mounemnt if you're in inner Berlin (Not necessarily just the Mitte district, mind).
The 'Nightlife and festivals' section isn't that interesting. Obviously, there's a lot more money in this economic sector, and it's a bit cleaner because the 1994 Civil War did not reshape Berlin nearly as severely as the OTL Reunification did - while many clubs,bars, discotheques and the like did close and re-open under new owners and names, there was no period of illicit, uncontrolled activity in the city. As I said, the 1920s' social revolutions did happen, so the clubs of Berlin are just as... vibrant as the OTL counterpart. Festivals are actually more uncommon than IOTL because the Berlin public's cultural upbringing, as I said, makes them less prone to throwing massive street celebrations in general.
Cuisine is similar, but different. While as a world hub Berlin has examples of pretty much all world cuisines, in this timeline East African (Zanzibari) cuisine, as well as those of Japan, Brazil and as of recently Russia are the most actively-present, while OTL Berlin's staple borrowing from British/Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine is all but absent. For instance, Currywurst never had the chance to be developed because Germany was never occupied by British soldiers. Local cuisine hasn't deviated at all, hence my 'similar' remark at the start of this paragraph.
TTL Berlin's sports, recreation and performing arts are seriously just upsized versions of that they have IOTL. There is nothing to report.

So essentially what you'd expect a Berlin that never went through the social upheaval of West Berlin in the Cold War -and the general losses of the two Great Wars- to be, that is to say a largely more conservative and quiet Berlin that still is a world-class cultural hub?

[The Great-German Empire]

So essentially what you'd expect a Berlin that never went through the social upheaval of West Berlin in the Cold War -and the general losses of the two Great Wars- to be, that is to say a largely more conservative and quiet Berlin that still is a world-class cultural hub?

I wouldn't even call it more conservative, it's just generally more German/Central European. It has less Western European/North American influence, but due to a large number of tourists, foreign scientific/industrial figures and (at least before point-to-point took off) in-transit travelers, it still managed to become a cultural hub. I mean, it's one of Europe's largest and richest non-taxhaven cities, so no wonder. This is also your cue to look at how it expanded on my states' map.