- Kraut
The German word Kraut when standing alone in English is used most frequently as an ethnic slur against German people. Kraut is also used as an abbreviation for the traditional German and central European food,
sauerkraut .Etymological foundations
In German, the term is rarely used alone. It is simply the German word for 'herb'. The term is more often used in compound nouns for herbs, and also for cabbage and cabbage products:
* "Rübenkraut" = thick
sugar beet syrup
* "Bohnenkraut" = Savory
* "Unkraut" =Weed
* "Weißkraut" = white cabbage (also called "Weißkohl")
* "Blaukraut" or "Rotkraut" = red cabbage (also called "Rotkohl")
* "Sauerkraut " = fermented white cabbageUse in slang
In former times, "Kraut" was used as a colloquial expression for
tobacco , especially loose tobacco for pipes ("Pfeifenkraut"). Today it is sometimes used for marijuana.Since
World War II , "Kraut" has, in the English language, come to be used as a derogatory term for a German used mainly by U.S. and British soldiers fighting in Europe. This is probably based onSauerkraut , which was very popular inGerman cuisine at that time. The stereotype of the sauerkraut-eating German dates back to long before this time though and can be seen, for example, inJules Verne 's depiction of the evil German industrialist Schultz, an avid sauerkraut eater, in "The Begum's Millions ".Ironically, the per capita consumption of "kraut" in the USA during World War II was significantly higher than in
Germany [Says who?] . Now the average per capita consumption is twice as high as in the USA, [http://www.greatlakeskraut.com/about/ Great Lakes Kraut: All About Kraut] but still lower than inFrance . [ [http://www.rezensionen.ch/buchbesprechungen/deutsche_kultur_deutscher_alltag/389678546X.html Bei Hempels auf dem Sofa, Ira Spieker, Gudrun Schwibbe - rezensionen.ch ] ]Use in music
Krautrock is a popularly accepted term for a form of highly experimental German post-Prog Rock of the late 1960s and 1970s. Krautrock was typified by acts such asAmon Düül ,Kraftwerk ,Neu! ,Tangerine Dream , Faust, Can as well as many others.Kraut (band) was the name of a New York punk rock band in the 1980s. Their song "All Twisted" was the first independent video to air on MTV."Magic Kraut" is the name of a song in the album Fresh by
Teddybears ."
Krauts with Attitude " is the title of the record released in Germany in 1991 which is credited for playing a prominent role in establishing the Germanhip hop scene.Other uses
Under the title "Krauts" J. Corinth described his experiences as a German prisoner of war in North Carolina and as immigrant to California (ISBN 3-935111-14-2).
"Krauts" is also an
Irish language novel byMáirtín Ó Muilleoir about young Northern Irish students trying to find employment in Germany in the early eighties.Krautgrrl and Krautboy are also the monikers of two technical book authors who own a company called Kraut Companies.
References
ee also
*
Krautrock
*Pejorative terms for Germans
*List of ethnic slurs External links
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