Deutscher Michel

Deutscher Michel
Werbung Brikett Michel.jpg
Michel und seine Kappe im Jahre 48.jpg

Der Deutsche Michel (literal. "The German Michel") is a figure representing the national character of the German people, rather as John Bull represents the British. Such figures differ from those that serve as personifications of the nation itself, as Germania does the German nation and Marianne the French.[1] He is usually depicted wearing a nightcap and nightgown, sometimes in the colours of the German flag, and represents the Germans' conception of themselves, especially in his easy-going nature and Everyman appearance. In German, Michel is also the short form of Michael, though quite rare today.

References

  1. ^ Eric Hobsbawm, "Mass-Producing Traditions: Europe, 1870-1914," in Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, eds., The Invention of Tradition (Cambridge, 1983), 276.