Biography Kraut
The German word Kraut when standing alone in English is used most frequently as a slur against German people. Kraut is also used as an abbreviation for the foodstuff, sauerkraut.
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. soldiers fighting in Europe. This is probably based on Sauerkraut, which was very popular in German cuisine at that time. The stereotype of the sauerkraut-eating German dates back to long before this time, though, as can for example be seen in Jules Verne's depiction of the evil German industrialist Schultz as 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. 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 in France.http://www.rezensionen.ch/buchbesprechungen/deutsche_kultur_deutscher_alltag/389678546X.html
Kraut was the name of a New York punk rock band in the 1980s. Their song "All Twisted" was the first punk video to air on MTV.
"Magic Kraut" is the name of a song in the album Fresh by Teddybears.
Krauts is also an Irish language novel by Máirtín 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. If as an American you find being called a "yank" offensive, then possibly "kraut" is offensive, but in the 21st Century, 63 years after the end of WWII, most people have let go of the deprecatory application of the word kraut.
KrautsBoche???
Etymological foundations
In German, the term is rarely used alone. It describes a sort of plant with a mild pejorative connotation, thus usually used to name »unsophisticated« plants in foods, weeds or (archaic) for tobacco. 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 = pickled sour white cabbage
Use 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. soldiers fighting in Europe. This is probably based on Sauerkraut, which was very popular in German cuisine at that time. The stereotype of the sauerkraut-eating German dates back to long before this time, though, as can for example be seen in Jules Verne's depiction of the evil German industrialist Schultz as 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. 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 in France.http://www.rezensionen.ch/buchbesprechungen/deutsche_kultur_deutscher_alltag/389678546X.html
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 as Amon Düül, Kraftwerk, Neu!, Tangerine Dream, Faust, Can as well as many others.Kraut was the name of a New York punk rock band in the 1980s. Their song "All Twisted" was the first punk video to air on MTV.
"Magic Kraut" is the name of a song in the album Fresh by Teddybears.
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 by Máirtín 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. If as an American you find being called a "yank" offensive, then possibly "kraut" is offensive, but in the 21st Century, 63 years after the end of WWII, most people have let go of the deprecatory application of the word kraut.
References
See also
- Krautrock
- Pejorative terms for Germans
- List of ethnic slurs
External links
Ethnic and religious slursGerman loanwordsKrautsBoche???
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraut
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