Dieser Witz verstößt gegen das Lustigkeitsverhütungsgesetz Paragraph 3 Absatz 4. Wir nehmen Sie daher vorläufig in Haft. Sie können gegen Ihre Verhaftung Widerspruch einlegen. Füllen Sie dazu Formular 5 in 6-facher Ausfertigung aus und händigen Sie das unterschriebene Dokument noch vor Ablauf der wöchentlichen Frist in der Schreibstube ein.
Bitterly sarcastic jokes like that, certainly, because irony and sarcasm play a big role in German humour. (What else do you expect from a culture that has a word for the concept of Schadenfreude?) But the word play that makes this particular joke funny only works in English, so not too many Germans will understand it, because it needs some level of proficiency in English to get funny word play.
I don't think most Germans would get that pun, at least not fast enough. So "polite chuckle (at recognising the structure of a joke*)" seems right. No, it doesn't work in German. I shudder to think what the German dub (which is notorious for fucking up anything involving clever language) may have done with this.
Disregarding the language barrier, WWI is kind of overshadowed in public discourse by that other war so it's not like we have strong enough feelings about it to be upset about a mildly amusing joke.
* no our lack of humour does not impair our ability to recognise that a joke has occurred fuck off ;P
Kaiser Wilhelm was a cousin of Dutch queen Wilhelmina. At the end of WW1 he was in Belgium when a warrant for his arrest was issued. He then fled to the Netherlands, which was neutral during the war. In the Netherlands he applied for asylum, which was quickly granted due to his cousin's influence with the government. He then lived the rest of his life in the Netherlands, even proposing to Hitler to act as ruler of the Netherlands on Hitler's behalf.
Dieser Witz verstößt gegen das Lustigkeitsverhütungsgesetz Paragraph 3 Absatz 4. Wir nehmen Sie daher vorläufig in Haft. Sie können gegen Ihre Verhaftung Widerspruch einlegen. Füllen Sie dazu Formular 5 in 6-facher Ausfertigung aus und händigen Sie das unterschriebene Dokument noch vor Ablauf der wöchentlichen Frist in der Schreibstube ein.
Bitterly sarcastic jokes like that, certainly, because irony and sarcasm play a big role in German humour. (What else do you expect from a culture that has a word for the concept of Schadenfreude?) But the word play that makes this particular joke funny only works in English, so not too many Germans will understand it, because it needs some level of proficiency in English to get funny word play.
I don't think most Germans would get that pun, at least not fast enough. So "polite chuckle (at recognising the structure of a joke*)" seems right. No, it doesn't work in German. I shudder to think what the German dub (which is notorious for fucking up anything involving clever language) may have done with this.
Disregarding the language barrier, WWI is kind of overshadowed in public discourse by that other war so it's not like we have strong enough feelings about it to be upset about a mildly amusing joke.
* no our lack of humour does not impair our ability to recognise that a joke has occurred fuck off ;P
here's my one German joke:
what's the funniest type of fish? salmon.
*polite German chuckling*
No laughing outside the cellar. Das ist verboten!
Herr Wachtmeister, you cannot prove that's not where I am right now.
Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer?
Das ist NEIN Stackenblocken!
Hey! That's not even funn...
laughs himself to death
And the most infamous outlaw in the Wild West…Kaiser Wilhelm.
Kaiser Wilhelm was a cousin of Dutch queen Wilhelmina. At the end of WW1 he was in Belgium when a warrant for his arrest was issued. He then fled to the Netherlands, which was neutral during the war. In the Netherlands he applied for asylum, which was quickly granted due to his cousin's influence with the government. He then lived the rest of his life in the Netherlands, even proposing to Hitler to act as ruler of the Netherlands on Hitler's behalf.
No.