sadly everything many people think about when they hear about todays Germany is sausages and sauerkraut. Our World Wars seem to make forget that there was a Germany before this. A Germany with a big culture. We are not referred to as the "country of poets and thinkers" for nothing.
What many do not know is that it is a German that is referred to as the first comic-drawer: Wilhelm Busch. Here is a website with some of his works translated to English: http://www.rivertext.com/busch.shtml Some of his comics were even cosidered blasphemous as his story "Holy Helene" Keep in mind that this was 19th century and that the comics are rather violent at times. May I quote...
"And as the first creeps in alone,
The virtuous maiden lifts the stone.
The robber lives no more, for - splat!
The heavy millstone leaves him flat."
Here we also have Heinrich Hoffmann, a psychiastrist that did children books in his free time. Despite them beeing a bit violent (thumbs get cutt off, starving, a girl playing with match-sticks dies, etc. We somehow all survived them without noticeable mental damage and one of his works "Struwwelpeter" got translated to many many languages, including English. Probably you even know this book?! Here is a website with scans of an English edition: http://www.bugpowder.com/andy/e.hoffmann.html
There is no child in Germany that is not familiar with at least any of the stories. As violent they are a times, they are children classics.
A bit more about our culture in general: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Germany and here more literature: http://www.fln.vcu.edu/menu.html
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