Germany

Germany (ドイツ Doitsu) is a main character in the series Hetalia: Axis Powers and leads the Axis Powers. In 2008, Himaruya gave out human names to some of the characters and he received the name Ludwig (ルートヴィッヒ, Rūtovihhi).

Appearance
Main article: Uniform Guide: Germany 

Germany is a tall, muscular man, with blond slicked back hair and blue eyes. He wears either a green Wehrmacht, or a Waffen-SS officer's uniform with a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on the collar. In early webcomic chapters that take place during WWI, he wore a gray-blue Waffenrock uniform (as seen in colored artwork) characteristic of the German army uniform of that period (the color of this uniform was changed to green for the anime). However, the black cuffs and white piping may also suggest Germany wears a Schutzpolizei administration uniform.

Personality and Interests
He is a serious and efficient man who always abides by the rules. Germany has to deal with an unreasonable boss as well as the trouble-making Italy. He does not tolerate any mistakes, is a neat freak, and happens to have a rather pessimistic nature. His hobbies include making sweets (including his secret love of baking cakes), reading, and walking his dogs. In Episode 08, Italy admits to England, America, and France that Germany is a fan of BDSM. It was said in an earlier profile that his pent-up anger is released when he has beer. He is also shown to become somewhat chatty and relaxed when intoxicated.

Germany is shown to be very loyal to those he considers to be his friends and allies. When he makes a promise to help someone, he never breaks it; as seen when he was willing to give up his beloved beer in order to lead by example to Japan when he put him on a diet. He also constantly tries to get Italy to become stronger by putting him through rigorous training but finds his efforts fail most of the time.

The Axis

 * Italy: Germany and Italy are virtual opposites in terms of personalities which is a constant annoyance to Germany as he often has to bail Italy out of his situations. He often puts Italy through rigorous physical and mental training in hopes of making him stronger but appears to see that Italy does not retain much of the training. Although he is often highly annoyed by Italy's impulsive behavior, Germany had written in his journal that Italy was his first and only friend at one point. Possibly from this written admission, Germany will put up with Italy's excitable yet lazy behavior.


 * Japan: The last member to join the Axis team, Japan had known Germany for some time (as depicted in the original strips), although Germany said he can never tell what Japan has in mind. Germany appears to admire many things about Japan as he is very much like Germany in many ways, such as his work ethics and punctuality. When Japan had expressed concern about his health regarding his age and diet, Germany took it upon himself to help Japan get better and went to the length of giving up his beloved beer in order to set an example and inspire Japan to stick to his goal.

Others

 * Austria: Austria and Germany were allies in both World Wars and lived together for a while during that time. Austria gives him advice during his confusion over Italy in the Valentine's Day strips. They appear to be very close, although Austria annoys Germany at times with his high maintenance behavior and tendencies to treat Germany like a servant.


 * Prussia: Germany's older brother and drinking buddy, who often refers to Germany as "West". Germany is often annoyed by many things Prussia says or does but is not afraid to physically restrain or hit him if he feels necessary. That said, Germany still cares about his brother and will often look out for him or join him on missions, such as when they infiltrated an American camp.

In The Anime
Germany first appears in the "Meeting Of The World" segment in Episode 01, where he orders everyone to stop arguing and present data if they want to make a statement. Later in the same episode, the anime skips back to WWI as he finds an abandoned tomato crate in the woods, setting the events of the main Hetalia storyline into motion.

Germany's SS uniform color is changed from dark green to teal for the anime adaptation, and the Knight's Cross is absent from his design. His WWI uniform was changed from gray-blue to green as well, though in the Axis training sequences, Germany is briefly shown wearing the green version of his WWII SS uniform.

Name
Germany is notable for being the only character with a human name who was not given a surname. Hidekaz Himaruya, in his original listing of the names, stated that there was a reason he did so and that fans would eventually find out. As the human names and most references to them were later discarded, it appears that this is moot. However, the name Ludwig used to be a very common name that happens to have been shared by various German historical figures, most notably Ludwig II of Bavaria and Ludwig Van Beethoven.

Character Songs
Marukaite Chikyuu (Germany)

Hatafutte Parade (Germany)

Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo (Germany)

Einsamkeit

Germany's Anthem (I Am German-Made)

Vorwärts Marsch!

Ich Liebe...

Wa! Wa!! World Ondo (featured)

Gakuen Fiesta (featured)

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (featured)

Pukapuka☆Vacation(featured)

Gallery
Germany Image Gallery

Trivia

 * In the original webcomic artwork, most notably in the World War-era strips, Germany was represented with the Nazi German Reichskriegsflagge (due to the setting of the comic). Later-era strips and artwork used the more modern flag, while the Reichskriegsflagge was done away with in later media adaptations of the series.


 * Germany's three dogs went unnamed for some time in canon, until the second Character CD revealed their names to be Blackie, Berlitz, and Aster.


 * His efficient and perfectionist personality is a reference to the German culture of cleanliness and tidiness. Italy revealing that Germany likes BDSM is a reference to the fact that German pornography is often very hardcore and kinky compared to most porn, and that an unusual amount of scat porn is exported from Germany.


 * It has been said that Germany was based on a German friend of Hidekaz Himaruya.


 * According to Himaruya, the personification of Germany was the hardest to finalize as he had little experience of drawing foreigners at the time. Germany was originally intended to be a moodier, more intimidating character and was initially depicted with a much larger nose and a rougher appearance.


 * It is hinted obliquely, but not yet confirmed, that Germany may be the Holy Roman Empire, having lost his childhood memories.
 * Most of the hints stem from the incredibly similar appearances Germany and HRE share.