30 Memes And Reactions Mocking Germany’s Insufficient Response To Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine
The internet is a lot of things, but many—not all, but many—fail to register the fact that it has a very distinct personality, a part of which is ridiculing everything that doesn’t make sense or is wrong.
A perfect example of that is the time Germany expressed its support for Ukraine by sending helmets and nothing more. At this point, you can probably see why most would equate it to putting a band aid on a flesh wound.
Well, this, refusing to send heavy weaponry, not discontinuing their imports of Russian oil, and other questionable decisions by the government triggered the internet’s funny bone and everyone and their mothers started reacting to these decisions in the form of memes. And despite Germany making a u-turn on the matter, the reactions are still out there forever in the world wide web.

Image source: GermanyinUSA
Continue scrolling to check out the best reactions the internet has to offer in our curated list below, as we unroll some context on the whole issue and how Germany is trying to redeem itself with other efforts.
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Ok but like, this is everyone who puts "Supports Ukraine" and/or the flag on their social media. Like wow, thoughts and prayers.
To true sadly. As a German I'm ashamed how our Bundeskanzler Olaf "the Smurf" Scholz is acting. 😞
Ever since day 1 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, nearly the entire world has been supporting Ukraine in its fight for freedom. Some imposed sanctions, others sent weapons and humanitarian aid, yet others openly condemned Russia’s actions in global international gatherings and conferences, despite having close ties with it on multiple levels. And there were those who did it all.
But in the context of countries sending in everything from long-range artillery to tanks to jet fighters to armored vehicles, amounting to billions of dollars in military aid, there is Germany that initially promised to send Ukrainians… helmets. Just regular military-grade helmets.
I'm ashamed for my country... our politicians talk and talk and debate and debate without an end and nothing really happens... not just in this stupid war... in everything... :((((
If you're gonna kill people, you want to go to the Americans. Their gun obsession is good for something.
Facts. We're bloodthirsty but we come in handy when you need weapons
Load More Replies...Yeah, but this is because America has a permanent boner for war and always loves an excuse to develop new war toys.
Fun fact: Most of our Tanks are out of order. German Bundeswehr is a joke so far thanks to the past 16 years of CDU leadership. If Russia had chosen to invade Germany Putin would be sitting in Berlin right now. If I were the Ukraine I'd take the money offered and buy functioning tanks. It's a shame!
while we're on this topic, can we just talk about the fact that every American war during the cold war was started by Ruskis?
The nation which has committed numerous war crimes and the world just ignores it? Sure!!! Who would have guessed.
As german I must say: Comparing Olaf with Ralph is a huge insult to Ralph
Load More Replies...Sadly true, even Ralph would be a better politician than the clowns we have...
Germany helped financially more than any other country since 2014. On top of this they provided help through EU. Or simply put: shut up!
Load More Replies...You see, Germany has had relatively good relations with Russia in recent history with the whole Nord Stream gas pipeline project and Germany just generally being a key economic partner to Russia. So, doing the exact opposite is anything but counter-productive.
Still, when nearly the whole world unites at a flick of a finger, Germany lingers in making significant decisions, so they resort to small steps. Helmets.
But none of this really matters to the internet as there is a very unnecessary war, there is a clear bad guy, and serious decisions have to be made, which is why there was a lot of pushback and even backlash from a lot of countries, people, and most notably the internet in the form of memes.
Sanctions are intended to harm the opponent more than oneself. Germany (and Austria, by the way) cannot afford a complete gas boycott at the moment - a consequence of the politics of the last 20 years (by the way: Angela Merkel was praised worldwide for the fact that she constantly discussed with Putin). If Germany were to do without Russian gas, entire branches of industry would collapse and there would be hundreds of thousands of unemployed – and no politician can or wants to afford that. Then the great solidarity with Ukraine among the population would soon be over. It is therefore correct that Economics Minister Habeck is not launching an immediate gas boycott, but instead is trying every means possible to reduce or end dependence on Russian gas. However, this will still take a few months.
Criticism of German policy is justified when it comes to arms deliveries. A lot more would be possible. While Germany supplies far more than they publicly admit, if the Ukrainians need tanks and missiles, they should get them.
Load More Replies...Love the "nuclear war excuse" - like the whole Europe isn't already in jeopardy of that. Did they think that they were the ones who will hinder nuclear bombs from falling? Or that they are going to be spared? We've seen how bad the russian army aim, the bomb going to the Netherlands are probably gonna end up in Germany either way.
Bad example. That's what Germany is setting, in my opinion. If you're a leader of a Country how you gonna be a wuss and represent your Country and your people like that? I understand putting the safety of the people first and foremost, but come on man, you have more than enough soldiers and artillery to send to Ukraine and keep for yourself, be a MAN, be a leader. Be a friend. Help out a Country in need, take the risk and fight back.
https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/aussenpolitik/laenderinformationen/ukraine-node/ukraine-support/2510752
Load More Replies...Not currently. But Israel has it's history of redrawing maps as well.
Load More Replies...https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/aussenpolitik/laenderinformationen/ukraine-node/ukraine-support/2510752
Yea, we do! We can’t just deliver weapons to a nation which is at war. Please educate yourself on German jurisdiction and laws before posting this kind of article.
if your country rejects the notion of putin why can ya'll not help ? screw you ekaterinia
Load More Replies...I say you're talking bs. Germans don't hate Israel or Jews (except for a few a-holew)
Load More Replies...How about some top notch walkie talkies made in the 80s because money is tight
Please don't get this wrong. He wanted to go there, but he was uninvited by Ukraine.
Yeah, because he has had very strong ties to russia. Ukraine appreciates all the help, but we do not want putin's friends on our land at the moment. I hope you can try to understand.
Load More Replies...On this one: they told Steinmeier he's not invated. ^^'
Load More Replies...For the most part, the memes revolved around the whole helmet scandal, which, sure, is great, but far from enough. There were also those who pointed out Germany’s hypocrisy of how it’s throwing billions of dollars at Egypt, yet sending 5,000 helmets to Ukraine. And yet other memes revolved around Germany’s support efforts equating to a pat on the back.
To give you a rough understanding of how much support other countries have pledged: the UK’s MP said its military aid to Ukraine may rise to £500M, the US has confirmed its $131M commitment for resilience as well as socioeconomic growth, and the entire European Union has allocated a total of €143M so far.
The craziest thing about the helmets is they don't really do anything but hold your night vision rig. Theres plenty of videos on Youtube of people shooting holes right through them with different rifles.
... and for years and years, the people here called "Putinversteher" (understanders of the poo tin), whenever you dared any criticism towards the war criminal mad vlad, gathered around you and talked about how bad the west in general, especially the US, is, and how poo tin was "betrayed", how a promise was broken that essentially is said to mean "NATO won't expand towards the east", promised by the west or germany or chancellor Kohl or some combination thereof, that, in effect would mean that a german head of government - not even state - had promised how the Polish would act for years and even decades to come - which would brake many international laws and contracts, would force germany's will upon other countries, and is not even anything any german could rightfully offer, and how poor poor mad vlad was only "reacting". Garnished with some weird myth of the entire world being afraid of natural allies, germany and russia, being "together". Fück them! Finally, reality silenced them.
This is es the flipside of being neutral. You either are or you are not. There is no "playing" about it. You are not allowed to choose sides even if you want to. You can however agree to sanctions which correlate with the constitution or when agreed rights are violatet like human rights. (Which we do btw) And the times of "hidden loots" are over. Not even "United Bandits of Switzerland" can truly skirt the laws in place to prevent things like that.
Load More Replies...Yeah, why can't we Germans just be "normal" and happily run into World War III? Maybe because we have already caused the first two World Wars and are not so eager to repeat our mistake?
Germany didn't start WW1, that was either Serbia or Austria-Hungary
Load More Replies...https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/aussenpolitik/laenderinformationen/ukraine-node/ukraine-support/2510752
Load More Replies...And this is besides all of the numerous sanctions that countries are imposing on many of Russia’s government officials, businesses, and industries.
Besides all of the internet's mocking, the Mayor of Kyiv also called Germany's 5,000-helmet project a joke, after they have explicitly asked for arms.
But it took several months to annihilate Germany’s hesitation as it now being reported that Germany plans to increase its military aid fund to €2 billion, of which a large portion will go towards the war efforts in Ukraine, and it also greenlit the provision of heavy arms, specifically anti-craft tanks.
why do people comment sucky things? Peace for Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🌻🌻🌻💖💖💖
... love how they bolded the outta his mind Bush jr to resemble Scholz a bit more...
The "helmet affair" is over. Germany sends weapons. Could be/should be a lot more, but it's not so easy to change politics of decades in a few days.
Well, they get Gepard AA tanks - any low flying aircraft will have trouble (If the Swiss agree to allow dilvery of ammunition)
Swiss did not agree, saying they are neutral (in the news today) 💀💀💀💀💀
Load More Replies...I'm German and have not heard anybody here use this excuse. The reason is that Russia says they will interprete the delivery of heavy weapons as a war declaration from the NATO. This would mean a third world war.
Yeah. Moreover the german Bundeswehr is a joke. Remember those articles from a few years back? With the helicopters not working? With Germany having very dry summers but hey let's make some military exercises and burn the whole peatland. I'm german myself and I think the Bundeswehr is a joke. Not only were they using old and not working weapons, no they also have a big problem with neo nazis in their ranks
Load More Replies...Germany's Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht pledged to provide "Gepard" anti-craft systems during the international defense officials meeting at the Ramstein US Air Force base in Germany.
"We decided yesterday that we will support Ukraine with anti-aircraft systems [...] which is exactly what Ukraine needs now to secure the airspace from the ground," explained Lambrecht.
Of course not. He doesn't say anything at all, that's the problem!!! We're playing "find our Bundeskanzler" over here in Germany.
Load More Replies...It's not like 5000 helmets could even help. Send some help to Ukraine (not helmets)
https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/aussenpolitik/laenderinformationen/ukraine-node/ukraine-support/2510752 Like they did since 2014 as the biggest supporter in aids? Bilaterally and through EU? Like when they built a military hospital fully funded by Germany?
Load More Replies...So, what are your thoughts on this? Whether you want to play the devil’s advocate, or add your own meme bashing Germany and its helmet pledge, all opinions are welcome in the comment section below!
I love the sunglasses on USA, but it's more than we deserve.
Load More Replies...Let's send them via Deutsche Bahn, it will arrive only a few years late
Yea, not mentioning how much financial support Germany delivers since 2014 (net contributor). Sounds about fair.
Don’t take these personally. It might be new for you to be the target of these memes and comments . But as Americans we are use to them poking fun at us . It’s just your turn for a short while
Yep! Heat's off us Americans for about two hours.
Load More Replies...Not only politics but laws set in place by what was/ is called "die Alliierten". Which literally forbade Germany to have certain military weapons, materials and vehicles. And I belive some of those laws are still valid. And anyway u can't give what you don't really have. The German military has been downsized to almost nothing 🙈
Load More Replies...This is so charming. Germany sends money to Ukraine, Germany sends weapons to Ukraine, yesterday even decides to send heavy weapons despite our past. We try to get out of our dependence on Russian oil and gas as quickly as possible - and yes, it is annoying that it cannot be done quicker. We welcome refugees from Ukraine. There are numerous private associations collecting money and donations for Ukraine. So many people here in Germany are thinking of numerous ways how they can personally support Ukraine. And the reaction: We are constantly insulted by the Ukrainian ambassador and are made fun of in these posts on Boredpanda. Serious question: Are you paid by Putin? Do you want to annoy Germans as much as possible so that they stop supporting Ukraine? This is never gonna happen, we will not stop supporting the Ukrainian people only because some bullies have picked Germany as the perfect victim to be laughed at!
Germany is NOT suposed to chose sides in an armed conflict. They are keeping their Promise made at the end of WW2 why are they being criticised for doing what they were told to do ??
Putin has made it clear that when the NATO delivers heavy weapons (like tanks and jets) to Ukraine, he will see that as a declaration of war from the NATO. Do you really blame Germany for not wanting to cause a third world war?
The German government are trying their best to get independent from Russian oil and gas asap. It is true that we shouldn't have gotten so dependant on Russia in the first place. But if we had cut off all supplies when the war began, we couldn't heat our homes and drive our cars. It is easy to blame Germany when you're not as dependant from those resources.
Germany decided to decommission all their nuclear power stations a few years back. I'm not saying that nuclear is the answer, far from it, but that was a hasty decision that they are sure to be regretting now.
Load More Replies...To be fair, the swiss are just as bad, arguably worse. They're refusing to let OTHER countries re-export munitions they had previously bought from the Swiss, to Ukraine. They're not even sending it directly but preventing other nations from doing so. At least from Germany I can understand (even if I disagree with) their hesitation given their history and dependence on Russian gas. The Swiss are just being "neutral" for what, the sake of being neutral?
And I say it again. There are LAWS in place which forbid things like this. Switzerlands constitution is very clear on this. You can't go around beeing neutral one time and the other time you are not. It just does not work that way.
Load More Replies...Something to consider... When the Afghans were fighting the Soviets many years ago, America gave weapons to "freedom fighters" type people in Afghanistan. Those people eventually became the Taliban. There are many other examples of terrorist groups that were formed by foreign countries giving them weapons to fight invading forces. -- The Ukraine is a different story because the weapons are being given to a country's official government, not to a bunch of rebels. BUT the Ukraine has only very recently worked towards becoming a democracy. What if it fights off Russia and then slips back into being an Authoritarian Regime... that just happens to have a whole bunch of weapons that it got for free.
Please don't take from this that we germans don't want to send any help, it's the government that decides to play the coward. The majority stands behind the idea to send weapon systems to the Ukraine
We have been the net contributor to Ukraine since 2014, we also sent help through EU. We built a military hospital on German tax payer’s expenses. Who are you to believe we have not been helping at all????
Load More Replies...Allies at end of WWI: We cannot let Germany have a large military with plenty of supplies. Allies at end of WWII: We cannot let Germany have a large military with plenty of supplies. Allies in 2022: COME ON GERMANY SEND YOUR PLENTY OF MILITARY SUPPLIES!
Germans… here is what it feels to be an American. I know how bad it feels, and don’t worry, I won’t judge the whole of your country based on a few people.
Someone not behind a work firewall needs to make a Scott's Tots version of this meme from The Office.
This is so charming. Germany sends money to Ukraine, Germany sends weapons to Ukraine, yesterday even decides to send heavy weapons despite our past. We try to get out of our dependence on Russian oil and gas as quickly as possible - and yes, it is annoying that it cannot be done quicker. We welcome refugees from Ukraine. There are numerous private associations collecting money and donations for Ukraine. So many people here in Germany are thinking of numerous ways how they can personally support Ukraine. And the reaction: We are constantly insulted by the Ukrainian ambassador and are made fun of in these posts on Boredpanda. Serious question: Are you paid by Putin? Do you want to annoy Germans as much as possible so that they stop supporting Ukraine? This is never gonna happen, we will not stop supporting the Ukrainian people only because some bullies have picked Germany as the perfect victim to be laughed at!
Germany is NOT suposed to chose sides in an armed conflict. They are keeping their Promise made at the end of WW2 why are they being criticised for doing what they were told to do ??
Putin has made it clear that when the NATO delivers heavy weapons (like tanks and jets) to Ukraine, he will see that as a declaration of war from the NATO. Do you really blame Germany for not wanting to cause a third world war?
The German government are trying their best to get independent from Russian oil and gas asap. It is true that we shouldn't have gotten so dependant on Russia in the first place. But if we had cut off all supplies when the war began, we couldn't heat our homes and drive our cars. It is easy to blame Germany when you're not as dependant from those resources.
Germany decided to decommission all their nuclear power stations a few years back. I'm not saying that nuclear is the answer, far from it, but that was a hasty decision that they are sure to be regretting now.
Load More Replies...To be fair, the swiss are just as bad, arguably worse. They're refusing to let OTHER countries re-export munitions they had previously bought from the Swiss, to Ukraine. They're not even sending it directly but preventing other nations from doing so. At least from Germany I can understand (even if I disagree with) their hesitation given their history and dependence on Russian gas. The Swiss are just being "neutral" for what, the sake of being neutral?
And I say it again. There are LAWS in place which forbid things like this. Switzerlands constitution is very clear on this. You can't go around beeing neutral one time and the other time you are not. It just does not work that way.
Load More Replies...Something to consider... When the Afghans were fighting the Soviets many years ago, America gave weapons to "freedom fighters" type people in Afghanistan. Those people eventually became the Taliban. There are many other examples of terrorist groups that were formed by foreign countries giving them weapons to fight invading forces. -- The Ukraine is a different story because the weapons are being given to a country's official government, not to a bunch of rebels. BUT the Ukraine has only very recently worked towards becoming a democracy. What if it fights off Russia and then slips back into being an Authoritarian Regime... that just happens to have a whole bunch of weapons that it got for free.
Please don't take from this that we germans don't want to send any help, it's the government that decides to play the coward. The majority stands behind the idea to send weapon systems to the Ukraine
We have been the net contributor to Ukraine since 2014, we also sent help through EU. We built a military hospital on German tax payer’s expenses. Who are you to believe we have not been helping at all????
Load More Replies...Allies at end of WWI: We cannot let Germany have a large military with plenty of supplies. Allies at end of WWII: We cannot let Germany have a large military with plenty of supplies. Allies in 2022: COME ON GERMANY SEND YOUR PLENTY OF MILITARY SUPPLIES!
Germans… here is what it feels to be an American. I know how bad it feels, and don’t worry, I won’t judge the whole of your country based on a few people.
Someone not behind a work firewall needs to make a Scott's Tots version of this meme from The Office.
