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.
This post may include affiliate links.
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.
If you're gonna kill people, you want to go to the Americans. Their gun obsession is good for something.
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.
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.
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 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🌻🌻🌻💖💖💖
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.
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.
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!
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
Note: this post originally had 31 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
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...
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.
I'm german. Usually a pacifist. But, we gotta chose a side here ... we gotta stand by those who don't invade, and against those who do. We gotta stop buying gas and oil from the Zar - any risk this is said to increase already is there ... Poo Tin is just nuts, but he has people around him who aren't THAT nuts ... if they think about devestating europe by applying nuclear weapons, they will not sit there, having to decide, and say "oh, Germany didn't deliver that much of heavy weaponry - let's spare them and just destroy everything around them, so they're off fine! - the decision either already is made, or it will certainly not depend on one nation's delivery of weapons to the counterpart. Also - he'll never say so publicly, but poo tin knows that under his command the russian forces brake several contracts, laws and are invading a country not doing, nor attempting to, them any bad. The answer still is the second strike, and that still is just as destuctive as the first one, just a few minutes later. The one who is 2nd to die still doesn't survive. Russia, devestated by western nuclear weapons? Is that something poo tin tries to accomplish? Would the Russians accept that, want that, praise and celebrate him for sparking a nuclear war? He can do that, maybe ... but he can't survive that, he can't remain in power, if there even is any left to have power over.......
Easy solution. Stop buying german made products so they wont need russian gas for manufavturing.
Careful what you wish for! Educating yourself on Germany’s help which is ongoing since 2014 would also do it for a change.
Load More Replies... 
For more than 20 years, Germany has made itself dependent on Russian energy with Nord Stream 1 and 2 and now refuses to risk getting into trouble with Russia. And for 20 years, Germany has dictated its law to Europe in its sole interest. It seems that the country is at a turning point, I am curious to see what will happen next and I hope that its influence in Europe will decrease.
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... 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.
I'm german. Usually a pacifist. But, we gotta chose a side here ... we gotta stand by those who don't invade, and against those who do. We gotta stop buying gas and oil from the Zar - any risk this is said to increase already is there ... Poo Tin is just nuts, but he has people around him who aren't THAT nuts ... if they think about devestating europe by applying nuclear weapons, they will not sit there, having to decide, and say "oh, Germany didn't deliver that much of heavy weaponry - let's spare them and just destroy everything around them, so they're off fine! - the decision either already is made, or it will certainly not depend on one nation's delivery of weapons to the counterpart. Also - he'll never say so publicly, but poo tin knows that under his command the russian forces brake several contracts, laws and are invading a country not doing, nor attempting to, them any bad. The answer still is the second strike, and that still is just as destuctive as the first one, just a few minutes later. The one who is 2nd to die still doesn't survive. Russia, devestated by western nuclear weapons? Is that something poo tin tries to accomplish? Would the Russians accept that, want that, praise and celebrate him for sparking a nuclear war? He can do that, maybe ... but he can't survive that, he can't remain in power, if there even is any left to have power over.......
Easy solution. Stop buying german made products so they wont need russian gas for manufavturing.
Careful what you wish for! Educating yourself on Germany’s help which is ongoing since 2014 would also do it for a change.
Load More Replies... For more than 20 years, Germany has made itself dependent on Russian energy with Nord Stream 1 and 2 and now refuses to risk getting into trouble with Russia. And for 20 years, Germany has dictated its law to Europe in its sole interest. It seems that the country is at a turning point, I am curious to see what will happen next and I hope that its influence in Europe will decrease.
Load More Replies...