What Are German Facial Features?
What are German facial features? Of course, everyone is going to have their own unique features, regardless of what country they live or who they are descended from. Still, there has always been a recognition among various ethnic groups of people that certain groups have characteristic facial features. So, what are some classic German facial features?
One of the most striking sets of facial features are those of the German or Germanic people, also known as Teutonic facial features. What are the German facial features or Teutonic features that are so striking? These include blond hair and blue eyes, as well as a pale complexion that befits the Germanic heritage as people of northern European descent.
In addition to these facial features, a strong, thin profiled nose is considered to be a characteristic facial feature of Germanic people, along with tall average heights (above 5’10” or taller) and the aforementioned blond haired, light skinned trademarks.
Influence on German Features
When there are distinct features shared by many people of the same descent, this occurs because of a genetic link or connection. The Germanic people are descended from both the Celtic people who were pushed out of their Irish and German homes by the Romans in the early part of the BC era, as well as from Scandinavians and Nordic peoples who emigrated south from Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
Because for many hundreds of years the old Roman Empire possessed most of the area that makes up the Germanic region of Europe, there are strong Latin influences on the Germanic facial features, such as the thin profiled, strong nose feature common to Germanic people. This Latin influence can be seen when considering what German facial features are.
German Facial Features Today
Today, when determining what German facial features are, we typically look towards the facial features and characteristics belonging to residents of Germany, Austria, Belgium, and to a lesser extent Switzerland, although the original French people, known as Gauls in the Roman Era, were also displaced by the Roman armies and may have intermingled with the people of these other regions.
Contrary to popular belief, a German does not have to have blond hair and blue eyes, and many individuals from the southernmost parts of Germany have darker hair and eyes than those from the more northern regions where Norway and Scandinavia had a higher influence.
Misconception About German Facial Features
The misconception that all Germans must have blond hair and blue eyes for their German facial features typically stems from the mistaken Nazi practice of craniometry and racial sciences. In these Nazi practices, measuring instruments were used to measure facial features, such as the size and width of the nose, or the thickness of the skull, in order to determine who was truly a “good German of Aryan descent,” or who was one of a race of what the Germans considered to be “lesser peoples.”
Because this blond haired, blue-eyed image was widely propagated in Germany less than a century ago, it has stuck in the minds of most people when they think of what classic German facial features consist of.