[epaga]

You may be mistaking "kontrolliert werden" for "being controlled" when it actually means "being checked".

Reminds me of when American friends were SHOCKED by a political poster that quipped "Vertrauen ist gut, Kontrolle ist besser" - they thought it meant "Trust is good, control is better", but it actually means "Trust is good, but checking things is better"

[arethuza]

So "Trust, but verify" - which really is an old Russian proverb:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust,_but_verify

[jotm]

Wait until they hear the German national anthem (well, the first verse) :D

[jcbrand]

I assume you're referring to "Deutschland über alles" (Germany over everything).

It's no longer the first verse due to the Nazi history, but it doesn't come from that time.

It actually comes from the mid 1800s (IIRC) when Germany didn't exist as a unified state. People lived in many different kingdoms and principalities and many yearned for a German state.

The anthem comes from this time and this line is supposed to mean that Germany is preferable to the various smaller states of that time.

Source: "Germany, memories of a nation" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23113270-germany

[jotm]

Yes, yes, I got that explanation.

But the first time a foreigner hears it, it sounds a lot like "Germany over everyone in the world", which can carry the implication :P