Similarities between German and British People

Both went through immigration waves of Celts then Romans then Germanic tribes.
Both languages come from the same old germanic roots.
Both went through similar developments as far as fedualism, reformation, industrialisation etc...
Both have a history of being smaller countries joining together to form larger ones, all through from the beginning to now. The dark ages anglo saxon kingdoms mercia, the anglias, umbrias, sexs etc all fought together and eventually formed england at roughly the same time as the franks, bavarians, saxons etc all fought together to form the holy roman empire.
Later on, england dominated their region and formed the UK, prussia dominated their region and formed germany.

Now, both germany and england are both heading towards being members of the same extranational entity the EU.

One thing that might seem like a big difference is that the UK is a monarchy whereas Germany is a federal republic. But thats not such a mammoth difference when looking at the history at a larger scale. Both nations started moving away from absolute monarchism back when the magna carta was signed in england, and the german emporer became an elected rather then heridtary position. And up until the last century or so, both nations were fairly in step with each other in this regard. Germany is ahead of Britain on this point at the moment though.

Depending on how you look at it Britain and Germany mirror each other.
Are Germans ruder than the British? Are Britons more dishonest than Germans? Fortunately, we don't have to rely on blind prejudice for answers. Serious academic research has been done on both sides of the North Sea.
There are Britons in Berlin who get taken aback by the directness of Germans. And there are Germans who get really annoyed when Britons (and Americans), in an effort to appear friendly, say things they don't really mean. Some Germans call this "lying".
So, what do the experts say on the matter?
Professor Juliane House, of the University of Hamburg, has studied groups of people interacting in controlled situations, watching with academic rigour how they behave as human guinea-pigs.
She found (or verified) that Germans really don't do small talk, those little phrases so familiar to the British about the weather or a person's general well-being, but which she describes as "empty verbiage".
There is no word in German for "small talk"
In academic language, this is "phatic" conversation - it's not meant to convey hard information but to perform some social function, such as making people feel good.
The German language doesn't even have an expression for "small talk", she says. It is so alien that in the German translation of A Bear called Paddington - Paddington unser kleiner Baer - it was omitted.
So this exchange of small talk occurs in the English original: "'Hallo Mrs Bird,' said Judy. 'It's nice to see you again. How's the rheumatism?' 'Worse than it's ever been' began Mrs. Bird."
In the German edition, this passage is simply cut.
Might a German talk about the weather, then?
But small talk is a staple of social interaction in the UK
"In a lift or a doctor's waiting room, talk about the weather in German? I don't think so," she says.
So does that mean the British are more polite? No, just different.
For their part, the British have what House calls the "etiquette of simulation". The British feign an interest in someone. They pretend to want to meet again when they don't really. They simulate concern.
Saying things like "It's nice to meet you" are rarely meant the way they are said, she says. "It's just words. It's simulating interest in the other person."
From a German perspective, this is uncomfortably close to deceit.
"Some people say that the British and Americans lie when they say things like that. It's not a lie. It's lubricating social life. It's always nice to say things like that even if you don't mean them," says House.
Blunt or direct?
For Britons it's German directness that most often gives rise to bafflement or even fury. House, who married a Scouser - a native of Liverpool - gives an example from her own experience.
How a Briton might raise a serious concern
She would tell her husband to bring something from another part of the house - without the British lardings of "would you mind...?" or "could you do me a favour...?"
He would hear this as an abrupt - and rude - command.
This gap between German directness and British indirectness is the source of much miscommunication, says Professor Derek Bousfield, the head of linguistics at the University of Central Lancashire, and one of the editors of the Journal of Politeness Research.
There are many documented cases where the British understate a very serious problem with phrases like "there seem to be one or two problems here" or "there seems to be a little bit of an issue with this", he says.