Editing Anti-German sentiment (section)

{{Short description|Opposition to Germany, its inhabitants and culture}}
{{Redirect-distinguish|Germanophobia|Mysophobia{{!}}Germophobia}}
{{Distinguish|Anti-Germans (political current)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
[[File:World War I-era Australian 'Anti-German League' badge circa 1915.jpg|thumb|A 1915 Australian badge reflecting the anti-German sentiment at the time]]
'''Anti-German sentiment''' (also known as '''anti-Germanism''', '''Germanophobia''' or '''Teutophobia''') is [[fear]] or dislike of [[Germany]], its [[Germans|people]], and its [[Culture of Germany|culture]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Germanophobe|encyclopedia=[[American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]|edition=4th|publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] |year=2000 |page=738|url=https://archive.org/details/americanheritage0000unse_a1o7/page/738/mode/2up |isbn=978-0-395-82517-4 |editor=Joseph P. Pickett|url-access=registration|quote=One who dislikes or fears Germany, its people, and its culture}}</ref> Its opposite is [[Germanophile|Germanophilia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wordnik.com/words/Germanophile |title=Germanophile - definition and meaning |website=Wordnik.com |date=2007-08-01 |access-date=2016-12-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/philias.html |title=AlphaDictionary Free Online Dictionaries * Corrected List of Philias – Fears, Loves, Obsessions |website=Alphadictionary.com |date=2007-06-14 |access-date=2016-12-14}}</ref>

Anti-German sentiment mainly emerged following the [[unification of Germany]], and it reached its height during [[World War I]] and [[World War II]]. Prior to this the German speaking states were mostly independent entities in the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Originally a response to the growing industrialisation of Germany as a threat to the other great powers, anti-German sentiment became mainstream in the Allied countries during both World Wars, especially the Second World War in which the Germans carried out major atrocities in regions occupied by them. Anti-German sentiment is historically  specifically anti-[[Prussian]], as the Prussian [[Junker (Prussia)|Junker]]s were the main military class in the [[German Empire]] and in [[Nazi Germany]]. Anti-German and [[Anti-Austrian sentiment]] were generally held together, as Austrians worked with and were involved in the German military, especially in Nazi Germany, with most Austrians considering themselves German until the end of the Second World War.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://papers.iafor.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/eccs2016/ECCS2016_32360.pdf|title=The Good German Consensus and Dissent in the Development of British Wartime Subversive Propaganda|author=Kirk Robert Graham}}</ref>

Following the collapse of Nazi Germany, anti-German sentiment generally decreased as Europe entered into a period of peace. In modern times anti-German sentiment usually comes about from the major power Germany has economically over Europe, and its importance in the [[European Union]].