Beware Calling Yourself 'Doktor' in Deutschland...

Did you earn your doctorate at some university outside the European Union?

If so, don't use the title "Dr." in front of your name while in Germany, especially not on your business cards.

According to the Washington Post, that would be a criminal offense. At a minimum, you risk a nice chat with the criminal police for following a custom that certainly isn't limited to the United States.

The basis for this is allegedly a Nazi-era law. The surprise is not that it's still on the books, but that it's actually being enforced.

Me, I just wonder how German students earning non-EU doctorates at respectable institutions will react when they get home and find out they don't have a right to the same title as their domestically educated counterparts, despite having completed comparable work.

Normally, I never bring up the title at all, unless I'm being quizzed on my educational background or if my interlocutor has opted for being a wee bit snooty.

But now I have to re-read the details surrounding diplomatic immunity for consular officers (less extensive than for other diplomatic personnel). Because if it's sufficient to keep me out of the clutches of the title police, I might just plant a big, fat "Dr." in 16-point font on my business card when I get to post.

But what do I know? I'm just a quasi-educated American.


P.S. Check out the informative comment on the Post site by rgellately, correcting much of the original reporting's understanding.

Germany Deutschland doktor Ph.D. PhD