WWII Deragatory Terms for Soldiers

by Ashrew

During WWII, American soldiers were known to call German soldiers "Krauts" and Japanese soldiers "Japs" or "Nips". Did the Germans and Japanese have derogatory names for the Americans? What were they and what are their translations (i.e. What do they mean?)

Astrogator

There were a few colloquial terms that were in widespread use. A good source for the slang of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS during WWII is Küpper, H.: Am A... der Welt. Landserdeutsch 1939-45. Berlin (West) (Claasen) 1970.

  • Soviets: Der Russe - literally the Russian, colloquially always in the singular, e.g. 'Der Russe greift an', the Russian is attacking, even if it was clear that there were multiple soviets involved. Der Iwan, after Ivan, common Russian name.

  • British: Der Tommy/Die Tommies. Simple as that. Like Iwan, it's a common English nickname that got adopted as colloquial term for the British soldiers. Easily combined with other words to create 'Tommybomber' for British bombers, 'Tommykocher', tommy cooker as nickname for the early Sherman tanks who had, just as the Panther, problems with ammunition fires, and so on. Not really derogatory per se. German use goes back to WWI, probably after the common British term 'Tommy Atkins' for a British soldier, like in the poem by Rudyard Kipling, but I don't know if that was the source for the German use.

  • Americans: Der Ami/Die Amis. Still widely in use today, a shortening of 'Amerikaner', american. Both terms were in use, not really derogatory, same as with Tommy.

  • Italians: Der/Die Itaker, after ItaKa, Italienischer Kamerad = Italian comrade, not necessarily derogatory. Today only used derogatively as ethnophaulism. Originally it came from the WWI Austro-Hungarian Army, analogous to Polak, Slovak, Bosniak et c. Also Spaghettis / Makkaronis, derogatively Spaghetti-/Makkaronifresser (Maccaroni-Eater, fressen has more negative connotations than essen, though - animals fressen, humans essen). Also derogatory: Avanti, implying that they did anything but advance and Bajazzo after the famous clown.

  • Beutegermane, literally 'loot(ed)-German'. For foreign volunteers, and increasingly for the members of Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS who were conscripted from foreign countries later in the war, like in the numerous 'volunteer' divisions of the Waffen-SS. Soviet volunteers in auxiliary roles for the Wehrmacht and Police were colloquially called HiWis, shortened from Hilfswillige, 'those willing to help'. Today only used for student employees at universities (HilfsWissenschaftler, auxiliary scientist).