Jerry and World wars
Jerry and WWs
Jerry was a nickname given to Germans during the Second World War by soldiers and civilians of the Allied nations, in particular by the British. Although the nickname was originally created during World War I, it did not find common use until World War II.
Jerry has analogues from different eras in Tommy (British), Charlie (Vietnam—"Victor Charlie" for VC (Viet Cong), later shortened to just "Charlie"), Sammy (Somalia), and Ivan (Russians).
The name is most likely a simple alteration of the word German. Some have claimed that the World War I German helmet, shaped like a chamber pot or jeroboam, was the initial impetus for creation, although this is almost certainly revisionist history. One ongoing use of "jerry" is found in the term jerrycan.
After World War II, settlements and camps sprang up around British garrisons in the former West Germany, and the colloquial term of "Boxhead" became common amongst British troops and their families. This term has its origins in "square-heads" as a reference to the almost square-shaped helmets used by the Germans in the First and Second World Wars.
Also the term "Jerry-rigged" (an adapted form of the much older nautical term "jury rig") was adopted by many allied troops and became a common term that transferred into everyday usage. The term was given for how some of the German equipment was maintained during the latter parts of the second world war. As Hitler's war machine was breaking down, lack of supplies meant that the equipment had to be held together in a patchwork fashion. As allied troops came across abandoned vehicles and machinery they could see shoddy workmanship used to hold the machinery together. Since the German soldiers were already known as Jerrys the term Jerry-rigged seemed fit.
Recently the term "Eric" has become popular amongst British troops, originating from an episode of the British TV comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, in which the name "Eric" was used instead of "Jerry" in an attempt to confuse some Germans who were fluent in English.
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Jerry and WWs
Jerry was a nickname given to Germans during the Second World War by soldiers and civilians of the Allied nations, in particular by the British. Although the nickname was originally created during World War I, it did not find common use until World War II.
Jerry has analogues from different eras in Tommy (British), Charlie (Vietnam—"Victor Charlie" for VC (Viet Cong), later shortened to just "Charlie"), Sammy (Somalia), and Ivan (Russians).
The name is most likely a simple alteration of the word German. Some have claimed that the World War I German helmet, shaped like a chamber pot or jeroboam, was the initial impetus for creation, although this is almost certainly revisionist history. One ongoing use of "jerry" is found in the term jerrycan.
After World War II, settlements and camps sprang up around British garrisons in the former West Germany, and the colloquial term of "Boxhead" became common amongst British troops and their families. This term has its origins in "square-heads" as a reference to the almost square-shaped helmets used by the Germans in the First and Second World Wars.
Also the term "Jerry-rigged" (an adapted form of the much older nautical term "jury rig") was adopted by many allied troops and became a common term that transferred into everyday usage. The term was given for how some of the German equipment was maintained during the latter parts of the second world war. As Hitler's war machine was breaking down, lack of supplies meant that the equipment had to be held together in a patchwork fashion. As allied troops came across abandoned vehicles and machinery they could see shoddy workmanship used to hold the machinery together. Since the German soldiers were already known as Jerrys the term Jerry-rigged seemed fit.
Recently the term "Eric" has become popular amongst British troops, originating from an episode of the British TV comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, in which the name "Eric" was used instead of "Jerry" in an attempt to confuse some Germans who were fluent in English.
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