[est1895]

What does Gestoppo mean and how is it spelled?

[General Battuta]

it's an elite cadre of german traffic police

you spelled it exactly right

[LordPomposity]

The traffic police in Germany. They're among the most elite traffic police in the world -- they have to be, what with many German roads having no speed limits. Lots of accidents, y'know.

EDIT: I see Ttuta ninja'd me.

[General Battuta]

my parents were taken by the gestoppo. this was in a time before the autobahn when years of post-treaty petrol scarcity led to punishingly legislated speed limits and penalties that we today in the western world recognize and abhor as draconian. we drove from nuremburg on a beautiful day the sky blue as aryan eyes mountain to mist a single unhued shade and under that sky my father felt some avian stir some ancient memory of flight and as if called home by a chthonian urge his foot fell on the accelerator and he drove and drove faster fleeter and we whooped with joy with the exhilaration of unhindered speed for we were in that string of instants like the whirl of a zoetrope at last utterly free

and then

the sirens

i never saw my family again

[LordPomposity]

Actually, I should point out that there was a slight error in my previous post. Not all German traffic police are Gestoppo. The Gestoppo are (like GB said) an elite division within the national traffic police, but the uniforms aren't that much different so you can't usually tell if it's a real Gestoppo officer who's pulled you over unless you really know what to look for. Still, most of the regular traffic police are easily flattered if you call them Gestoppo. It might get you out of a ticket.

[Mongoose]

Amusing Battman anecdotes aside, you'd think they'd consider changing their name to something less similar.

[LordPomposity]

Amusing Battman anecdotes aside, you'd think they'd consider changing their name to something less similar.

I'm not sure what it was about GB's parents being taken away from him that you found "amusing".

[General Battuta]

Amusing Battman anecdotes aside, you'd think they'd consider changing their name to something less similar.

 

[Mongoose]

Man now I'm just kicking my own brain.  Not that it's an uncommon occurrence.

[est1895]

my parents were taken by the gestoppo. this was in a time before the autobahn when years of post-treaty petrol scarcity led to punishingly legislated speed limits and penalties that we today in the western world recognize and abhor as draconian. we drove from nuremburg on a beautiful day the sky blue as aryan eyes mountain to mist a single unhued shade and under that sky my father felt some avian stir some ancient memory of flight and as if called home by a chthonian urge his foot fell on the accelerator and he drove and drove faster fleeter and we whooped with joy with the exhilaration of unhindered speed for we were in that string of instants like the whirl of a zoetrope at last utterly free

the sirens

i never saw my family again

General, did this take place during WWII, when you were a child?

[Angelus]

brilliant 

[The E]

...

For real though: Gestoppo is a popular nickname for traffic police, that is true. It is very very definitely not an official designation.

The real organization that nickname was based on is called Gestapo, which is an abbreviation of "Geheime Staatspolizei", or "Secret State Police" in english. See the wiki for details.

Still, most of the regular traffic police are easily flattered if you call them Gestoppo. It might get you out of a ticket.

Yep, that will definitely result in the traffic charges being dropped. Hell, the officers just might be so enamoured by this that they will take you on a tour of their facilities, free of charge.

[Nemesis6]

Yep, that will definitely result in the traffic charges being dropped. Hell, the officers just might be so enamoured by this that they will take you on a tour of their facilities, free of charge.

So it's kind of like the French chef deal -- If you show enough cultural know-how and douse their food with mayonnaise and(or?) ketchup, they will be so flattered and happy that they will scream at you!

[LordPomposity]

Yep, that will definitely result in the traffic charges being dropped. Hell, the officers just might be so enamoured by this that they will take you on a tour of their facilities, free of charge.

So it's kind of like the French chef deal -- If you show enough cultural know-how and douse their food with mayonnaise and(or?) ketchup, they will be so flattered and happy that they will scream at you!

Exactly. It'll even work in most of the countries neighboring Germany, particularly France and Poland. The police there have a long history of collaboration with the German authorities, and they look up to the Gestoppo's efficiency. You'll make the officer's day, if not his whole week.

[est1895]

What about this German word... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIaBnXAlcEU 

[samiam]

I wonder if there is still a "Hitler" family in Germany, or if they're allowed to get a birth certificate that names their kid "Adolf".

[The E]

I wonder if there is still a "Hitler" family in Germany, or if they're allowed to get a birth certificate that names their kid "Adolf".

No, there isn't. There may be one in Austria (Hitler was from Austria, after all), but even that is doubtful.

What about this German word... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIaBnXAlcEU 

I don't think there is an english translation for it. The closest, I think, is the french "Mademoiselle".

Also, lrn2getmeaningfromcontext, kthxbai

[Nuke]

i believe hitler has some relatives in the us.

[Dragon]

I've read somewhere that, Adolf's father changed his last name from Schicklgruber to Hitler at some point, so if there's any more or less distant family related to him, they most likely go by Schicklgruber. Also, somewhere I've read a story of Hitler's illegitimate son somewhere in France (funny thing: he fought against Germans during the occupation).

[StarSlayer]

The tragic tale of GB

General, did this take place during WWII, when you were a child?

Weimar Guitar Gently Weeps