The Germans were foreign nationals studying abroad in America under a Foosball scholarship. Their first appearance was in the Season Three episode "Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism". They were portrayed by Nick Kroll as Juergen, Alex Schemmer as Karl and Alex Klien as Lukas. Chris Diamantopoulos portrayed Juergen's brother, Reinhold, who lead the clique in his place in Season Four's "Alternative History of the German Invasion".
In the study group's third year at Greendale, they encountered a trio of rowdy foreign students. Known as "The Germans", they were named Juergen, Karl and Lukas. They had quickly established themselves as an obnoxious presence on campus by hogging the foosball table in the student lounge and easily beating any student who dared to challenge them. They would then celebrate their victory and taunt their defeated opponent. Annoyed by their bullying, Jeff attempted to put an end to their antics. He made the mistake of accepting a foosball challenge from Karl which resulted in a defeat at the hands of Juergen.
Humiliated by the loss and their mocking, Jeff was determined to beat them at their own game. He enlisted Shirley's help after finding out she had incredible foosball skills. The Germans found them in the student lounge training one night and told them to move aside so they could used the table. Insults were exchanged and ultimately another challenge was issued. This time high stakes were involved in the outcome; whoever lost this game forfeited the right to use the Foosball table again. The Germans arrogantly accepted and punctuated it with Juergen kicking a soccer ball at Jeff's head which he narrowly avoided. The Germans left after congratulating themselves on a perfectly executed comedy bit.
The next morning in the student lounge, Karl and Lukas were playing Foosball as Juergen watched on. As Lukas complained about spraining his wrist, they were interrupted by Shirley and Jeff who arrived for the match. Juergen started trash talking his opponents as they faced off against him and Karl. Once the game started the Germans bravado was replaced with astonishment as a Jeff and Shirley kept possession of the ball by batting it between them from one side of the table to the other. They finished the move off by having the ball land directly in the middle of the table where neither side could reach it. As the Germans struggled in vain to get at the ball, Jeff and Shirley walked away satisfied with the outcome ("Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism").
In the study group's fourth year at school, they were unexpectedly reunited with the Germans who were taking the same history class as them. Shirley was surprised to see them as she heard they lost their Foosball scholarship. As the trio rocked out to imaginary techno music, Troy said it was rumored that they had been juicing. The Germans greeted them as Jeff asked them who their latest member was. He introduced himself as Reinhold and told them he had heard about the Foosball match between Jeff and his brother Juergen. He assured the group he bore no grudge for what happened but Jeff was skeptical. Once the class began, Reinhold was intrigued by a question posed by Professor Cornwallis. It was about how different history would be if written by the losing side. Reinhold laughed maniacally as he pondered the idea causing his fellow students to stare at him.
Later in the study room, the group found the Germans studying at inside. Jeff was immediately hostile and told them to leave. Reinhold explained that the coffee house they normally used for their study sessions was unavailable due to an art house movie being filmed there. He assured them this was temporary and despite Jeff's objections Annie had no problems with them staying. Before she could tell The Germans they prematurely accepted the offer and celebrated by beatboxing techno music sounds. Later, Abed approached Karl in the hallways while he was at his locker. Abed got him to admit he was a MMORPG player he knew online having recognized a phrase Karl spoke. The friendly bond they formed was tested the next day when the Germans showed up in the study room again.
Instead of being seated at the smaller table on the other side of the room they were now using the study table. Reinhold explained he and his friends enjoyed the "energy" of the room and decided to come back. When Jeff and Annie insisted they leave, Reinhold asked Lukas to produce a copy of their sign in sheet. He then got a campus security guard to verify that they had the necessary papers to use the study room. Conceding defeat, the study group decided to get up early the following morning to reserve the study room. However, the Germans beat them to it and over the next week this became a regular occurrence. The study group would get up earlier each day only to find the Germans already having signed out the room. The Germans mocked their attempts which inspired Jeff to come up with an elaborate ruse to get their study room back.