Alone with our powers of observation, we cannot perceive social reality. We need to equip ourselves with tools that enhance our natural abilities, just as has long been done for observing nature. Surveys are such a tool, painstakingly developed methodically since the late 18th century, facing its own delays and persistent resistance. "The empirical tradition of researching opinions and attitudes began - rather modestly - in Germany," wrote the pioneer of modern social research, Paul Lazarsfeld. However, the tradition of German surveys from the 19th and early 20th centuries had completely faded and was almost forgotten by the time population surveys reemerged in Germany after 1945. They were considered an American invention. The new observational instrument was hardly welcomed with joy.