Should air quotes (or finger quotes) in German –if they exist at all– reflect the difference „ “ vs " "?

Question

How are finger quotation marks made in German?

Air commas in English –when made with both hands– are usually done with hands at more or less equal height, I suppose.
So I did while speaking German before, since paying attention to the fact that quotation marks are different (Gänsefüßchen unten Text Gänsefüßchen oben) didn't seem to matter, in my eyes:

Nevertheless, I saw yesterday on ZDF Olaf Schubert making this quotes in other manner: If you see the video, left hand was (slightly) below his right hand when he made the air quotations, and clearly rotated.

Therefore I'd like to ask if that's usual or he was just kidding.

Answer 1

Air quotes are in fact used in body language, but its usage seems to be mainly concentrated in the German academic circle.

Its usage is

1. to indicate a citation (more frequent).
2. to distance themselves from a certain phrase/word which you want to ridicule or despise (also known, but infrequent)

This article of the taz seems to corrobate its usage. Another article where it is called indecorous, under "Unarten".

In both cases hands are lifted to shoulder height and both forefinger and middle finger are bent shortly while the word is strongly stressed. So both the first image and Dr Evil's use are quite accurate, but the German usage is quite fast, you only do it for less than a second to underscore the message even if the word/phrase is longer. No, Germans don't use different heights, the German quotation marks different position does not translate into body language.

I use it myself since the 1980/1990s in Nordrhine-Westphalia and I have also seen it many times in academic circles, so it is nothing new and its meaning is easily understood because the words are stressed.

Answer 2

"Air Quotes" are all uncommon among German speakers. Instead, people prefix the questionable part with the phrase eine Art or eher ein/eine.

Michael Haubold use these air quotes ironically, as his character Olaf Schubert is an East-German wannabe-cosmopolitan grewn old, who still absorbs anything new and non-German while being totally German in all his everyday manners. (Olaf is a caricature of the young Udo Lindenberg.)

Answer 3

Without having been watching that TV show, I don't believe there's a deeper meaning in that variation of the gesture.

Therefore I'd like to ask if that's usual or he was just kidding¹.

It's not really usual, but doing that with hands at same height is the more common use².
As mentioned showing that gesture in a slightly varied manner, doesn't add any additional meaning (at least not one I am aware of).

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since paying attention to the fact that quotation marks are different (Gänsefüßchen unten Text Gänsefüßchen oben)

You seem to be right, that in german quotation marks are rendered differently though. Here's what my Libre Office Writer does for

Document language setting is English

Document language setting is German

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¹⁾_{Though, I'd suspect that Olaf Schubert is kidding all the time anyways ;-)}
²⁾_{I am not even sure, if that gesture was adopted from the anglo american language area through TV and movies.}