West- and East Germans are quite different. Decades of Sovjet (and Western) socialisation left their traces.
And in the West, there was a massive infiltration of the pacifist and peace movement and the anti-atom-movement by the StaSi and the KGB, to use these to destabilise the social order. That effect is working uhtil today, both movements are EXTREMeLY biased, anti American and left-leaning. So is the media and the education sector since the student revolts of the lat 60s, where Eastenr intel also had its hands in. Its not different thna what then Russians do today in cyberspace,media, internet.
nothing of that is any new, they have always done these things!!
The SPD had her Willi Brand, which is their holy icon and messiah. They still do not will to let his "heritage" - their assessment, certainly not mine, i find him hopelessly overestimated - go. Not even now.
The forefathers of today'S germans were the perfect monsters, now the Germans want to show that they are again perfect: in confessing guilt, in setting a global example how to stand to that guilt, how to morally self-whip oneself due to that guilt. Its a sick complex, and has gone to such extreme deformaitons that as a human I am disgusted and as an ex-psychologist I am alarmed. I knew to Israeli, long rtime ago. They were neither the one nor the other: they simply were pissed by what over here is called the "cult of guilt". They were sick and tired of Germans telling them endlessly how terribly sorry they are for the past.
Finally, Germans are more anti-American than anything. They feel close with Russians, since always. More so in the East, but also in the West. Since many generations. A century. Longer, since always, it seems. Dont ask me why, I dont get it. Both people however share a certain nature of seeking servility. The anglosaxon tradition of libertarianism and understanding of democracy, moral and freedom is something that alienates many Germans, Gemans seek collectivism, and a state relieving them of their self-responsibility. Moral is vague for them, mostly left defined, and a value in itself, they expext that to save the world, the Ameeicna understanding of that it is immoral not to be strogn enough to influence your own fate and defend your freedom, is not easily understood over here. Strength a moral virtue? Not for Germans. Like all leftists, they call for the strong state, however. Mind you, the NSDAP was a socialist party and it never had to hide it to be successful.
A strong desire and craving amongst Eastgermans especially to get back their beloved GDR. Like Russians crave for the USSR and Stalin. The past times were better, you know. "Everything was better in the past".
Invoking the past was a cheap excuse to avoid - costly - military responsibility and to make excuses for not taking part in this and that. "Sorry, the sins of our fathers are on us, we can't go along with it. But we take the benefits, thanks for that!"
Finally: you made Germany small and kept it small for a long time after the war! The absaic structure of our constitution and the state order by which the state is organbsied, had to follow demands outloned and demanded by Washington, also Paris and London, but mostly Washington. Hence so many structures over here llok like small copies of the American political strucxture. The most obvious and deciisve difference: your president formally is powerful and unites representative and executive power, the chnbacellor is much more powerless, and must fight with a deeply decentralised state structure where the federal states have more powers than the American states have. That was a demand by the US after the war, to prevent a too strong central government that could march towards a third world war too easily. Beyond that, you will see many similiarities in state structure between Germany and the US. And considering who won the second world war, that is hardly surprising. History gets written by the victors. In case of Germany you plagiarized yourself.
LOL
You further have instilled a certain attitude, and exploited the guilt feelings of the Germans against them. This is also a part of the - complex - truth. For exmapekl the BND was not only not trusted and kept on a short line, one used the past also as an argument to not change that and keep it on a short line. That the BND has the reputation to be stuffy and blasé at the same time helped immensely, of course.
And now my refrain: "Never trust the Germans. NEVER."