The United States gave Germany democracy and a constitution. It supported German unification when France and Britain were skeptical. It has about 35.000 troops in Germany, dedicated to the defense of Europe.
But President Donald Trump and his administration now see Europe as an adversary, NATO as a burden, and Russia as a friend. Vice President J.D. Vance and Elon Musk have expressed support for a far-right party with neo-Nazi members that seeks to undermine the German government and supports Russian goals in Ukraine.
Germany, perhaps more than any other country in Europe, feels lost, abandoned and even betrayed by its closest ally. But if Germans have been thrown out of the nest, they are also beginning to react, amidst deep questioning and questioning about the future - their own and Europe's.
The biggest sign that shock is giving way to action came this week, when the German parliament voted to ease long-standing opposition to borrowing, so the country can start rebuilding its military and domestic infrastructure that has been neglected.
It was a revolutionary step, given the taboo surrounding German militarism. Yet it is a step that both Germans and other Europeans know they must take to adapt to the new hostility coming from both Russia and the United States.
Joschka Fischer, a former foreign minister, a radical leftist in his youth, and now a prominent member of the Green Party, said: “I have always had a complicated relationship with the United States, which was far from perfect, but was always a shining city on a hill.”
"But now," he said, "we have lost not only the force that protected us, but also the guiding star in the sky."
In response, Europe must rearm, he said. German leadership is key to that effort, although many on the continent continue to insist that Europeans must, as Fischer put it, “continue to work closely with the United States while we become as strong as possible to deter Russia.”
He, like many others, sees a period of vulnerability before Europe is able to better defend itself.
For Norbert Röttgen, a member of parliament from the center-right Christian Democratic Union, the break with Washington is already profound, with consequences that are immediate and far-reaching. “This is the end of the European peace order,” he observed.
“We have come to the conclusion that we must take care of European security ourselves,” said Rotgen, “and this is urgent, because we have a war in Europe.”
Europeans are in various stages of adjusting to what they perceive as the loss of their American ally. “The initial shock has given way to a sense of mobilization,” said Thomas Bagger, a senior official at the German Foreign Ministry.
"It was a sudden feeling of being left to our own devices, a bit like orphans," he said. "But now there is a bit more confidence. There is an understanding that Europe is now what is left of the West, and that is particularly important for Germany."
The sense of betrayal by Washington is perhaps strongest among Germans who grew up in the first decades after World War II. “There is no other country in Europe that is as much a product of enlightened American postwar policy as Germany,” said Bager, who was born in 1965. “That’s why the shock here is deeper.”
After the war, Germany rooted itself in the European Union for domestic prosperity and in NATO for security, and Germans developed an almost religious belief in the importance of an international community of shared values - and worked to strengthen it.
It was a sudden feeling that we were left to our own devices, a bit like orphans. But now there is a bit more self-confidence. There is an understanding that Europe is now what is left of the West, and that is especially important for Germany, said Thomas Bager
Confronting a US administration that says there is no international community but only nation-states competing for prosperity and power “is an existential challenge for Germany,” Bager said.
At the same time, he agreed with Fischer that Germany should not cut ties with Washington or do anything that would accelerate the rift. “It will take time to replace the United States in the areas of defense and development aid,” Bager said. “We will continue to work for the best, but we will no longer base our future on the assumption that things will continue as they have been.”
The shock caused by Trump can also be considered beneficial, as it shook Germany out of its long-standing complacency, said Wolfgang Ischinger, a former German ambassador to the United States and Great Britain.
If NATO has become bigger and stronger in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine, then Trump, Vance and Musk's hostility towards the European Union will only strengthen the continent's cohesion, he said.
"If there was ever a chance for Europe to finally sort out its security issue, it's now," Ischinger said.
As for Germany, there is a sense that the reliable and generous Uncle Sam “is now suffering from dementia and does not recognize us or our enormous common interest,” Ischinger said. “I have always thought that we have enough domestic anti-Americanism in this country without additional encouragement.”
The antagonism towards Trump "serves the interests of those who would like to see more anti-Americanism here, including our Russian friends," he said.
The new German government's willingness to spend huge sums on modernizing the German military is a direct and appropriate response to Washington, Ischinger believes. "For the first time in many months, people can say that we have taken action."
The shock caused by Trump can also be considered useful, because it shook Germany out of its long-standing complacency, said Wolfgang Ischinger.
There are also quieter concerns about the balance of power in Europe. The United States' engagement in Europe was an important balm for fears about the power of a reunified Germany, and those fears could return, said Jan Tehau, a former German military official and analyst at the Eurasia Group.
“When asked who the main player in Europe is, the answer has been the United States,” he said. “But what happens when America withdraws and the question of European hegemony resurfaces? European politics then becomes far more complex.”
"There is no real way to replace the US, despite all the European talk," he pointed out.
Tehau is also concerned about the “open window of vulnerability” in any possible transition period in which there would be a move away from the key US role in European security.
"If we get a dirty deal on Ukraine, with an escalation of the trade war and Putin's probing of the terrain or an increase in hybrid warfare in Germany, and Trump decides to withdraw some of the American troops," said Tehau, "then people will increasingly see that we are on our own - and as a non-nuclear power in Europe."
Of course, for some Germans, breaking with Washington would also be a sense of liberation. There have always been conservatives who, like Vance, considered America too disruptive a symbol of modernity; while on the left there was a desire to get out from under the umbrella of the capitalist giant.
In last month's federal election, more than 34 percent of Germans voted for parties with strong anti-American views. And in a poll this month, just 16 percent of Germans said they trust the United States as an ally, compared with 85 percent for France and 78 percent for Britain. About 10 percent said they trust Russia.
Germans like to debate and delay making decisions, but once they decide, they act thoroughly, said James Bindenagel, a former US ambassador to Germany who teaches at the University of Bonn.
"The Germans feel abandoned and betrayed, and they know they are weak when it comes to defense and cannot immediately withdraw," he said. "But once trust is broken, it is difficult to restore it. They do not come back."
Translation: A. Š.
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