Impoverished discourse certainly resonates with me but I think a lot of my "American" reaction is also about bringing American ideas about nationality to Germany. It feels like a classic error of grading others on your cultural context.

This dichotomy is something I certainly struggled to understand while living there, the popular values towards things like legal aid often seemed to be in a better place in general but the attitude towards specific groups such as the Turkish Diaspora always felt in conflict with broader values.

As someone who lived in Southern Germany for a number of years, I felt that liberal Germans I knew had a much more race based understanding of "Germanness" than USA/CAN. This feeling was applied toward Roma, Turkish or other large minorities. I would love to hear more about your thoughts!!