As a German: Because we have a lot of Holocaust memorials and are taught a lot about it in school, we love jerking each other off about how much we’ve learned from our past as opposed to say, Japan, who deny the atrocities they’ve committed to this day.

Being part Armenian, part Jewish, I'll say mentioning unapologetic, but peaceful and harmless Japan in this sentence is the easy way, chosen instead of mentioning Turkey which is closer and which is still butt friends with the EU in general and Germany in particular in everything but words (because actions, like numbers for trade and military cooperation, matter, and words don't).

I mean, it can be read as just a detail deepening your point, so whatever.

I hate its self-aggrandizing, pseudo-repentant, pathetic ass-kissing of Israel.

Yes, that thing seemed OK 10-15 years ago, but now is kinda starting to stink.

That last paragraph is unfair to Germans, seems to me that it's true for most of the humanity.