This has become something of a major topic in German news. Apparently many people stored cash of dubious origin there. Furthermore many people did not read the contract properly and didn’t realise that the insurance was capped around 10k Euros.

I’m absolutely with you on that point. The primary concern for the vast majority of people will always be for themselves and their loved ones. It’s the reason fatalistic compliance is so common in dictatorships. I’m convinced that in most countries, including modern day Germany and the modern day United States, people can be led into fatalistic compliance. In France on the other hand I wouldn’t be so certain. Imagine a scenario in which Marine or one of her stooges wins the presidential elections and tries to pull off the same march into fascism as we’re currently seeing from the party formerly known as the Republicans, there would be a general strike and major upheaval in no time.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the US for work about a decade ago, mostly in the midwest. I’m fully aware of the spread out nature of the country. Even “cities” often feel like a patchwork of suburbs outside of the urban core and population density is generally quite low. Nonetheless, things like strikes require people to actively not do anything, which should be possible. Even the yellow vest movement in France was most successful in the rural and suburban areas, more similar to the US in density. I believe it’s more about a culture of compliance, complacency and fatalism.

The French would have general striked and yellow vested the country to a grinding halt by now. Folks in the United States either lack the courage or confidence or interests or all of the above combined.

It’s hard to make that distinction. Even in Germany under the jackboot of National Socialism there were still good people, some even dared to take action while others dragged their feet as much as possible without endangering themselves and their loved ones. This is where the difference between guilt and responsibility arises. In my opinion not all US Americans are guilty, just like not all Germans were, yet all US Americans share a responsibility to rid themselves of their political polarisation and the hatred at its root, just like the good people of Germany managed to do in the decades after the war.

Since most European businesses already own a letterbox in Ireland or Luxembourg, I suppose they can use those for their exports in such a scenario.

That’s what I was thinking as well. If the Americans are as incompetent as they look we’ll see a surge of European exports from Poland or Spain rather than Germany or France. It may suffice to just drive the same goods to Gdansk and ship it from there…?