I always find Germans as a collective weirdly naive about the top-level corruption that goes on in their country. Don't get me wrong, I don't claim that it exceeds the US in anyway but Americans don't have any illusions about the possible corruption the top brass can be engaging at any point in time. Germans seem to be way too ocd about following the rules at the individual level themselves and policing those around them at an individual level that they don't seem to have much energy left for contemplating top-level or systematic corruption. German pride seems to also discourage them from engaging in devil's advocating when it comes to auditing German darling companies. I'm guessing the VW, Deutsche bank, and Wirecard scandals have at least made a healthy little dent in that collective psyche.