I do think there's an extent to which the anti-nationalism is just a superficial cover for a strong, genuine nationalism lurking just beneath the surface. It's an easy way for Germans to disavow nationalism, then explode in Schwarz-Rot-Gold every time there's a Weltmeistershaft on - not to mention out-and-out racism and superiority complexes. As an outsider I really get the feeling that it's a society just waiting to explode the second its liberal-moralistic leash is removed. It's like the contradictions of the 30's were never properly resolved and instead the Germans were just lulled to sleep by western liberalism. You see it on the left too. There really is a strong left-wing undercurrent in German society, but it's completely warped by an egotistical liberal moralism and gets brutally undermined by the resulting contradictions.

The DDR had an incredible historical narrative and real legitimacy most other Eastern socialists states lacked. It was critically undermined by the fact that it was imposed by a foreign occupation (the West was able to Co-opt Nazism and the East had to suppress it), but most of all East Germany was devastated after the war and made to pay serious reparations and then was shackled to the less developed and extensive global trading block while West Germany was given a massive advantage in international trade through the Bretton Woods system and allowed to retain much of the industrial development that had occurred during the war through the plunder of Europe (ca. 90% of capital goods were not destroyed by bombing and industrial growth during the war was massive, the buildings were knocked down, but the machinery was salvageable and what needed to be replaced was easily financed with American help). The combination of suppressed nationalism and higher standards of living across the inner-German border left them critically vulnerable when the Soviet government decided to create a criminal pseudo-bourgeoisie and reform themselves into oblivion. It didn't help that they were attempting (and in large part succeeding) to create a high-tech economy in a tiny country while desperately directing everything else at acquiring the foreign exchange necessary to finance those endeavors. If the Eastern Block had coordinated in the late 80's they could have mostly caught up to Japanese and American tech, but the Soviet Union was too busy collapsing to play the key role required by the bloc's largest economy. As it was the East German tech industry was strip-mined by western firms, who were able to exploit the skilled work force and considerable capital investment with no regard for the sustainability of these operations. In certain areas all of Germany's tech sector has less market share today than the East German tech sector of the late 80's despite their struggles.

Now the US is going to force them to ruin trade relations with their best trading partner for US strategic reasons, right after critically undermining the competitiveness of German heavy industry by destroying relations with their biggest energy supplier. German politicians across the spectrum are applauding this suicidal boot-licking for honorable moralistic reasons that, to bring it all home, have very much to do with their superficial anti-nationalist ideology. You see, if Germany stands up against fascist Russian aggression in Ukraine by supporting literal neo-Nazis with German Wunderwaffen, that will prove that Germany has been morally absolved of their Nazi crimes and Germans can be proud of their country again.