>Germans set about doing the same thing several years ago. Like you, I am amazed by the willingness of an entire population to go along with that kind of authority, or to establish such an authority to begin with. Not opposed to it, I guess, just surprised.


Ah, but isn't that the famed, stereotypical German mindset?
Some cousins of mine have grandparents who run a pub in Denmark, close to the German border. They(the grandparents) remarked that when it comes to closing time, the general rule was, ask the Germans to leave, they wouldn't. Tell them to leave, they would. The reverse applied to the Danish clientele.