First I thought of the German flag, then pretty, Bavarian countryside, then sausages 
Reunification.
When I was in the third grade, we had to write about the country our ancestors were from. Since mine were from Germany (about 150 years ago), I got West Germany, while another kid got East Germany. That was when I learned about how recent the East/West split had been. When I realized that it was within my parents’ lifetime, I started wondering whether the country would be reunified in my lifetime, and picturing myself as an adult, when there would be only one Germany. So Germany makes me think, “Hey, it’s just one country now!”
I think of shiny black leather. Zooming out the leather turns into the foot of a black leather riding boot. Out further it is a long, slender, mid thigh-length boot attached to what I’m almost certain is a woman in a matching black-leather teddy with a 10’ whip hanging limply at her(?) side. She’s got a very pale face and crimson lipstick highlighting a derisive sneer. She is wearing a matching service cap. She says, “Bad American!” There is a sharp report from the whip and I cry furiously into a ball gag, my hands cuffed securely behind me. I pay her in Trident Layers gum.
I think of the Wicked Queen of Germany beating up the Very Beautiful Queen of France.
…never mind…
I think we understand one another.
Beer, babes, brats.
In that order.
BMW and Oktoberfest.
I was stationed there and lived there for over 2 years. I was there when the Wall came down. I have a flood of memories when I hear Germany.
Beer.
Granted, my thoughts are probably colored by the fact that I am A) currently living in Germany and B) currently drinking a lovely weissbier from a brewery that’s been doing the beer thing since, I don’t know, the late paleolithic or something.
Anyway, there are things that have way more relevance to my day-to-day life in Germany than Hitler - such as how absolutely loathsome I find most German cuisine (exceptions: beer, pretzels, chocolate).
1920s and '30s UFA movies.
A sort of brownish color. But I’m a synesthete.
I love German food. I am on an unending quest to find good jaeger schnitzel in America.
Odd. My very first thought was of the German flag, which I would not have expected. I’ve visited Germany and read a lot of books and studied German in college.
I’m currently reading a thriller novel involving Nazis, but it still wasn’t my first or even tenth thought.
I’ve never been to Germany, so the very first mental image I get is the Atlas style “map” of central Europe.
If you say Japan, however, and I get my personal memories of my visits providing different images. (Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, the rail transit system. Driving on the wrong side of the street, with the different traffic signs.)
Also beer!
I did check the “Hitler” box above, but a more precise answer would be that the word “Germany” conjures images of a highly regimented, driven society. The Elephant Joke makes sense for a reason.
Uwe Boll? I know he is pure evil and all, but he is just one man
My first thought was ‘home,’ since I’ve lived here for going on 16 years, and my second was ‘dark,’ since I’m fairly sure we’re never ever going to see the sun again ever, and my third was a jumble of daily events and friends and places around and about. Hitler didn’t make the cut.
Where my family is from, certain foods, where my favorite massage therapist moved to, a place I want to visit, (I need a good massage!) and some pretty fine engineering.
I’ve got a tool that’s pre-war - it just says “Germany” and it’s definitely older than 1989.
“Whatever you do, don’t mention the war”
The Germans - Fawlty Towers