As to xenophobia / racism in Germany, patterns are pretty weird and hardly comparable to the USA.
First, there have been periods of xenophobia that were triggered by political events - anti-French sentiments in the West (Napoleonic wars, 1870/71 German-French war, French occupation of the Rhineland in the 1920s, etc.); anti-Danish sentiments after the 1866 German-Danish war and the post-WW I cession of Northern Schleswig to Denmark, anti-Polish sentiments following the post-WW II displacement of ethnic Germans, etc. In a way, the more recent wave of xenophobia in parts of the former GDR may also fit this category - after unification, part of the former GDR's population felt alienated and socially disintegrated by the West, and projected their aggression on foreigners.
Secondly, there has undoubtedly been a lingering streak of resentment towards "others", which became apparent in the Nazi's prosecution of Jews and Roma. However, neither xenophobia nor racism are describing this resentment adequately, since the Jews (at least those living inside Germany) were, and identified themselves as, (white) Germans. In the case of the Jews, it was mostly religious intolerance (which also showed up in common conflicts between Protestants and Catholics), combined with social envy.
The Roma case is a bit more complicated. So-called "Landfahrer" (country travellers), which included Roma, but also "Germans", were traditionally associated with petty crimes (it is always easier to blame crimes on 'travellers' than acknowledging that something is wrong inside the village community). Initial legal discrimination, which started after WW I, was mostly geared against "Landfahrer" in general, but left resident Roma untouched. When the Nazis started to prosecute Romas, they primarily justified it as part of their "law & order" policies (note that convicted criminals were put into concentration camps alongside with political opponents and Jews). The Nuremberg racial laws initially only forbade marriage between Jews and non-Jews, and were only subsequently extended on Roma and Negros. This indicates that, while there may have been some latent racism and xenophobia in the German population, the Nazi leadership did not feel it to be sufficient to justify prosecution of Roma.
Thirdly, German attitude towards foreign cultures and ethnic groups has mostly been positive, regarding them as exotic, and projection screen for phantasies of a 'different life'. Such attitude was, among others, brought forward by
Alexander von Humboldt, 19th century best-selling authors like
Karl May and
Emily Ruete (the Princess from Zanzibar), and various early 20th century travel reports including those by Sven Hedin. The Turkish Empire being a major German ally before and during WW I helped to form a positive view on Islam. The pro-Islam attitude continued under the Nazis, which regarded Muslims as potential allies against the British (enforced by strong local support during the war in North Africa) as well as against Jews. It is also worth noting in this respect that
coloured Germans, while suffering discrimination, where not prosecuted by the Nazis.
Finally, strong immigration in the 1970s and 1980s has brought up a pattern of xenophobia and racism that may to some extent be comparable to the US. Foreign, especially Turkish, but more recently also Russian, 'ghettos' have evolved in several larger cities (e.g. Neukölln in Berlin, Wilhelmsburg in Hamburg, parts of Duisburg). These quarters tend to be characterised by high unemployment, in particular of youths, serious problems within public schools, and above-average criminality - much to the distaste of many of the Germans that are still living there (especially seniors and low-educated, which themselves are marginalised as well). Moreover, 1980s political wisdom led Germany to combine liberal asylum policies with highly restrictive employment policies for asylum seekers, forcing them into illegal occupations. This has formed the base for stereotypes such as the "Ghanaian dope dealer" or the "Albanian gambling mafia" . However, while I haven't followed polling in this respect, I feel such attitudes and stereotypes are gradually losing relevance, not at last due to football players like Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira, Jerome Boateng or Lukas Podolski proving the benefits of immigration and integration to the 'man on the street'.
Poll
