I know a bit about WW2 from my own reading, which is biased in many respects but factual in others. That's how I learned about my favorite chocolate in the world:

In general, I would think that the peoples of Europe, especially the more northerly they are, have a certain seriousness in common and some have to go down to the cellar to laugh. My country, historically speaking, has a string of never-ending conflicts.

It is fascinating to me how cultures in Northern Europe are more serious in character than the southern Countries. Countries in mid-Northern latitudes seems to be a balance between the two. What are the odds? A more serious approach to life has led to highly developed and wealthy societies in the north, but one has to wonder at what cost?

I was a little enamoured of a Tommie myself, and the way these young men moved around the dance floors was also interesting.

There must be some differences in courtship between the two cultures. Fascinating!

From easy cheerfulness the quick change to obedient citizens.

Some places are uptight in the USA and Canada, but others are more easy going. We have a lot of cultures and counter-cultures with different ideas on how to live. We have reached a happy medium that requires following a few rules so we don't have to resort to guns to settle our differences, but sometimes we do just that because there's no other way to persuade somebody to mind their "gawdamn" business. 🤠

As young people, we were never so afraid of the police and there were no security guards anywhere for a very, very long time.

I wonder the extent to which post-War Germany has been careful not to appear too 'militaristic' or like a police state. Perhaps the freedom that you experienced as a young girl was a consequence of this effort by German culture to distance itself from that tumultuous past. In Nazi Germany, the police state controlled society to a T, very efficiently, and very ruthlessly. They even appointed block wardens to ensure everyone was following the rules such as flying the flag. Many aspects of life were controlled, even leisure time, art, and entertainment. Everyone had to play along or else. So, after the war, it seems that Germany tried to distance itself from that past by banning certain symbols and 'right-wing' attitudes such as overt expressions of nationalism. You adopted a more 'liberal' world-view. Even military style board games were banned, especially those involving conquest of territory. Now that Germany is increasing its military budget in response to a perceived Russian threat, it looks like the pendulum is about to swing the other way. German society may be about to ask itself some hard questions about freedom vs security.

Is there a particular country for you that you have personal ties to outside of Canada?

I was raised in the woods. By wolves. 😉