Hello, Lenin? Berlin, 1997
<i>&quot;The Metropol club literally did not have a protocol for lost coat-check tickets, because literally nobody had ever done it before in the history of the Metropol club.&quot;</i><p>I ran into similar things living in Germany.  I went to the Allkauf store just to look around, only to discover there was no way to leave other than the checkout lines, which were very long.<p>So, I (discreetly, I thought) jumped the turnstyle that lets people in so I could exit.  There was immediate pandemonium, with security people coming my way, disapproving looks from shoppers, and so on.<p>I&#x27;m curious where the German propensity for strict organization, rule following, etc, comes from, and how far back it goes.  The posted story seems to suggest it comes directly from WWII, since the East Germans don&#x27;t seem to have the same attitude.