Interesting thread. Lots of cool stories and insight.
I might as well add some anecdotes from another time in German history.
I was a DDS student in the early 80s, lived in Mannheim, Frankfurt (Rhein Main) and Munich (McGraw Kaserne). It was a very volatile period, as Reagan's election triggered the German far left and ramped up anti American sentiment. We had bomb threats at our school all the time, and they'd usher us all in to the gym to wait it out until the bomb dogs could sniff around. I think alot of Germans were frustrated/angry being smack dab in the middle of two superpowers threatening each with nukes. And since they were, at least in the West, effectively occupied by Americans, we took the heat, since they couldn't exactly take it out on Russia.
Things ramped up to 11 when the Pershing nukes were announced to be placed in the country. Protesters stationed themselves in front of the base gate quite often, and throw rocks and eggs at our bus (and I assume other cars). The remnants of the Red Brigades got active again also, and kidnappings and various threats to military personnel and German politicians increased. Everyone was told repeatedly to be cautious off base.
One poor Airmen didn't listen. He was kidnapped from a bar and killed. The RB took his uniform, ID and loaded his car with explosives. They drove it on base and parked it at Rhein Main HQ. My mom worked for the SJA and parked in the same lot. Bomb went off at 7:30 am, exactly when everyone was arriving for work. Killed a handful of people, injured a bunch more. Mom was early that day and in the bathroom, so very lucky. Later, when she was able to return to her office, there were pieces of metal from the blown up cars (including hers) that had ripped through the window and stuck in the drywall like buckshot. She would have been killed.
I played football in HS and we had a game against Fulda, near the E German border. On the way there our coach said, "Let's beat these fuckers and get the hell out of there. When World War 3 starts, it's going to be there." We had some time to kill before the game and I wandered up a hill to look around. In the valley below were nothing but American tanks, line, after line, after line, as far as I could see. Had to be a thousand or more.
We did as coach said, beat those fuckers and hauled ass out of there.