If you don't buy anything, just go past the queue at the checkout line.
> There was immediate pandemonium,
Try to sit in the front seat of a cab in the US, which would be typical in Germany - in the US the cab driver will yell at you, or show his weapon.
Traffic control by the police. Try to reach into your pocket. Immediate pandemonium. In the US, not Germany.
Each country/region has its rules. You have learned yours. In a different country there are other rules.
Surprise: Germany has other rules than the US.
Drinking alcohol in public places? In the US? Not really. In Bavaria you would drink beer at work.
Driving speed limits? Strict in the US. Welcome to the German autobahn. To make it possible that you can drive without speed limit in parts of the autobahn, you have to follow other rules - like using a car that actually is safe at higher speeds.
> I'm curious where the German propensity for strict organization,
That this is specially German is a myth. It's also a widespread myth that this is everywhere in German society. Take for example childhood: much less strict organized than in many other countries. Children walk alone to school, take the bus, the train. They are much less drilled than in some other countries.
> rule following, etc, comes from, and how far back it goes. The posted story seems to suggest it comes directly from WWII,
Order comes from the Kaiserreich. Local order came before the Reich.
Every country has its order system, you have to detect it. In the UK you see the people neatly line up at the bus stop. There is a lot of order in public transport. Even more so in Japan. In the US the access to public underground transport is through gates. Something you would not find in Germany - access is open. As a German I find it very depressing to go through steel gates into the public transport system in the US.
>since the East Germans don't seem to have the same attitude.
They have. But it shows in slightly different things.