We have the same thing in Holland. It's also a thing where we consider responsible finance to be that one doesn't need loans, with the some exception of a mortgage.

Having tons of credit cards and 'shuffling' them like in the US is unthinkable here. Banks also don't require that you take out loans to get a good credit rating. Having none is even better.

> My impression is that the Germans have been anti-debt ever since [1] led to some pretty catastrophic repercussions (culminating in WWII)

Hyper-inflation occurred in the 1920s in Germany (and other countries in the same region, at the same time). In the 1930s, when Hitler managed to grab power after being appointed Chancellor, it was austerity that was in fashion:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austerity:_The_History_of_a_Da...

* https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13484866-austerity

See also Imperial Japan.

Debt had nothing to do with WW2. In fact, deficit spending in (e.g.) the US helped to reduce unemployment and get the economy going again: it was premature monetary and fiscal tightening in 1936-37 that caused another economic dip.

(So-called "sound money", i.e., the Gold Standard, also helped drive things from a stock market crash and economic slowdown into the Great Depression.)