Sure there are Germans who were brought up in East Germany under control of the Soviet scum and were brainwashed in communism. But many Germans remember the ravages of the Soviet troops and the murders, rapes and thievery.
Everybody is hypothesizing on and article that has as its main premise, an incorrect premise.
The Germans do NOT think these illegal Russian annexations and actions are justified.
Angela Merkel, stated clearly at a US Chamber of Commerce talk and Q n A, that there will be harsh sanctions on the Russians and the German business community is behind the sanctions for the actions in Ukraine.
The article is way off the mark. Probably written by a person who went into deep depression when the Soviet Union fell.