Under Angela Merkel, Germany has faced the raw reality of its past like never before, winning admiration and praise for what has come to be known as Erinnerungskultur, or the “culture of remembrance.” But as Merkel’s era draws to a close (she will visit the White House one last time as chancellor on Thursday), it’s clear that Germany’s no-holds-barred reckoning has had another profound, if unexpected, consequence: a near-crippling loss of purpose and direction in its dealings with the rest of the world.