Yes, I agree, it is surely petty-minded low-ranking bureaucrats who can't get it through their heads that the dictatorship is over and gone. I know that some former East Germans fully embrace democracy and others feel they were robbed of their heritage. While there might be some truth to the latter, I would argue that most of that heritage was not worth holding onto. It is amazing to me how many former East Germans have hopped onto the AfD bandwagon - and many in former West Germany, too, of course. We'll see where that all winds up.