So were they unwilling to do so because of their history? The national myth is after all that the Weimar Republic's hyperinflation of 1923 brought the Nazis to power. However forcefully this has been suggested, by British commentators in particular, it couldn't be further from the reality as seen  from within Germany. 

Despite the risk of a break-up of the eurozone, German EU leaders have taken great pleasure over the past few months in rehearsing the idyllic notion of the EU speaking with one voice following the Lisbon Treaty. In similar fashion, some sections of the German intelligentsia (as much as it is common for their British counterparts to do the opposite) have been discussing Europe as if humming "Kumbaya". In other words, the divide through Europe doesn't just run between north and south or for and against keeping countries like Greece in the eurozone — it is an intellectual one as well. 

No matter how grim the outlook may be or how politicians squabble over what to do, Germans (at least those of the decision-making kind) stick to their idealistic concept of Europe, a concept which often borders on the utopian.

Oddly enough, this sentiment hasn't changed despite polls that suggest a small majority wants to scrap the euro and return to the deutschmark, or the criticism that the Chancellor received for failing to get Greece to shape up, or the fear of a new recession. It is as if nothing can shake the German belief in the union.