That episode (The Germans) of Fawlty Towers was the only episode not sold to German TV
That's where german humour ends...
Think about "The Fifth Element" by Luc Besson. In the opening scene, the archaelogist is surprised by 6 feet high giant bugs, walking upright. In english, he asks: ARE YOU GERMAN?
In German, he says: "do you speak (!) german?"
I guess they feared for the movie's success...