As someone in a similar position in Germany, I can understand on some level - English is spoken throughout Berlin and in many of the larger cities but not as commonly in the smaller ones. Most young people are very happy to speak English and their English is generally very good, which is not true of many of the government bureaucrats.

That said, Germany has let in a huge number of immigrants and asylum speakers over the past few years and some groups have integrated, others haven't. I think it stands to reason that there is a cultural attitude of "speak German and learn the system if you want to integrate here" among many natives.