More than any other nation in the eurozone, Germany has the economic heft to be able to influence the course of the current crisis. But will it choose to do so? And what are its principal motives? Who are the decision makers and how can they balance the competing fears of financial contagion hitting Germany on the one hand and euro meltdown on the other? Through a series of interviews, reportage, films and open conversations with Germans, the Guardian investigates whether this nation of savers is now prepared to save Europe