That's just a straight up lie, why would someone do that?

You'll get by ok. Just remember, the German word for hello is 'heil', and is typically accompanied by extending the right arm outwards at a slight upward angle.

I came to Japan not knowing any Japanese, and my host family did not speak any English either. I disagree that it's possible to go from zero to near-fluent in a summer just through immersion, but I must say that the language barrier did not prevent my host family and I from having the time of our lives together. So just load up a good auto-translator onto your phone, and have at it. And don't underestimate the importance of body language. PS: No part of this was meant to sound laced with innuendo. Really.

Hey, you can always point & grunt things.

Go to a travel store and get a translation book.

use google translator for what you want to say and let it read it out loud to them.

Well good luck. I hope you at least brought a German for dummies book

How did they tell you they were fluent in English if they don't speak English, and you don't speak German?

Sounds like a new sitcom.

Don't worry you'll pick it up