Originally Posted by
petervik
The implication behind your post was that the Germans were wrong to expect to you conform to German rules, practices and social norms. We all need some sensitivity when travelling in different cultures. If you find nudity offensive, don't visit German saunas and swimming pools - or beaches and lakes.
+1. I don't think that there is any legitimacy for a visitor to redefine a rule that they are uncomfortable with and which would be very unusual "at home" but which is considered to make perfect sense and pretty much universally supported in the place where it is enforced.
If you feel like blending in, then just do exactly that and forget your prejudices; if you hate the idea, there is plenty that Germany has to offer outside of saunas.
As for the why, beyond hygiene, I think it can be far more uncomfortable for people who are undressed to have other people who are dressed around them and more generally, those things are best done with a sense of equality. People wouldn't like to see someone completely naked on a beach where the norm is to wear swimtrunks and bikinis, and conversely, they are entitled not to want to see a person wearing swimtrunks and bikinis in a place where the norm is to be naked.