I lived there for 2 years, Mary Anne
How much time have you spent in Europe? Living in a place for an extended period of time lets you see and hear a lot more than what most tourists ever see. There was (and likely still is) a lot of racism there. You may not have seen it, but a lot of us did.
As for their diplomats and politicians being morons, the fact that the assassination of an obscure member of royalty was the trigger for a war that killed millions of people speaks for itself. The fact that punitive act like the Treaty of Versailles directly led to WWII and the deaths of an estimated 100 million people proves the point.
Notice I single out their diplomats and politicians as morons. By and large, the ordinary people are little different than anyone else.