I would have thought the Maltese held a grudge against the Germans for the destruction wrought on the island in WW2, but that is not the case at all. They pride themselves as a very forward looking people, anything is possible, sky’s the limit.
The Republic of Malta, GC and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta are two different entities. The former is nation state consisting of the island of Malta and several smaller islands. The latter is a landless Sovereign order that is independent of any national government. It is the last of it’s kind.