This is contrary to my personal experience.
English was absolutely the lingua franca.
At my last jobs (I'm a freelancer, so I get around), Germans were clearly the minority. The language environment tended to be very fluid; people joining or leaving a conversation would cause a switch in language, sometimes mid-sentence.
I currently work with 3 Russians, 1 Pakistani, 3 Germans.
> Without language skills you are likely to remain an outsider in non-work situations as well.
If you're thinking of outings with the team, if they are halfway decent they'll take you under their wing.
If you're thinking of day-to-day situations, it'll be harder of course, but absolutely feasible. Many people speak reasonable English.
To be fair a lot of my interaction has been in areas outside of large cities like Berlin, which are far more cosmopolitan than they used to be.
(This is not a hit on Germany, which is a wonderful place. It's just how things work in the German-speaking parts of Europe.)