So only the government can record what's happening, and if private citizens or companies do so they are shamed and jailed?

The government can’t do that either, they’s the point (except for a handful of rare exceptions).

The police can’t even film protests to identify protestors.

You're saying the German government has no video cameras on any traffic intersections / public areas period?

Unless there is a specific situation that there is a threat there, and a warrant for that situation, no.

For traffic situations there are specialized systems that open a physical filter in front of a camera lens only if someone is detected to be speeding, and the camera is then limited to that lane, for that short moment.