They know about as much about the US as the average American does about Germany or how to speak German, which is basically nothing.

One has to remember, English is a business tool here, the majority cannot speak English fluently, and they do not use it in their free time, or if they do it is to watch US TV shows or movies, not read American literature. Add to that, that more recently, a lot of the people I meet openly hate the US.

Most Americans who visit only interact with the segment of population which can speak English, not with the majority of locals who can't.

If you listen to a conversation any thirty- and probably twenty-something (and possibly teen?) has, it's steeped in references to US media. Friends, Arrested Development, Breaking Bad, etc.

We had Obama election parties back when we thought he was an actual change candidate. Among the more reading- or academically-inclined, we reference Twain, Poe, Wallace (D.F.), and so on.

Personally I'm not very Dutch, and so my alignment with US culture in the broadest sense is greater than most, but I'm constantly surprised by how much of my culture here is defined by the US. It properly eclipses anything home-made, anyways, at least when it comes to entertainment, which is what we spend most idle time on anyways.

I'm a European who lives in the US so I somewhat doubt that but it's possible. Mark Twain is a world-famous author and I'd go as far as to say that in many places in Europe he's a more canonical part of children's literature than he is in the US.

Here's an article that touches on some of that specifically for Germany:

https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-01-10/germans-love-mark-twa...