Why does Eliezer say "our first impressions of the Germans were rather reassuring"?

Initially, the Jewish community of Sighet is extremely anxious and terrified when German vehicles arrive in town. They had heard rumors of antisemitic acts of violence and received news of Fascist attacks against Jewish stores and synagogues from the Jewish citizens of Budapest. Despite the terrifying rumors, Elie mentions that their first impressions of the Germans were rather reassuring because the German officers seemed polite and docile. Shortly after arriving in Sighet, the German officers were billeted in the private homes of Jewish citizens. The German officers were distant but polite and never made any impossible demands. The German officer staying at the Kahns's house was a charming man who even gave Mrs. Khan a box of chocolates.
The Jews of Sighet were optimistic about the Germans living in their presence and felt like they had nothing to worry about because of their friendly, tolerant personalities. However, on the seventh day of Passover, the Germans arrested the Jewish leaders and began issuing edicts that restricted the rights of Jewish citizens. Eventually, the Jews were segregated from the rest of their community and forced to live in ghettos before being transported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where they endured unimaginable horrors.

The Germans have arrived in Sighet. Opinion seems to be divided among the local Jewish population as to what this will mean. Everyone knows just how much the Nazis hate the Jews, but many people, largely out of a sense of misplaced hope and optimism, believe that maybe things will not be so bad. Others, however, are under no illusions about the fate that now awaits the Jews of Sighet.
The initial impressions are encouraging. The Germans conduct themselves with exemplary courtesy and professionalism. A German officer lodging with the Kahns even brings the lady of the house a box of chocolates. The optimists among Sighet's Jews are briefly triumphant, although they are also more than a little relieved. As far as they are concerned, they have been proved right: things will not be so bad after all. Such facile, blinkered optimism still persists even after the Jews are herded into their own ghetto. Self-deception lives on in those who simply cannot or will not face up to the full horrors of Nazi occupation.