A 2-0 loss to South Korea in Kazan after goals in injury time by Kim Young-gwon and Son Heung-min condemned the four-time champions to an ignominious final in Group F.
It is the first time since 1938 that Germany does not advance beyond the first stage of the tournament and the national newspaper Bild led the fierce criticism, spearheading its report on the whistle: "This is the biggest mishap in the history of the World Cup in Germany. .! "
The cover of Thursday morning was simply "Oh, Worte!" Or "without words", a nod to the same front page in very different circumstances four years ago after the 7-1 triumph over Brazil.
It is not only the German press that has led in Die Mannschaft, but other European newspapers have done the same with L'Equipe describing their defeat in Kazan as a "thunder blow" for the tournament.
Former captain Lothar Matthaus, who lifted the World Cup with West Germany in 1990, wrote on Twitter: "This is a very sad evening."
The job of coach Joachim Low is therefore under considerable scrutiny and, despite signing a four-year contract last month, he admitted that he would take time to reflect on his future.
Asked if he will continue in the position he held for the past 12 years, Low, 58, told a news conference: "That's hard to say, of course, it takes a couple of hours to analyze it." I'm shocked, I'm shocked because we can not carry it out.
"Where we go from here, we will have to talk about it calmly, it will take me a few hours to come to an agreement with this, I am incredibly disappointed by this elimination.
Germany recovered from their opening defeat to Mexico by snatching a dramatic victory from Sweden thanks to a goal in injury time by Toni Kroos.
And the victory over South Korea would have been enough to progress after Sweden got a 3-0 victory against Mexico in Nizhny Novgorod.
However, Die Mannschaft was once again far from being at its best, with defender Mats Hummels particularly wasteful in front of the goal.
Kim was not so wasteful when he fired from his house at close range, although initially he was declared out of the game before a VAR review unleashed renewed celebrations, and Son completed the job.
When asked about Kim's blow, which was allowed after Toni Kroos was ejected, Low said: "The player was in an offside position, that's what I saw, but if the video referees have taken a different decision, then they're probably right. "
Low and his players will return to Germany on Thursday, but with the coach discarding suggestions that dark times could be coming.
He said: "Until very recently, we have probably been the most consistent team, in terms of performance, in the last 10, 12 years.
"But now we're out and, of course, it's a case of absolute sadness and disappointment, but I think we have young players who are very talented and have the opportunity to move forward."
The result sent shockwaves through the tournament, with England manager Gareth Southgate saying, "Of course I'm surprised, it's been unusual to see them fight as much as they have."
BBC One presenter Gary Lineker described it as an "extraordinary afternoon." He said: "Germany is out of the World Cup, words that have never been uttered before at the end of a group match."
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