one way car rental fees in Europe

There are always going to be hefty fees associated with picking up a rental car in one country and returning it in another. I am unaware of any way to get around these fees.
The only thing I could suggest is to pick up the car and then drop it in the same country as close as you can to your next destination, take public transport to the next country and do the same. I realize that kind of defeats the whole purpose of renting a car but it's really the only way to avoid the fees.

As far as I know, there isn't an easy way to avoid one-way fees. However, your destinations are close to each other. Could you rearrange your itinerary so as to use trains at the beginning and/or end? For example, get the car near Amsterdam. Before going to Paris drop it back there and take a train to Paris. You don't want a car there, anyway, do you? You might also check with Gemut or AutoEurope and talk to one of their agents for some expert advice.

This problem has been addressed many times.
One way car hire within a country - no problem.
One way car hire between countries - huge charges.

The reason is that most countries only allow cars to be hired out which are registered in that country. If someone drops off a foreign-registered car, it has to be driven back to its home country by a paid employee. That costs, hence the surcharges.

The only real alternatives are:
1) Re-arrange your trip as a circular route and drop off the car back to Germany. There is no problem driving a German car in Netherlands and France, so long as it goes home at the end.
2) Drop off the car at your last stop in Germany, get a train to your first stop in France, and pick up a French hire car for the second part of the trip.

P.S. There is a search option, at the top.

International drop off fees are probably unavoidable.
However do you really need a car for all your trip, or even part of your trip?
Many Americans make that assumption based on their experience at home since a car is often a must in America. However in Europe there are great public transportation options and a car is often a hassle, especially if your intended destinations are mainly cities. If you post your intended itinerary with the places you intend to visit, we might better advise you.

I now understand that international drop off fees are unavoidable.
Yes, I think we need a car for portions of the trip. Our general itinerary is like this: start out with a few days in Amsterdam (no car needed), end up with a few days in Paris (no car needed). Its the in-between times where I was thinking we needed the car. This includes trips in Holland area to see flower bulb fields and windmill areas. We also wanted to go to the Hunawihr area of Alsace near Colmar and areas between there and Paris.

We're also looking into the France 'Rail and Drive' possibilities.

Not knowing more specifics you could rent in Amsterdam, roam around Holland, then return in any Dutch location (Maastricht? back in Amsterdam?)
From there take train to French location (Lille? Metz? Dijon? Strasbourg? Mulhouse?). Rent a car there, roam France countryside at your leisure then return it at any French location of your choice, including Paris or any location with train connection to Paris.

Yes, good idea (train to Metz and then pickup and return car there), thanks