{"id":11389,"date":"2021-08-26T14:00:37","date_gmt":"2021-08-26T14:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=11389"},"modified":"2021-09-02T12:10:40","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T12:10:40","slug":"how-did-germany-climb-out-of-poverty-in-no-time-miracle-on-the-rhine-wirtschaftswunder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/how-did-germany-climb-out-of-poverty-in-no-time-miracle-on-the-rhine-wirtschaftswunder\/","title":{"rendered":"How Did Germany Climb Out of Poverty In No Time?"},"content":{"rendered":"

People are hungry and lost everything. They are perspektivlos <\/em>(without prospects). But then, within 10 years, the GDP triples. There is Vollbesch\u00e4ftigung\u00a0<\/em>(f, full employment). In fact, there are so many jobs, that people from other countries are urged to come to fill all the vacancies, the so-called Gastarbeiter <\/em>(guest workers)<\/a>. Everybody can afford a car, quintupling(!) the car industry. Families can afford housing, and many have a proper bathroom for the first time in their lives. The hunger and poverty from those few years before almost seem like a bad dream. Sounds like science fiction, but it is exactly what happened in 1950s post-war Germany. Let’s talk about the\u00a0Wirtschaftswunder\u00a0<\/em>(“Economic Miracle”).<\/p>\n

How did the Miracle happen?<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The Second World War was a destructive time in Europe. And not only outside of Germany, but also within the country. When the fighting was done, many Germans lost their work, houses, belongings, hopes and dreams. But the founding of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland\u00a0<\/em>(Federal Republic of Germany) in 1949, which at the time only comprised West Germany, marked a turning point. Within a few short years, Germany transformed from poverty and destruction to a thriving economy. How was this pulled off?<\/p>\n

There are at least four main points that contributed to the\u00a0Wirtschaftswunder<\/em>: The\u00a0W\u00e4hrungsreform\u00a0<\/em>(f, currency reform), the\u00a0Marshallplan <\/em>(m, Marshall Plan), the soziale Marktwirtschaft\u00a0<\/em>(social market economy) and the tenacity and hard work of the people. Let’s go point by point.<\/p>\n

Die W\u00e4hrungsreform<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

The German currency under Nazi Germany, the\u00a0Reichsmark<\/em>, lost a lot of value for obvious reasons. After the war, it was basically worthless. A black market, where cigarettes were the store of value, flourished.<\/p>\n

A new currency was needed, not only economically, but also to separate the Bundesrepublik\u00a0<\/em>from the Nazi regime. This became the\u00a0Deutsche Mark\u00a0<\/em>(German Mark), which the Germans normally call D-Mark<\/em>. The currency would continue until the euro. However, a new currency wasn’t all that Germany needed to turn the country around.<\/p>\n

Der Marshallplan<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n