Germany, as the source and initiator of the two world wars, was subject to sanctions from all sides of the victorious countries as a defeated country. The country's territory was divided into two parts, and East Germany and West Germany were formed; military demands were required

Germany, as the source of the two world wars and the initiator of , was subject to sanctions from all sides of the victorious country as a defeated country. The country's territory was divided into two parts, and East Germany and West Germany were formed; military demands were required to reduce its military strength, and restricted its development.

However, what cannot be stopped is the rapid rise of the economy. In just over a decade, Germany jumped back to and exceeded the pre-war level, and was called the "German economic miracle."

Now, Germany is already a highly developed industrial country , with its total economic output ranked first in Europe and fourth in the world, second only to the United States, China and Japan, and plays an important role in the development of the world economy. What is the reason behind ?

. Germany attaches importance to the development of science and education and talent training

After World War II, Germany wanted to develop the economy . The biggest problem faced was the lack of labor. A large number of young and middle-aged men died in the war. According to statistics, about 15 million male population died. The birth rate of the German population after the war has been at a low level of . At the same time, due to Germany's defeat, foreigners and prisoners of war who were forced to work, who accounted for 29% of the German population during the war, basically disappeared, further excluding the supply of German labor.

In the case of shortage of men's labor, the Allied Command Center responsible for maintaining public order even issued a semi-mandatory labor order. stipulates that women under 15 years old and under 50 years old will be . As long as it is impossible to prove that there are elderly people, children or other non-laborers in need of care at home, they must report to the local labor bureau and carry out the heavy work of originally undertaken by men. It can be said that a large part of Germany after World War II was built by women. However, this situation did not last long. In the 1950s and 1960s, a large number of foreign workers flocked to Germany, and a baby boom appeared, providing a large amount of labor for Germany to develop its economy, and created a prerequisite.

German itself does not have a large land area, only , more than 300,000 square kilometers, resources are not rich, and the coastline is not narrow and long. It seems inevitable to embark on the road to prospering the country through science and technology. Therefore, Germany pays great attention to science education . The Germans have always been famous for their rigorous and meticulous rational spirit. After the war, the German government paid more attention to the development of science and technology, invested a lot of money in scientific and technological research and development, and reduced taxes and encouraged scientific and technological innovation.

Germany also pays great attention to the cultivation of talents. People generally have high education, and even for on-the-job employees, the government attaches importance to their vocational education. The vocational training system of " dual system " is that workers also systematically learn relevant theoretical knowledge while working. cultivates a large number of high-quality talents. Coupled with the Germans' craftsman spirit of striving for excellence, German industry has developed rapidly, and the German brand is also world-renowned, all of which have promoted the development of the German economy.

2. US economic support - Marshall Plan

Marshall Plan , The United States calls European Revival Plan , refers to the plan of the United States to invest a lot of financial assistance to European countries in order to compete with the Soviet Union for the force on the European continent after World War II and rebuild the post-war pattern. Although has an ideological color , in terms of its economic aspects, the Marshall Plan has had a deep impact on Europe. In just a few years of its implementation, the European economy has reached its fastest development speed ever and social development is booming. Among them, industrial development exceeded the pre-war level, and industry grew by 35%.

Germany also benefited greatly from the Marshall Plan. As the initiator of World War II, the scene after Germany's defeat was also devastated. The infrastructure was severely damaged, and war compensation urgently needed a large amount of funds. The development of the industry is in destruction. At this time, the Marshall Plan sent Germany a total of more than one billion US dollars, greatly promoting the development of Germany's industry, creating more job opportunities, and injecting a powerful booster into economic development.

The impact of the Marshall plan is not only that. In addition to directly promoting the economic development of Germany, also accelerates the process of European integration of . 951, European Coal and Steel Community was established, and Federation Germany was one of the contracting parties, accelerating the development of the domestic coal and steel industry; 957, six European countries signed the " Rome Treaty ", and reached a consensus on the establishment of European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community ; 958, European Investment Bank was established; 965, European Community was officially established, and the EC combined the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Atomic Energy Community and the European Economic Community, which is the unity of the three. 991 , the EU was established, and European integration took another big step forward.

Through the European Community, Germany has strengthened its economic ties with other European countries. With the advantages of its products, has continuously increased its foreign trade export volume and a significant trade surplus. promotes the inflow of funds to its own country. At the same time, due to its continuous strength of its economy, its voice in Europe has also been strengthened, and 's influence in European affairs has also increased.

3. Germany's fruitful economic and social reforms

Speaking of economic reforms, we have to mention a person - Ludwig Ehard , who enjoys " Social Market Economy ," . As a representative figure of Federal German neoliberalism, he was appointed Minister of Economic Affairs of Federal Germany in 949, in charge of post-war economic reconstruction of Federal Germany. Ehard abolished the original hundreds of economic control regulations and implemented an economic system of coexistence of multiple ownerships, cracked down on monopolies and protected competition. This social market economic system actually neutralizes the free market economic system of the United States and the planned economic system of the Soviet Union. The government no longer acts as a "bystander" and actively intervenes in economic life.

Germany also carried out thorough social and political reforms . The government has learned from the historical experience and lessons of , eliminated fascism at home, fully guaranteed the people's democratic rights, admitted the mistakes they had made outside, apologized with sincerity, and actively carried out war compensation. Implementing the social welfare system to avoid extreme poverty of the people, reduce factors of social unrest, and is conducive to the stable development of the country.

social reform launched by the German government mainly includes several aspects of : reduces tax pressure through tax reform; labor and employment market reform ensures full employment of labor; social security system reform and welfare state reform have better improved the people's welfare level.

It can be seen that the rapid development of German economy after the war was not only due to the external financial assistance of the United States Marshall Plan, but the main reason for is that the government's thorough social and political reforms and the meticulous attitude of the German people are the final result of the joint efforts of the government.

References:

, "Germany Post-War Economic History"