The German Wirtschaftswunder An Economic Miracle

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject Business economics - Economic Policy, grade: Very Good (1,3), University of Glasgow (Adam Smith Business School), course: Growth and Development, language: English, abstract: This essay deals with the story of economic growth of post-WWII Germany. Devastated in terms of material loss and human well-being, Germany put its name in the books of economic history as a success story of development. The 'Wirtschaftswunder' (Economic Miracle) that started in the early 1950s is a topic that has been intensely studied by scholars. This essay will briefly describe some facts prior to World War II and the extent of loss during the war. The following part will highlight some data about the growth and explain how this was achieved.

This exploration of the statistical evidence on Germany's post-war reconstruction sheds new light on the foundations of German economic power.

Through an examination of election campaign propaganda and various public relations campaigns, reflecting new electioneering techniques borrowed from the United States, this work explores how conservative political and economic groups sought to construct and sell a political meaning of the Social Market Economy and the Economic Miracle in West Germany during the 1950s.The political meaning of economics contributed to conservative electoral success, constructed a new belief in the free market economy within West German society, and provided legitimacy and political stability for the new Federal Republic of Germany.

West German Industrialists and the Making of the Economic Miracle investigates the mentality of post-war German (heavy) industrialists through an analysis of their attitudes, thinking and views on social, political and, of course, economic matters at the time, including the 'social market economy' and how they saw their own role in society, with this investigation taking place against the backdrop of the 'economic miracle' and the Cold War of the 1950s and 60s. The book also includes an assessment of whether the self-declared, new 'aristocracy of merit' justified its place in society and carried out its actions in a new spirit of political responsibility. This is an important text for all students interested in the history of Germany and the modern economic history of Europe.

How does a nation recover from fascism and turn toward a free society once more? This internationally acclaimed revelatory history—"filled with first-person accounts from articles and diaries" (The New York Times)—of the transformational decade that followed World War II illustrates how Germany raised itself out of the ashes of defeat and reckoned with the corruption of its soul and the horrors of the Holocaust. Featuring over 40 eye-opening black-and-white photographs and posters from the period. The years 1945 to 1955 were a raw, wild decade that found many Germans politically, economically, and morally bankrupt. Victorious Allied forces occupied the four zones that make up present-day Germany. More than half the population was displaced; 10 million newly released forced laborers and several million prisoners of war returned to an uncertain existence. Cities lay in ruins—no mail, no trains, no traffic—with bodies yet to be found beneath the towering rubble. Aftermath received wide acclaim and spent forty-eight weeks on the best-seller list in Germany when it was published there in 2019. It is the first history of Germany's national mentality in the immediate postwar years. Using major global political developments as a backdrop, Harald Jähner weaves a series of life stories into a nuanced panorama of a nation undergoing monumental change. Poised between two eras, this decade is portrayed by Jähner as a period that proved decisive for Germany's future—and one starkly different from how most of us imagine it today.

Through an examination of election campaign propaganda and various public relations campaigns, reflecting new electioneering techniques borrowed from the United States, this work explores how conservative political and economic groups sought to construct and sell a political meaning of the Social Market Economy and the Economic Miracle in West Germany during the 1950s.The political meaning of economics contributed to conservative electoral success, constructed a new belief in the free market economy within West German society, and provided legitimacy and political stability for the new Federal Republic of Germany.

This collection of essays covers themes central to German economic history while considering their interaction with other historical phenomena. Among the essays Borchardt considers Germany's late start as an industrial nation, the West-East developmental gradient, key patterns of long-term economic development, and unusual changes in the phenomena of business cycles. The collection also contains the essays which have become the subject of so-called 'Borchardt controversies', in which hypotheses are presented on the economic causes of the collapse of the parliamentary regime by 1929-30, at the very end of the 'crisis before the crisis'. He also explains why there were no alternatives to the economic policies of the slump, and in particular why there was no 'miracle weapon' against Hitler's seizure of power. These are among the most original and stimulating contributions of recent years to the economic history of modern Germany and will be of interest to anyone who ponders deeply the meaning of history.

This book provides a new quantitative view of the wartime economic experiences of six great powers; the UK, the USA, Germany, Italy, Japan and the USSR. What contribution did economics made to war preparedness and to winning or losing the war? What was the effect of wartime experiences on postwar fortunes, and did those who won the war lose the peace? A chapter is devoted to each country, reviewing its economic war potential, military-economic policies and performance, war expenditures and development, while the introductory chapter presents a comparative overview. The result of an international collaborative project, the volume aims to provide a text of statistical reference for students and researchers interested in international and comparative economic history, the history of World War II, the history of economic policy, and comparative economic systems. It embodies the latest in economic analysis and historical research.