Out of all the wars that the world has gone through, none has been more devastating as

world war II. But what caused this war? Well, world war II had six major causes: anger
over the Versailles Treaty, the failure of peace efforts after world war I, the rise of
Fascism, the goals of Hitler, the isolationism by America and Britain, and the re-
armament of Europe. This paper will go over each of these causes individually and then
draw some conclusions about world war II.

The fourth cause of world war II was the goal’s of the German dictator, Hitler. He had a vision of
the German people becoming a master race and dominating the entire world, but he also knew
that he could not achieve all this during the war he intended to start. He, however, had two
major goals which was to bring all of central Europe together and form a larger Germany and to
create more room for Germany to grow by taking over Poland.

During World War II, carpet-bombing by Allied forces leveled up to 80 percent of the
historic buildings in Germany's main cities in an unprecedented wave of destruction
prompted by the no less unprecedented barbarity of the Nazis. In a seemingly
endless catalogue of annihilation, Berlin, Cologne, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Hamburg,
Kiel, Lübeck, Münster, Munich, Frankfurt, Würzburg, Mainz, Nuremberg, Xanten,
Worms, Brunswick, Hanover, Freiburg and Dresden were all devastated.

The Federal German Republic (West Germany) was set up on September 21,
1949. This was followed by the setting up of the German Democratic Republic
(East Germany) with East Berlin as its capital a month later.

At the end of World War II, much of Germany was in ruins. Large parts of its
infrastructure was attacked or bombed by the Allied Forces. The city of Dresden was
completely destroyed. The population of Cologne had dropped from 750,000 to 32,000.
The housing stock was reduced by 20%. Food production was half the level it was
before the start of the war; industrial output was down by a third. Many of its men
between the ages of 18 and 35, the demographic which could do the heavy lifting to
literally rebuild the country, had been either killed or crippled.

During the war, Hitler had instituted food rations, limiting its civilian population to eat no more
than 2,000 calories per day. After the war, the Allies continued this food rationing policy and
limited the population to eat between 1,000-1,500 calories. Price controls on other goods and
services led to shortages and a massive black market. Germany's currency, the reichsmark, had
become completely worthless, requiring its populace to resort to bartering for goods and
services.
In short, Germany was a ruined state facing an incredibly bleak future. The country was
occupied by four nations, and soon it would be divided into halves. The Eastern half became a
socialist state, part of the Iron Curtain that was heavily influenced by Soviet policy. The Western
half became a democracy. And caught in the middle was the former capital of Berlin, which was
divided in two, eventually separated by what became known as the Berlin Wall.

But by 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell and Germany was once again reunited, it was the envy of
most of the world. Germany had the third-biggest economy in the world, trailing only Japan and
the United States in GDP.

Germany's ascent became known throughout the world as the German Economic Miracle. In
Germany, it was dubbed the Wirtscaftswunder. But how did this come to be?

Perhaps the most important person in Germany's stunning rebirth was Walter
Eucken.
During the war, in many cities, they used prisoners of war and prisoners in concentration camps
to clear out and haul away rubble.

The government put a lot of emphasis on clearing away rubble during the war as the Nazis were
telling everyone that they were going to win right up until 1944. To show that they would win,
they wanted to clear up rubble straight away.

In Europe the Marshall plan allowed our former enemies to rebuild at our expense. We had
bombed them into the ground; many of their men were lost, dead, hurt or unavailable. The
"Berlin Women" took a major part in clearing the rubble in Berlin and other cities. They did it
for food and to move on. In the East the Russians forced people at gunpoint to fill craters and
clear rubble. You are not motivated to do good work when you are a slave.

The German steel mills, with American support, rebuilt with new and better blast furnaces.

The Russians were never going to return their German PoWs, but use them as slaves til they
dropped dead, which they did in droves. But Adenaeur got them back, most of them by 1957. He
really is an unsung hero of the 20th Century.

Meanwhile, the West needed a strong, effective Germany as a bulwark against Russia, so they
did everything they could to rebuild that "speedbump" to Russian invasion, and that included
coddling, nursing and improving Germany. The Germans did not need much handholding. By
nature they are precise, industrious and hard workers. They are very proud of their land and
with good reason. Once they had a goal and a future, they took it upon themselves to get to work.
Their natural industriousness set things right in a very rapid period of time. The inclination of
the Allies to allow them to become independent, control their own destinies and rebuild their
militaries was an amazing feat. The Allies LET them succeed.
What became the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) recovered very
quickly after the war mainly because they were fortunate enough to have found themselves
under Allied control, particularly the USA, who put forward the Marshall Plan which funded a
massive reconstruction of Germany, in order to give them a shot at having a viable economy by
which a Democratic Government could be sustained over the long term.

Today the Germans field some of the best military equipment in the world. They are the third
biggest exporter in the world. Their standard of living is incredibly high. They are the fifth
largest economy.

Essentially, Germany has won the war in Europe. They control the EU via economics and run
rings around every other country who are essentially vassal states supplying Germany with
materials and markets.

After World War II, Germany was divided and occupied.

Now Germany is a world leader in building unity,
AFTER its defeat in World War II, Germany was divided into four zones under
the control of the United States, Britain, France and the former Soviet Union.

For all its atrocities in the 1930s and 1940s, Germany has become an exemplar country
promoting prosperity and peace. Angela Merkel stands out as a world leader more than
any otherGermany quickly came to terms with its past.

Both countries were reviled in 1945 for their crimes against humanity. Since then
Germany has rebuilt its economy and political institutions. West and East Germany are
now united. Germany has been the key country in building European unity after
centuries of disastrous wars. Long may that continue, despite the folly of Brexit.
Is Germany Carrying The
European Economy?
By Trevir Nath

SHARE

Over the last 15 years, Germany has been widely viewed as the economic
catalyst and stabilizer for its fellow European Union states. Even after the
2008 financial crisis, the German economy was able to bounce back more
quickly than neighboring eurozone states. Despite a number of post-crisis
reforms, EU countries continue to suffer due to lack of global competitiveness.

Despite ongoing turmoil in neighboring economies, the German economic recovery in the wake
of the global financial crisis has been painless. With strong economic foundations rooted in
export-led growth and fiscal austerity, the German economy continues to represent an anchor in
the EU economy.