Why Is Germany So Rich?

a MAJOR comeback story: from barter to billionaire

I present to you the German Economic Miracle: how Germany's economy went from being literally in shambles after World War II to dominating the world today. In the span of less than a year and due to the contributions of two key players, Germany was an overnight industrial success. I wanted to understand the economic principles behind this success and dive deep into the history of the Germany's famously industrious industry. 

Digressions include some ruminations on whether a Lego Monet "counts" as art, the women who cleared up German ruins when nobody else could, and why your home should ALWAYS have a flower or two...

Sources:

Spicka, Mark E. “Origins of the Social Market Economy and the Currency Reform of 1948.” Selling the Economic Miracle: Economic Reconstruction and Politics in West Germany, 1949-1957, 26–48. Berghahn Books, 2018. 

 

Struve, Walter. “West Germany’s Economic Miracle.” Current History 44, no. 260 (1963): 231–45. 

 

Wallich, Henry C. Mainsprings of the German Revival. London, Oxford University Press, 1955. p. 114

 

Dullien, Sebastian and Ulrike Guérot. “The Long Shadow of Ordoliberalism.” European Council on Foreign Relations, October 22, 2020. https://ecfr.eu/article/commentary_the_long_shadow_of_ordoliberalism/.

 

The German Economic Miracle

 

The Long Shadow of Ordoliberalism | ECFR

 

Why The Euro is More Durable Than It Looks - The Economist

 

Why does the euro mean so much to Germany? | CNN 

 

Press German export surplus in 2022 at lowest level since 2000

 

Import prices in December 2022: +12.6% on December 2021 - German Federal Statistical Office

 

What makes the German economy so strong? - Invest Region Leipzig

 

Why is the German economy so strong? Seven reasons

 

German economic strength: The secrets of success - BBC News

 

Economic Key Facts Germany

 

Protectionism or free trade? An interview with Clemens Fuest

 

German Economic Miracle - Econlib