Rebuilding Germany after WW2 (Term Paper Sample)

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Rebuilding Germany after WW2
INTRODUCTION
Germany’s economy is among the top five economies in the world by both nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and purchasing power parity. Consequently, the country is a member of both the G20 and G8 summits. As a result of its economic prowess, the country is the 3rd largest importer of goods and the second largest exporter of goods. Its high GDP has resulted in the development of extremely high standards of living. In addition, Germany also boasts of comprehensive social security systems (Cuomo 34).
Like many other nations of the world, Germany also suffered immensely during the Great Depression spell that resulted from the aftermath of WW2 (Fulbrook 29). During this spell, the nation incurred enormous loses in both industrial power and lives. This implies that its cities were immensely damaged from the resulting bombings of the war. Consequently, agricultural production was also reduced to about 30 percent of the previous production capacity. Besides, 11 percent of Germany’s population was killed during the war. However, unlike numerous nations, Germany employed strategic, economic measures that contributed significantly to its rapid rehabilitation process.
FIRST REICH REGIME
Prior to the onset of WW2, Germany was under the leadership of several imperial regimes (Fulbrook 44). These regimes were later replaced by German Reich in 1919. Consequently, there ensued a spell of liberal democracy. Thus, during this spell the country was able to realize significant economic gains. Consequently, the Versailles Treaty represented one of the significant successes of Reich regime. As a result of this treaty, Germany’s currency system was reformed and the tax policies also unified. In addition, the railway system was also unified. Consequently, Germany was on top of the world with regard to science and technology. The regime also provided significant cultural impact through cinema, art and music.
However, this spell was later marred by numerous economic problems such as hyperinflation. During this spell, the Reich regime failed to employ the necessary measures to curb hyperinflation. Instead, the regime concentrated on printing more currency notes and offloading them into circulation. Consequently, the high levels of inflation resulted in violation of the Versailles Treaty by the regime. Thus, French and Belgian troops occupied the region of Ruhr (Tipton 57). This represented the country’s most productive industrial region at the time. Therefore, foreign troops took charge of both the manufacturing and mining companies. This resulted in prolonged spells of strikes which further damaged the nation by preventing the production of goods by the nation.
Therefore, the decline of the Reich regime can be attributed to vast economic instabilities experienced by the regime (Tipton 97). Moreover, these economic problems were also accompanied by political extremism and hostility. However, the onset of the Great Depression in the US produced devastating results for Germany’s grappling economy. As a result of the depression, the country could no longer receive loans and grants from the US. Consequently, this resulted in increased rates of unemployment and political instability in the nation. Therefore, this led to the employment of conservative measures that resulted in extreme cuts in government expenditure. Thus, Germany’s economy significantly deteriorated.
HITLER’S REGIME
Therefore, this culminated in the ousting of the Reich regime by the Nazi regime under the leadership of Adolf Hitler in 1933. Therefore, Hitler’s reign coincided with the onset of WW2 (Evans 7). Consequently, through his dictatorial leadership style, Hitler was quick to eliminate all opposition, thus, ended up as the sole source of power in the nation. However, Hitler’s administration was able to restore Germany’s economic parity through increased military spending process. Hitler also employed a mixed system of economy of both central planning and free-market systems. In addition, Hitler regime also engaged in the undertaking of extensive public works. Consequently, this significantly contributed towards the regimes popularity and the restoration of Germany’s economy.
However, Hitler’s regime was marred by extreme racism. Consequently, this resulted in the destruction of various groups of people. For instance, the Jews were murdered and persecuted. Moreover, education policies were revised so as to embrace and propagate racism. In addition, Hitler’s regime installed compulsory membership organizations.
SECOND WORLD WAR
The Second World War was sparked by Hitler when he invaded Poland in 1939. Consequently, Germany conquered numerous parts of Europe and established its regime in the conquered parts. As a result, numerous people including slaves, homosexuals, criminals and the mentally challenged were imprisoned (Evans 7). Consequently, this process resulted in the mass genocide of numerous minorities in Germany. Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union resulted in corresponding retaliation from the Union. Consequently, this culminated in the immense destruction of crucial German cities. Rail lines and oil plants were also severely damaged by the Soviet attacks. This eventually led to the ousting of the Nazi regime by the Soviets in 1945.
REBUILDING OF THE ECONOMY
Therefore, following the fall of Hitler’s Nazi regime, the Soviet forces embarked on a mission to remove the Nazi symbol from Germany. Consequently, this process was referred to as “denazification” (Tipton 99). Thus, this marked the onset of Germany’s economic reform process after WW2. This process involved the employment of strategic measures in currency reform. As a result, this significantly contributed towards halting the rampant inflation in the nation. Therefore, the occupation currency was replaced by the Deutsche Mark in 1948. Consequently, this eventually resulted in economic recovery processes.
Moreover, this economic recovery process was preceded by the initiation of the Marshall plan in 1947. This represented a massive European economic recovery program (Van 56). Through the program, Germany acquired massive funding for rehabilitation purposes. Consequently, the country resumed exportation of products to other nations. This significantly contributed towards increasing food production while reducing unemployment. In addition, these measures also gradually contributed towards raising the country’s living standards. Consequently, Germany’s economy continued to grow at a steady rate.
Therefore, Germany’s rapid, economic recovery process can be accredited to various economical strategies. However, Germany’s economic success was as a result of the employment of a social model of market capitalism (Cuomo 27). This model empowered both market competition and free trade. Consequently, this paved way for the rapid economic recovery that Germany experienced during 1950s. Therefore, the social model economy was based on four basic principles. These principles included the following:
First, this system of economy represented a rapid shift in economical processes from previous authoritative pasts.
Second, the proponents of the economic recovery processes argued that the process was not an “economic miracle”. Thus, they attributed the success of the system to the natural effects of free markets and trade, monetary stability and healthy competition.
Thirdly, the rise in wages of the employees was as a result of increased productivity due to the employment of free market relations. Consequently, this had resulted in improved standards of living in Germany.
Lastly, this mode of economy served to protect Germany’s image after WW2. Thus, it was of crucial importance to nurture a positive image following the war.
Consequently, the social economic system of 1950s contributed significantly towards the introduction of economical democracy. Therefore, the system embraced a decentralized economic planning syst...