Germany, as Europe's economic leader, has always been known for its robust economic development. However, its performance in the field of diplomacy and security has been relatively low-key, especially in the field of security, and it has maintained a relatively conservative attitude.
This is reminiscent of the classic assertion of former Belgian Foreign Minister Mark Iskens, who once used the phrase "economic giant, political dwarf, military worm" to describe Germany's strategy of the past few decades.
Who would have thought that Germany would rise again economically in 1945?However, from West Germany to modern Germany, its economic achievements are obvious to all, fully demonstrating Germany's image as an economic giant.
After the end of World War II, Germany's major cities lay in ruins. In the six years from 1939 to 1945, Nazi Germany was recorded to have recruited 18.89 million people to fight in the war, of whom 5.35 million were killed or missing and 5.64 million wounded.
The war brought great suffering and suffering to Germany.
During World War II, the Allies attacked Germany proper, and the Nazis resisted with a scorched-earth policy, resulting in carpet bombing of the German mainland.
During the war-torn years, Germany was badly damaged, buildings were destroyed by artillery fire, and the proportion of young and middle-aged males was extremely low, only about 30% of the total population. In order to clear the ruins, Germany had to rely on the strength of the elderly, the weak, the women and the children.
In 1945, after World War II, the Allied divisions occupied Germany and began to implement the "Four Modernizations" policy, including demilitarization, denazification, deindustrialization, and democratization.
This meant that Germany needed to return from a military power to an agrarian country, industry was severely restricted, and equipment was removed as war reparations. The tools used to clear the rubble were limited to shovels, and according to calculations, it would take 40,000 people to clean up continuously for 20 years to complete the task.
Although the war left the ruins of Germany in shambles, German women showed amazing strength to complete this amazing reconstruction work. The arrival of peace gave them hope for life, and their enthusiasm was stimulated and they actively participated in the construction of the country.
German women have proven their competence by efficiently tackling this difficult task and providing the necessary infrastructure for nation-building. In less than a year, Germany's old and weak women and children have made a huge contribution to the country's recovery.
From 1945 onwards, the victorious powers that controlled Germany began to carry out an all-round transformation of Germany. The project encompasses four aspects: demilitarization, denazification, deindustrialization and democratization, and its impact is very wide-ranging.
Among them, the most famous event was the liquidation of the Junker aristocracy in Germany after the end of World War II, the disbandment of the old army, and the forced reorientation of arms factories to other industries.
With the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Cold War officially began. There has been a significant change in the perception and positioning of Germany in Western countries. Despite the fact that the brothers were fighting each other, Germany was at the forefront of the Cold War confrontation because of its geographical location, and both the Eastern and Western camps needed Germany as a pawn.
This allowed the German nation to avoid post-war punishment. In addition, Germany's deep self-reflection and confession of guilt are also important reasons for their rapid re-establishment.
After undergoing Nazification and democratization, West Germany rearmed and received billions of dollars in economic aid from the Marshall Plan. This financial stimulus allowed West Germany's industry to develop rapidly, and the economy began to rise like a rocket.
By 1950, the economy of West Germany had returned to its pre-war level.
Here are some figures that illustrate the economic miracle of West Germany in just a few years after the war. In the 50s, the average annual growth rate of the gross national product of West Germany reached 75%, industrial production is even more at 92% growth.
In comparison, the UK's GDP growth rate is just 2Around 6%, compared to 4 in FranceAbout 3%. In 1950, West Germany's share of GDP in the capitalist world was 54%, and by 1970, it had risen to 75%, more than 70% and 6 in the UK0%。
This is enough to prove that from the end of World War II to 1950, the West German economy has changed dramatically. In addition, in 1950, the production of pig iron in West Germany amounted to 9473 thousand tons, surpassing the 7761 thousand tons in France, while in the same year the GDR was only 337 thousand tons.
By 1970, French pig iron production was 19,228 thousand tons, while West Germany reached 33,627 thousand tons, while East Germany had only 1,994 thousand tons. This is further evidence of West Germany's economic strength and growth rate.
Despite the heavy losses suffered by Soviet fire, the mass production line in the GDR continued to develop rapidly in the 60s with the support of the Soviet Union, becoming the most advanced country in the socialist camp.
The resilience and potential of the German nation cannot be overlooked!
From 83 in 19506.2 billion marks to 1252 in 1970With 7.6 billion marks, the export of West German goods increased by 16 times, which fully demonstrates the popularity of West German goods on the international market.
In terms of automobile production, in 1970 West Germany produced 352 private cars90,000 units, far more than France's 245820,000 and 164 in the UK10,000 units, while the GDR was only 1270,000 units, which shows the prosperity of the automobile industry in West Germany.
In 1970, West Germany produced its 1,000,000th car. At that time, the length of the operating railways in West Germany reached 330,000 km, although slightly less than France's 360,000 kilometers, but you know, West Germany is less than half the size of France.
In addition, West Germany generated nearly four times as much electricity as East Germany and 17 times. These data show the strong industrial strength of West Germany, which maintains an absolute leading position in Europe in the competitiveness of its industrial products.
Driven by the long-term foreign surplus, West Germany began to accumulate a large amount of foreign exchange reserves in 1970, and even surpassed the superpower United States in the following years to become the world's largest foreign exchange reserve country.
Such an achievement is nothing short of a miracle in such a large economy as West Germany and the United States, and it can be described as "amazing". In the 60-70s, West Germany and Japan were two of the world's brightest economic pearls, each achieving their own economic miracles, which were incredible.
Of course, Japan's economic boom reached its peak in the late '90s, and its foreign exchange reserves were so large that it made bold claims to buy the entire United States.
On October 3, 1990, East Germany took the initiative to form five states, each of which joined the Federal Republic of Germany, and the merged Germany continued to adopt all elements of the West German system, the name of the country, the flag and the national anthem.
Germany adopted the 10 of the East German mergerWith a land area of 80,000 square kilometers and a population of 16 million, it has expanded its development space and achieved broader development prospects.
Germany, as the driving force of the European economy, has a strong economy. It has the largest economy in Europe and the fourth largest in the world, behind only the United States, China and Japan.
In 2021, Germany's GDP per capita reached 510,000 US dollars, while our per capita GDP is 1$260,000. This shows Germany's significant advantages in terms of economy.
In 2018, Germany's industrial output accounted for 25% of GDP, and the number of people employed in industry reached 83350,000 people, accounting for nearly 10% of the country's population.
Among them, the automobile and machinery manufacturing, chemical, electrical and other departments are the pillar industries, and more than half of the main industrial products are sold to overseas markets, bringing a large number of first-class surpluses to Germany.
Siemens is not only the leader in the industrial field, but also the world's top agricultural level, showing Germany's consistent high mechanization style.
With 18.16 million hectares of agricultural land, Germany occupies half of the country's land area. This means that half of Germany's land is used for agriculture. Germany is 104 percent self-sufficient in food, and thanks to the increased productivity of its highly mechanized population, Germany is able to feed the entire population with just 2 percent of its agricultural population.
The wheat fields of southern Germany understood that the desertification of northern Germany made it impossible to grow crops, and that only the fertile soils of the mountains and plateaus in the south could provide sufficient food. As a result, Germany was able to achieve food self-sufficiency, which is a rare achievement among highly developed economies.
The economic giant, the political dwarf, has no rival in Europe, and can almost manipulate the economic trend of Europe, but its position in international politics is relatively low.
As a defeated country in World War II, Germany's criminal acts during the war brought great disasters and suffering to the world, and the German nation also left an indelible mark on the pillar of shame in history.
After the end of World War II, Germany was partitioned and occupied, and although East and West Germany were later formed, the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and France still enjoyed a special status, which greatly limited Germany's political status.
The history and ups and downs of the German nation gave birth to their belief that they were not willing to be lonely. To this end, they have been working tirelessly. Since the end of the war, the Federal Republic of Germany has admitted its mistakes with sincerity, especially Chancellor Brandt's shocking kneeling, which has deeply moved people.
His phrase "kneeling down for all who had to do this and did not" was a manifestation of the collective repentance of the German nation, an act that won the understanding and trust of the whole world.
Although it was the German Chancellor who knelt, it was the entire German nation that stood up.
Germany and France are the two core powers in the EU, and Germany's economic strength has made it more influential in the EU than France, and it is known as the de facto leader of the EU.
As one of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, France is an independent defense and legally possessed nuclear state, which makes the Germans feel overshadowed by their great strength.
During the Cold War, West Germans chose to work closely with France, which had a very high political status, because of their low political status, and used France's diplomatic influence to make up for the lack of their own discourse.
France's international influence has enabled Germany to make Europe an important force in the world. After the end of the Cold War, Germany's strength was greatly enhanced, which also led to a significant increase in Germany's economic and political status, and finally Germany's position in Western Europe jumped to the first place.
The three German leaders, Kohl, Schröder and Merkel, were all outstanding statesmen who demonstrated a remarkable balancing skill in the political arena that could be called a wall-riding tactic, and they managed to maintain neutrality and balance on various political issues.
The birth of the euro marks the formal march of the EU towards the stage of monetary union in the integration process. Home to Europe's best banks, Germany has a strong monetary dominance in the eurozone.
This advantage has enabled Germany to gradually overtake France as the de facto leader in the EU.
In the first 20 years of the 21st century, both China and Germany faced important strategic opportunities.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russia's ** Putin.
Germany has chosen to distance itself from the two countries through political and economic means, on the one hand, to protect its own security with NATO, and on the other hand, to promote economic development through energy cooperation with Russia.
In 2004, Nord Stream 1 was launched, and construction was completed in 2011. The cross-sea pipeline can transport 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Germany every year, meeting more than half of Germany's gas needs.
Cheap Russian energy has greatly increased Germany's industrial competitiveness, which has led to a further increase in German exports. ”
Nord Stream -2"Yes"Nord Stream -1"The construction of the supplementary project, which started as early as 2012 and was officially completed in September 2021, has a capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
If will"Nord Stream -1"with"Nord Stream -2"Combined, they will reach 110 billion cubic meters, accounting for two-thirds of the EU's gas imports from Russia.