The reconstruction of Germany after World War II was a long process. Germany had suffered heavy losses during the war, both in lives and industrial power. 7.5 million Germans had been killed, roughly 11 percent of the population (see also World War II casualties). The country's cities were severely damaged from heavy bombing in the closing chapters of the War and agricultural production was only 35 percent of what it was before the war.
Mönshengladbach
At the Potsdam Conference, the victorious Allies ceded roughly 25 percent of Germany's pre-Anschluss territory to Poland and the Soviet Union. The German population in this area was expelled by force, together with the Germans of the Sudetenland and the German populations scattered throughout the rest of Eastern Europe. Between 0.5 and 2 million are said to have died in the process, depending on source. (See also Expulsion of Germans after World War II). As a result, the population density grew in the "new" Germany that remained after the dismemberment.
As agreed at Potsdam, an attempt was made to convert Germany into a pastoral and agricultural nation, allowed only light industry. Many factories were dismantled as reparations or were simply destroyed (see also the Morgenthau Plan). Millions of German prisoners of war were for several years used as forced labor, both by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union.
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Beginning immediately after the German surrender and continuing for the next two years, the United States pursued a vigorous program to harvest all technological and scientific know-how, as well as all patents in Germany. John Gimbel comes to the conclusion in his book, Science Technology and Reparations: Exploitation and Plunder in Post-war Germany, that the "intellectual reparations" taken by the U.S. and the UK amounted to close to 10 billion dollars, equivalent to around 100 billion dollars in 2006. (Ref: Norman M. Naimark The Russians in Germany pg. 206) (see also Operation Paperclip).
As soon as 1945, the Allied forces worked heavily on removing Nazi influence from Germany in a process dubbed as "denazification."
By mid-1947, the success of denazification and the start of the Cold War had led to a re-consideration of policy, as the Germans were seen as possible allies in the conflict and the dawning realization that the economic recovery of Europe was dependent on the reactivation of German industry. With the repudiation of the U.S. occupation directive JCS 1067 in July 1947, the Western Allies were able to start planning for the introduction of a currency reform to halt the rampant inflation. This type of action to help the German economy had been prohibited by the directive and its execution also led to the setting up of a Soviet controlled puppet state in the eastern zone, to maintain Soviet control there.(see also Berlin Blockade)
In 1948, the Deutsche Mark replaced the occupation currency as the currency of the Western occupation zones, leading to their eventual economic recovery.
In 1947, the Marshall Plan, initially known as the "European Recovery Program" was initiated. In the years 1947-1952, some $13 billion of economic and technical assistance—-equivalent to around $130 billion in 2006—were allocated to Western Europe. Despite protests from many beneficiaries, the Marshall Plan, although in the less generous form of loans, was in 1949 extended to also include the newly formed West Germany. In the years 1949-1952, West Germany received loans which totaled $1.45 billion, equivalent to around $14.5 billion in 2006.
The country subsequently began a slow but continuous improvement of its standard of living, with the export of local products, a reduction in unemployment, increased food production, and a reduced black market.
By 1950, the UK and France were finally induced to follow the U.S. lead, and stop the dismantling of German heavy industry. The country's economic recovery under the newly formed democratic government was, once it was permitted, swift and effective. During the mid-1950s, the unemployment rate in Germany was so low that it led to the influx of Turkish immigrants into the country's labor force. Germany's economy continued to improve until the 1973 oil crisis.
(see also Wirtschaftswunder)
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Länsi-Saksan talousihme (saks. Wirtschaftswunder, myös Saksan talousihme) tarkoittaa Länsi-Saksan nopeaa taloudellista toipumista ja vaurastumista toisen maailmansodan jälkeen. Nopea talouskasvu alkoi niin Länsi-Saksassa kuin Itävallassakin 1950-luvun alussa.
Vastoin yleistä käsitystä, tärkein taustavoima Länsi-Saksan talousihmeelle ei ollut Länsi-Euroopan taloudellinen avustusohjelma, joka tunnetaan nimellä Marshallin suunnitelma. Mikäli näin olisi ollut, olisivat myös apua huomattavasti enemmän saaneet maat, kuten Iso-Britannia ja Ranska, kokeneet vastaavan talousihmeen.
Saksan taloutta rasittivat myös pitkään liittoutuneille maksettavat sotakorvaukset ja miehityksestä aiheutuvat kustannukset (vuosittain n. 2,4 miljardia dollaria), jotka ylittivät huomattavasti Saksan saaman Marshall-avun (n. 1,4 miljardia dollaria). Vuonna 1953 päätettiin, että Saksa maksaisi tästä summastaselvennä takaisin 1,1 miljardia dollaria.
Talouskasvu lähti liikkeelle niin kutsutun D-markan liikkeellepanolla, joka korvasi aikaisemman Reichsmarkin. Saksan markan aliarvostus pitikin saksalaiset tuotteet seuraavina vuosina pitkään edullisina ja kilpailukykyisinä. Erityisen piristysruiskeen Saksan taloudelle antoi Korean sota (1950–1953), koska se lisäsi monien tuotteiden kysyntää. Sota toimi piristysruiskeena myös toiselle "talousihmeelle", eli samaan aikaan tapahtuneelle Japanin talousihmeelle. Talousihmeen ansiosta maahan kutsuttiin nk. vierastyöläisiä eli Gastarbeiter, muun muassa turkkilaisia, italialaisia, portugalilaisia, kreikkalaisia ja jugoslaaveja, jotka olivat yksi talousihmeen toteutumisen edellytys.
Saksan talousihmeen "luojana" pidetään yleisesti Ludwig Erhardia, talousihmeen aikaisen Konrad Adenauerin hallituksen talousministeriä. Erhard nimitti talousoppejaan "sosiaaliseksi markkinataloudeksi". Suurimmaksi osaksi talousihmeen ansiosta saksalaisten valitsivat Adenauerin kaikkien aikojen suurimmaksi saksalaiseksi Saksan television järjestämässä äänestyksessä. Saksan talousihme päättyi ensimmäisen kerran lamaan vuonna 1963. Lopullisesti talousihme päättyi 1970-luvun öljykriisiin, jonka jälkeen taloudellinen kasvu on ollut hitaampaa ja työttömyys suurempaa.
Myös Itävalta sisältyi Marshallin suunnitelmaan ja myös siellä se sai aikaan nopean talouskasvun. Sitä on kutsuttu myös Itävallan talousihmeeksi. Saksan tapaan myös Itävallassa toteutettiin valuuttauudistus, kun Itävallan šillinki korvasi miehityksen aikaisen Saksan markan. Myös Itävaltaan alettiin tuoda vierastyöläisiä jo 1950-luvulla.
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Dresden
At the Potsdam Conference, the victorious Allies ceded roughly 25 percent of Germany's pre-Anschluss territory to Poland and the Soviet Union. The German population in this area was expelled by force, together with the Germans of the Sudetenland and the German populations scattered throughout the rest of Eastern Europe. Between 0.5 and 2 million are said to have died in the process, depending on source. (See also Expulsion of Germans after World War II). As a result, the population density grew in the "new" Germany that remained after the dismemberment.
As agreed at Potsdam, an attempt was made to convert Germany into a pastoral and agricultural nation, allowed only light industry. Many factories were dismantled as reparations or were simply destroyed (see also the Morgenthau Plan). Millions of German prisoners of war were for several years used as forced labor, both by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union.
-------------
Beginning immediately after the German surrender and continuing for the next two years, the United States pursued a vigorous program to harvest all technological and scientific know-how, as well as all patents in Germany. John Gimbel comes to the conclusion in his book, Science Technology and Reparations: Exploitation and Plunder in Post-war Germany, that the "intellectual reparations" taken by the U.S. and the UK amounted to close to 10 billion dollars, equivalent to around 100 billion dollars in 2006. (Ref: Norman M. Naimark The Russians in Germany pg. 206) (see also Operation Paperclip).
As soon as 1945, the Allied forces worked heavily on removing Nazi influence from Germany in a process dubbed as "denazification."
By mid-1947, the success of denazification and the start of the Cold War had led to a re-consideration of policy, as the Germans were seen as possible allies in the conflict and the dawning realization that the economic recovery of Europe was dependent on the reactivation of German industry. With the repudiation of the U.S. occupation directive JCS 1067 in July 1947, the Western Allies were able to start planning for the introduction of a currency reform to halt the rampant inflation. This type of action to help the German economy had been prohibited by the directive and its execution also led to the setting up of a Soviet controlled puppet state in the eastern zone, to maintain Soviet control there.(see also Berlin Blockade)
In 1948, the Deutsche Mark replaced the occupation currency as the currency of the Western occupation zones, leading to their eventual economic recovery.
In 1947, the Marshall Plan, initially known as the "European Recovery Program" was initiated. In the years 1947-1952, some $13 billion of economic and technical assistance—-equivalent to around $130 billion in 2006—were allocated to Western Europe. Despite protests from many beneficiaries, the Marshall Plan, although in the less generous form of loans, was in 1949 extended to also include the newly formed West Germany. In the years 1949-1952, West Germany received loans which totaled $1.45 billion, equivalent to around $14.5 billion in 2006.
The country subsequently began a slow but continuous improvement of its standard of living, with the export of local products, a reduction in unemployment, increased food production, and a reduced black market.
By 1950, the UK and France were finally induced to follow the U.S. lead, and stop the dismantling of German heavy industry. The country's economic recovery under the newly formed democratic government was, once it was permitted, swift and effective. During the mid-1950s, the unemployment rate in Germany was so low that it led to the influx of Turkish immigrants into the country's labor force. Germany's economy continued to improve until the 1973 oil crisis.
(see also Wirtschaftswunder)
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Länsi-Saksan talousihme (saks. Wirtschaftswunder, myös Saksan talousihme) tarkoittaa Länsi-Saksan nopeaa taloudellista toipumista ja vaurastumista toisen maailmansodan jälkeen. Nopea talouskasvu alkoi niin Länsi-Saksassa kuin Itävallassakin 1950-luvun alussa.
Vastoin yleistä käsitystä, tärkein taustavoima Länsi-Saksan talousihmeelle ei ollut Länsi-Euroopan taloudellinen avustusohjelma, joka tunnetaan nimellä Marshallin suunnitelma. Mikäli näin olisi ollut, olisivat myös apua huomattavasti enemmän saaneet maat, kuten Iso-Britannia ja Ranska, kokeneet vastaavan talousihmeen.
Saksan taloutta rasittivat myös pitkään liittoutuneille maksettavat sotakorvaukset ja miehityksestä aiheutuvat kustannukset (vuosittain n. 2,4 miljardia dollaria), jotka ylittivät huomattavasti Saksan saaman Marshall-avun (n. 1,4 miljardia dollaria). Vuonna 1953 päätettiin, että Saksa maksaisi tästä summastaselvennä takaisin 1,1 miljardia dollaria.
Talouskasvu lähti liikkeelle niin kutsutun D-markan liikkeellepanolla, joka korvasi aikaisemman Reichsmarkin. Saksan markan aliarvostus pitikin saksalaiset tuotteet seuraavina vuosina pitkään edullisina ja kilpailukykyisinä. Erityisen piristysruiskeen Saksan taloudelle antoi Korean sota (1950–1953), koska se lisäsi monien tuotteiden kysyntää. Sota toimi piristysruiskeena myös toiselle "talousihmeelle", eli samaan aikaan tapahtuneelle Japanin talousihmeelle. Talousihmeen ansiosta maahan kutsuttiin nk. vierastyöläisiä eli Gastarbeiter, muun muassa turkkilaisia, italialaisia, portugalilaisia, kreikkalaisia ja jugoslaaveja, jotka olivat yksi talousihmeen toteutumisen edellytys.
Saksan talousihmeen "luojana" pidetään yleisesti Ludwig Erhardia, talousihmeen aikaisen Konrad Adenauerin hallituksen talousministeriä. Erhard nimitti talousoppejaan "sosiaaliseksi markkinataloudeksi". Suurimmaksi osaksi talousihmeen ansiosta saksalaisten valitsivat Adenauerin kaikkien aikojen suurimmaksi saksalaiseksi Saksan television järjestämässä äänestyksessä. Saksan talousihme päättyi ensimmäisen kerran lamaan vuonna 1963. Lopullisesti talousihme päättyi 1970-luvun öljykriisiin, jonka jälkeen taloudellinen kasvu on ollut hitaampaa ja työttömyys suurempaa.
Myös Itävalta sisältyi Marshallin suunnitelmaan ja myös siellä se sai aikaan nopean talouskasvun. Sitä on kutsuttu myös Itävallan talousihmeeksi. Saksan tapaan myös Itävallassa toteutettiin valuuttauudistus, kun Itävallan šillinki korvasi miehityksen aikaisen Saksan markan. Myös Itävaltaan alettiin tuoda vierastyöläisiä jo 1950-luvulla.
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Trümmerfrau (literally translated as ruins woman or rubble woman) is the German-language name for women who, in the aftermath of World War II, helped clear and reconstruct the bombed cities of Germany and Austria. With hundreds of cities having suffered significant bombing and firestorm damage through aerial attacks (and in some cases, ground fighting), and with many men dead or prisoners of war, this monumental task fell to a large degree on women
Four million out of the sixteen million homes in Germany were destroyed during Allied bombings in World War II, with another four million damaged. Half of all school buildings, forty percent of the infrastructure, and many factories were either damaged or destroyed. According to estimates, there were about 400 million cubic metres of ruins.
Trümmerfrau (literally translated as ruins woman or rubble woman) is the German-language name for women who, in the aftermath of World War II, helped clear and reconstruct the bombed cities of Germany and Austria. With hundreds of cities having suffered significant bombing and firestorm damage through aerial attacks (and in some cases, ground fighting), and with many men dead or prisoners of war, this monumental task fell to a large degree on women
Four million out of the sixteen million homes in Germany were destroyed during Allied bombings in World War II, with another four million damaged. Half of all school buildings, forty percent of the infrastructure, and many factories were either damaged or destroyed. According to estimates, there were about 400 million cubic metres of ruins.
Between 1945 and 1946, the Allied powers, in both West Germany and East Germany, ordered all women between 15 and 50 years of age to participate in the postwar cleanup. For this purpose, previous restrictive measures protecting women in the labor force were removed in July 1946. Recruitment of women was especially useful since at that time, because of the loss of men in the war, there were seven million more women than men in Germany.
A chain of women would transfer the bricks to the street, where they were cleaned and stacked. Wood and steel beams, fireplaces, wash basins, toilets, pipes and other household items were collected to be reused. The remaining debris was then removed by barrows, wagons and lorries. It was later reused to fill up holes in the streets or to make new bricks. In some German cities, schuttbergs (debris mountains) were created from leftover debris and exist today in a number of German cities.
Trümmerfrauen, both volunteers and regular workers, worked in all weather. They were organised in Kolonnen (columns) of ten to twenty people.
Impressive, very imressive pictures!
VastaaPoistaHi, Phil
PoistaThank you for your comment.
I try to / or means to tell, how to wartime can make and developed,
the bottoms, new and modern hydraulic excavators and loaders
(sorry my englis, its translator)