No Post WW2 German Economic Miracle.

Perhaps a lesser Marshall Plan perhaps no victory V the Magnificent Mygyars in the world cup final in '54, which allegedly gave heart to the defeated nation. What are the implications - a less stronger EU for one thing.
 
Depends on how you define the word miracle. East germany didnt get marshall lan aid, infact the soviets looted the country. It was also shackled with communist ecomy and soviet oppression. The srill endd up as the most techically advnced and one of the richest areas in the sooviet bloc.

Much poorer than capitalist brd, but still something of a "wirtschaftswunder"
 

MSZ

Banned
De Gaulle's position in Europe is significantly stronger, as with West Germany not having its super stable Deutschmark and the UK being outside the European Community, France is essentialy the Prussia of western continental Europe, ready for unification. Of course this doesn't mean european integration will go on faster, as West Germany may very well oppose too much integration when it is not an equal parter to France.

It may also offset the remilitarization of Germany - without an economic success story, it might be more willing to depend on the USA and not want to spend cash on an army.
 
The 30 years after WWII lead to many economic miracles, regardless of what policies were used. Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Japan, even the Communist bloc among others all boomed. So regardless of Germany's policies, there is likely to be some kind of boom (the challenge was whether the country had prepared for the changes coming after the 1970s).

To prevent it entirely, something drastic is needed. An early WWIII fought on German soil, Morgenthau Plan, or something else that prevents the Germans from using their own highly skilled workforce or access to world markets.​
 

MSZ

Banned
The 30 years after WWII lead to many economic miracles, regardless of what policies were used. Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Japan, even the Communist bloc among others all boomed. So regardless of Germany's policies, there is likely to be some kind of boom (the challenge was whether the country had prepared for the changes coming after the 1970s).

To prevent it entirely, something drastic is needed. An early WWIII fought on German soil, Morgenthau Plan, or something else that prevents the Germans from using their own highly skilled workforce or access to world markets.​

Not every country boomed, especially not as well as Germany. Among the reasons of the German wirdschaftswunder was the lack of an army (didn't have to spend on it like others in the world), a very tight financial policy combined with strong ties with the USA (stabilizing the deutschmark, preventing inflation) and the use of Marshall Plan for reconstruction of a blown up industry, replacing it with a new, modern one (while other parts of the world would be stuck with old machines). Britain certainly didn't boom post-war, having mostly spent its Marshall Plan cash on consumption to make up for the sacrifices of the war and establishing a healthcare system.

So for Germany to do worse, any of the above factors can do that. Allow Germany to keep the Wehrmacht, and it will consume millions, preventing investments. Introduce a more 'joint' system of economic control over Germany, weakening its ties with the USA, and its credibility will fall, with inflation rising. Make worse use of the Marshall money by having Germans spend it on consumer goods, and it won't have enough to pay for employing people. Have Britain do better, and it will out-compete Germany, reducing its potential.
 
Two words: Bretton Woods

If the Deutschmark's wasn't pegged at such an undervalued price, Germany could never have pursued a strategy of export-led growth. There are any number of policies, completely outside Germany's control, that could have been changed to make Germany's Wirtschaftswunder much more difficult. America could have retained high tariffs, the Korea War, which was fought with German steel and chemicals, could have been avoided, the EEC might not have come together, socialists and labor unions might have demanded higher wages, etc.

That said, the groundwork for the Wirtschaftswunder was laid before and during the war through massive state investment in the economy and the plundering of conquered countries. Allied bombing only damaged a small percentage of productive capital in Germany, despite its disproportionate destruction of residential housing and transportation infrastructure. This means, absent Soviet-style looting in the West, that the West German economy is still going to start out as an advanced industrial economy. The booming growth of the 50's, however, was very much dependent on external factors that might easily not have existed.
 
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