Causes and Consequences of the Economic Boom
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The Federal Republic of Germany, FRG, was formed when the Allies of America, France and Britain took control of the West following the catastrophic events of World War Two, ending in 1945. As a result of the war, Germany was in complete ruins; physically, socially and economically; the land devastation together with the amount of men killed in the war caused complete incomprehension for those remaining. Furthermore, as a result of the ensuing reduced workforce, people were required to work longer hours in order to even maintain Germanys very low industrial output; people therefore had to completely overcome these overwhelming events of the past, known as ÐVergangenheitsbewaltigung, so as to reconstruct for the future. However, unlike any preceding event, Germany was seen to make an extremely rapid recovery, to such a degree that as little as ten years after the war there was already talk of Germanys ÐWirtschaftswunder, the miracle demonstrating the total transformation of her economy in such a small period of time. It is however highly debatable as to whether this term is appropriate; this economic turnaround actually came about due to a combination of events and adaptations, transforming Germanys economic position and causing life changing results for those involved.
The resulting devastation of the Second World War was the trigger for change, particularly in Germanys economic dealings. This worsening situation between 1945 and 1947 helped to make the economic progress in the following years seem particularly significant and rapid and for this reason, the idea of Germanys progress being a miracle seems justified, early conditions being so low that only a miracle could allow for the flourishing economy which followed so soon.
Consequently, the proposed restructuring of the German economy by the allies was strongly aided by both the economic modifications made and the new-found motivation of its people; workers were regaining the incentive to work again, with average working hours in the West increasing from 32 in 1950 to 67 in 1973 . This indicates that there was no miracle, only a lot of hard work and thought put into improving Germanys situation.
Furthermore, in 1955, workers from other European countries, such as Italy, Greece, Turkey and Portugal, were enrolled into the country to help rebuild the economy. Their role as guest workers, ÐGastarbeiter, allowed them to work for a definite period in order to overcome the devastation of the Second World War as well as earn a living and then return to their country of origin. In conjunction with the Marshall Plan, this proved to be very effective for the nation, as it significantly increased labour, hence contributed to Germanys growing wealth. Therefore action was clearly taken after the Second World War in order to facilitate the economic growth, however, due to Germanys initial low situation; the advance in progress seemed especially significant; hence the work and developments that were made within West Germany seem mistaken for the idea of a miracle.
Nevertheless, the adjustments made with the intention of improving the economic system and general state of the country, also resulted in some unbeneficial consequences. The Marshall Plan that also brought several restraints to West Germany; in being mainly governed by America and their plan, West Germany was required to adapt an American way of life, consequently demanding most to completely change their lifestyles. Furthermore, even though the Marshall Plan was set up in order to aid the financial system, the Allies also charged Germany reparations for their costs of occupying the country. For these reasons, defining the events of the economic boom as a miracle seems disrespectful, as it eliminates the hard work and effort that was made by so many people in order to make the transformation, but also disregards the consequences and changes that people had to overcome so as to thrive.
Furthermore, the resulting division of the Western and Eastern zones signified that not only were the people living under the control of divided allies with competition for success and transformation, but they also had division in standards and lifestyles, for example the currency used and the American way of life. Consequently, the issue of confronting the past was a large worry, as people were evidently challenged with similar problems, yet such matters were disregarded, as Erhard defends (in Boarman, 1964), Ðhow much more sensible is it to concentrate all available energies on increasing the nations wealth rather than to squabble over the distribution of this wealth. Such problems contradict the statement of a miracle.
When the first guest workers were invited into Germany in 1955, within just four years, there was full employment throughout the country along with the aid from the Marshall Plan. However, with the guest workers and hence the economic boom within the country, also came many problems. Due to a difference in origin and race, there came struggle with integration and incidents of prejudice and discrimination. This also introduced further ordeals