Wirtschaftswunder

The Marshall Plan was the idea behind a speech made by U.S. Secretary of State, George C. Marshall that suggested that the United States assist Europe with their economic devastation; however, there was no actual “plan.” Once the plan was approved and became the European Recovery Program it lasted from April 1948 to December 1951. During that time there was approximately $12.5 billion dollars given to 12 European countries. The Marshall Plan did have its faults but overall was a success in assisting European economy to get back on its feet. The cost of World War II was immense among the European states. The United States had been sending aid to European states, even before the U.S. joined the war in December of 1941. In August of 1941 the Atlantic Charter, which was a “broad set of liberal principles that Roosevelt and Churchill hoped would guide a post war settlement” (History Unbound), was created. One of the main ideas was to create a “form of international governing body” (History Unbound). This was then accomplished in July 1944 at the conference at Bretton Woods. A global organization was created that would help to regulate world trade and would give funds to the states requiring assistance. This conference “led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank)” (History Unbound). In his speech to the graduating class of Harvard College, George C. Marshall said that “In considering the…

Three million German citizens have Turkish ancestry thanks to the Wirtschaftswunder (p. 3). Merkel (2014) tells that at the end of the 1990’s, the Turkish community in one the states, North-Rhine Westphalia, had at least 216 Turkish football clubs, the largest of any minority group in Germany. For these Germans of Turkish heritage, these football clubs of Turkish foundings and upbringings provide an opportunity to avoid discrimination, social pressures, and to find people of similar faith or…

“Outstanding Issues with Implementing German Reunification” Germany has had a tumultuous history and inspiring rise to international prominence over the last century. This political anomaly is referred to in German as “wirtschaftswunder” which translated is the phrase the “wonder of economics.” This eminent rise has been recognized by the leadership role the German government is currently playing in the European Union, in relation to monetary policy that is intended to alleviate the Euro-zone…

Greek economy in particular needs another loan to keep credit flowing and to maintain its economy. The effects of austerity on the Greek economy have been disastrous and have caused unemployment to rise to 27% as of 2013 (FIgure 2) and debt levels have skyrocketed to 175.1% in 2013 (Figure 1). The new loan must be manageable to carry out. Some debt needs to be forgiven in order for Greece’s economy to keep afloat and to ensure economic prosperity in the future. In fact Germany itself has seen…