Following their victory over Nazi Germany in May 1945, the Allies were faced with occupying and administering a country in ruins. British soldiers had a leading role in this, helping to hunt war criminals, rebuild industry and deal with displaced persons.
President Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan on April 3, 1948, and aid was distributed to 16 European nations, including Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, West Germany and Norway.
From mid-June 1940, following the rapid German invasions and occupations of Poland, Denmark, Norway, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, the British Commonwealth was the main opponent of Germany and the Axis, until the entry into the war of the Soviet Union in June 1941.
In addition, the country reaped benefits from the joint economic planning for the American, British, and French zones of occupation that culminated in the vital and essential currency reform that introduced the deutsche mark in June 1948 and the U.S.-financed Marshall Plan (1948–52), which helped to rebuild war-torn ...
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 $140 billion in 2017—were allocated to Western Europe.
On April 3, 1948, President Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948. It became known as the Marshall Plan, named for Secretary of State George Marshall, who in 1947 proposed that the United States provide economic assistance to restore the economic infrastructure of postwar Europe.
Berlin has been rebuilt four times over the past hundred years: first by the Nazis, then by the Allies and Soviets. The reconstruction of the city's eastern part launched by the German authorities after the Reunification continues to this day.
And there was 400 million cubic meters (14 billion cubic feet) of rubble to clear. The degree of destruction varied regionally. In East Germany, 9.4 percent of pre-war housing was destroyed. In West Germany, the figure was 18.5 percent.
Germany After the War
The numbers tell the story of a nation in disarray. Industrial output was down by a third. The country's housing stock was reduced by 20%. Food production was half the level it was before the start of the war.
In both countries, people had learned the major precondition for the success of a modern society – education. This dimension enabled both countries to develop sustainably. There also were scientists, engineers and managers who knew how to build industries and get the economies back in shape.
As brave Russians fought for dear life in Stalingrad, Leningrad, and in front of Moscow, they were given a lifeline by the immense material aid delivered to them by the U.S. and Britain. This allowed the Soviet Union to stay in the fight, a fact that Soviet dictator Josef Stalin privately admitted.
No surrender
But to Germany's surprise, Britain, although apparently defeated and certainly painfully exposed and isolated, did not surrender. It did not even seek to come to terms with Germany.
In September 1939 the Allies, namely Great Britain, France, and Poland, were together superior in industrial resources, population, and military manpower, but the German military, or Wehrmacht, because of its armament, training, doctrine, discipline, and fighting spirit, was the most efficient and effective fighting ...
It was short of modern weapons such as tanks. Due to the impact of the Ten Year Rule, the British armaments industry had shrunk. This meant that when rearmament began it would take time to set up the factories and design the weapons required.
Estimates for the total death count of the Second World War generally range somewhere between 70 and 85 million people. The Soviet Union suffered the highest number of fatalities of any single nation, with estimates mostly falling between 22 and 27 million deaths.
After Germany's surrender in May 1945, millions of German soldiers remained prisoners of war. In France, their internment lasted a particularly long time. But, for some former soldiers, it was a path to rehabilitation.
As the Cold War unfolded in the decade and a half after World War II, the United States experienced phenomenal economic growth. The war brought the return of prosperity, and in the postwar period the United States consolidated its position as the world's richest country.
Germany has a GDP per capita of $50,900 as of 2020, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $41,400 as of 2019.
That a Europe more prosperous than ever would emerge from this apocalypse astonished the world. Most economies shattered by war returned to pre-war levels of output within five years.
Germany was also responsible for paying reparations after World War II. Although the total debt was estimated at over $300 billion, Germany was responsible for paying about $3 billion, according to the London Agreement on German External Debts in 1952.
After Germany's defeat in the Second World War, the four main allies in Europe - the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and France - took part in a joint occupation of the German state.
After World War II both West Germany and East Germany were obliged to pay war reparations to the Allied governments, according to the Potsdam Conference. Other Axis nations were obliged to pay war reparations according to the Paris Peace Treaties, 1947.
21.04. 2023 - 16:01 Uhr Ruins Battle of Berlin: 12 places you can still see damage from World War II In 1945, Berlin lay in ruins, and you can still see the scars and bullet holes from that period all over the city. Since 2018, a blog called Berlin Battle Damage has been documenting the remains.
World War II proved so traumatic to China that its Nationalist government collapsed soon afterward and a radical communist government successfully conquered the mainland in 1949. Yet overall, the major legacy of World War II in Asia was that it ended the era of imperialism on the continent.
As a city Berlin not only reflected the economic might of Germany, but it also reflected the country's rich cultural history. Berlin was on equal footing with Paris, Florence and Prague as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.