Quote:
Originally Posted by Jan Gazda
Franek,
may I ask you what is the source for those 40 billions or at least whether it should represent a damage assessment in today’s prices or in current prices of 1945? The reason I am asking is that this number does not sound very realistic when compared to the 13 billion dollars that Marshall Plan brought to Western Europe. Those $13 billion managed to reconstruct large portion of the damaged western economies.
|
In the current currency, as it was calculated a few years ago. This was a response to recent German claims for reparations(!), and results were published in a special report, giving a detailed study of methodology. Report is online, though I am afraid available only in Polish. I agree that it is a lot of money, and this should give an idea about the tremendous Polish losses in the war.
Quote:
|
However, your statement that the Germans were the ones that were better off at the end of the war is absolutely wrong. When compared to 1938 the German GDP fell most distinctively from all West-European countries. Furthermore, Germans got less than one third of the financial means of Marshal Plan. The reason for the German economic resurrection after WW2 lies mainly in the superior economic policy introduced by Erhard and his team.
|
Please, do you really expect a German miracle in 1945? It is obvious they were in a sorry state after the lost war, but Erhard would do nothing without any foundations. German industry, even if hampered by the war, was largely developed due to free forced labour and resources robbed from occupied countries. Those were never compensated, and I doubt if Germany would have been what it is, if forced to pay for everything they did.
Nick and Michal
I have already mentioned that. Anyway have in mind that Czechoslovakia was not Germany, and still most of industry was left in site, as testified by production of many German designs (Ar 96, Me 109, Si 204 or Sd Kfz 251 for example) for own purposes. Definetelly, in the Soviet robbing, the most suffering country was Poland, which even paid reparations to Soviet Union. Then it was Eastern Germany, but contrary to Poland, Soviets quickly changed their mind, and did not devastate the country to such an extent, which was then supported by the whole eastern block.