The Damage to Germany after World War Two and its Reconstruction
Every time there is a war at least one country has to deal with the consequences left behind. After World War II numerous countries had to face reconstruction because they were damaged economically as well as physically. One of these countries was Germany. During the reconstruction of the country a large number of foreign laborers, also known as “Gastarbeiter”, came to Germany due to the shortage of a native workforce. After the economy stabilized Germany kept importing labor rather than taking industry, capital and jobs offshore in search of lower labor costs. Workers, especially from Turkey, Yugoslavia, Poland, Italy and Greece came with their families to seek work.
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At first, a residence permit is granted for one year only and is tied to designated employment. A foreigner who has been in Germany legally for at least five years and is considered to have integrated himself into the economic and social life is eligible to receive a domicile permit (Aufenthaltsberechtigung). Once granted, the permit allows its holder to move within the country without restrictions. Work permits are issued by the federal Labor Office (Bundesanstalt fur Arbeit). All aliens intending to work in Germany need a work permit. There are two classes of work permits. One is a general permit, issued normally for one year and “geared to the labor conditions prevailing, or to special needs of certain industries.” The other permit is a special work permit (Besondere Arbeitserlaubnis), issued to aliens “who have had a steady employment record for the preceding five years, or who have been living in Germany legally for the last eight years or more or who are married to a German citizen” (Bhagwati 1984, 279).
The majority of the German people thought, and still thinks today, that if there are no foreign workers, there will be considerable less unemployment. This is a tolerable thought but this problem has also to be looked at from a different perspective. The article, “A Whiff of Xenophobia” states, that “While the German economic miracle was in full swing, the Gastarbeiter (guest worker) were regarded as a necessary, if not always desirable,
With no one working, Germany had inflation, is where the currency has little to no value. The consumer price rose to 140 precent during 1918, even after the war the percentage was five times higher during war. For an example during 1914 whole sale price was 1.0, but during 1923 it was 726,000,000,000.0 (The Nightmare German Inflation”) During the war the men had no choice but to go into war and boys ages 12 to 13 had to go to Hilter youth group where they learned how to become good soldiers (“A child’s Experience”). The women also where allowed to participate in groups such as Military Nazi Women’s League and so on. The Germans also needed a work force so “ The Nazis tried to force 3 million women aged between 17-45 to work. Only 1 million went to work. This is one reason why they lost the war” ( War Impact on Life in Germany). The women would rather stay home and watch after the children and do the house work the men left behind, also some of the work the men left the women could have needed special training or talents. This was a problem because the women would have no way of being taught or every little opportunities to be
After World War II Germany was left devastated and in ruins. There had been massive destruction of the country’s infrastructure (Bessel 2011), it lacked political structure and economic activity had plummeted. There was a scarcity of food, fuel and housing and Germany was in no condition to clothe or feed its population (O’Dochartaigh 2003).
The Establishment of Revolutionary Changes in Germany After World War One In 1918 people in Germany were shattered by the unexpected defeat of the First World War. As the war ended the German emperor, the Kaiser, abdicated and early in 1919 Germanys politicians drew up what has often been described as the most democratic constitution in the world. The revolutionary changes after the war were vast.
Prior to Nazi rule, life in Germany had been subject to many hardships. The German People had been victim of
Wartime shows a lot of Nationalism in people. Women that never worked in factories went to work making ammunition, guns, and uniforms for the soldiers. Farmers continued to farm but their goods went to the army and very little went to selling and making a profit. The army and navy administrations, regulations shall be made by the proper superior authorities meaning of Sections XI and XIII . Section XI states that at least 50 workers should be employed . Section XIII states that if workers dispute wages and the company cannot come to an agreement one of the two that does not appeal or plead they are rewarded . The government also did not allow or want worker unions for this reason. There was a war going on two fronts in Germany and they saw it as going against the country if workers stopped working because they wanted more money. Germany did not need to fight a war on three fronts with the third front being the citizens wanting more money and better conditions for
The necessity for “increased utilization of female labor contradicted the image of women as childbearer and mainstay of the family,” and the German need to maintain this backwards social policy, necessitated the hesitant continuation of foreign labor. As the Nazis gained more territory, they often had procedures in place to utilize prisoners-of-war in order to fuel German wartime industry. Herbert explains that throughout the height of German dominance over the European continent, “the regime invested considerable efforts in bringing more and more mass transports of laborers to Germany” especially from more eastern states (pg. 150-151). As the war began to turn against the Germans, the horrible conditions prisoners-of-war generally lived in degraded even more. By 1943, living conditions in eastern camps had degraded to the a point where the “mere theft of a few potatoes, [meant] hungry eastern workers [were] executed in extremely brutal fashion” (pg. 168-179). Many foreign workers desperately attempted to escape the unlivable conditions of German labor camps, with 33,000 foreign workers per month bolting out of the German clutches (pg. 180-181). German dependance on foreign labor during both the rearmament and the intra-war periods, as well as their resistance to amend
After the 1929 Stock Market Crash, America demanded that Germany pay their loans, causing unemployment rates in Germany to soar. By 1932 the unemployment rate in Germany had reached over six million people. In the 1920’s many people were seeking the answer to the economic problems of Germany, the Nazi Party provided those answers. The Nazis began as “a small anti-Semitic group which developed into the German Workers’ Party (DAP).”
This reflection of the average German’s perception of guest workers is brought into focus by Ali: Fear Eats the Soul to critique the state of Germany’s failure to develop effective public policy that takes into account the reality of the ingrained cultural beliefs of German society. Der Spiegel’s 1973 article “The Turks are Coming! Save Yourself if You Can!” reflects both the disconnect between the German government and the public as well as the general sentiment stereotyping these guest workers as “foreigners… only welcome in the Federal Republic as exotic and cheap helpers… who will soon go back to where they came from” (GiT 110.) These disparities combined with blatant classism and racism permeated German society such that widespread rejection of Emmi and Ali’s relationship, from friends and family to the “professional” workplace, was within German standards of social conduct. Within this
When the stock market crashed in 1929, the whole world was devastated including Germany. Under the Versailles Germany had to pay reparations for the cause of world war I. The Great Depression and the devastation of the war destroyed Germany’s economy and they had no money to pay back and inflation increases and so the value of mark decreased. With this depression, many people look towards stealing, and prostitution to live their lives. Under the Nazi regime these vagrants became the “asocials” and “habituals criminals” of the society. But it wasn’t just these groups who faced trouble in Nazi Germany, others included the foreign workers and the Afro-Germans. There were many similarities and differences in the maltreatment of theses groups by the Nazis.
It´s time to stop the racism. . . Our role in society is little to nothing, some of us have jobs, but most are left in the dark. Germans that are allowed to have jobs, are of the lucky to be considered loyal and are permitted to work and own businesses. Though if you are like me, I have no job, I can barely feed myself like this. This labor issue is going to cause major problems later for the government. Our loss of jobs will heavily affect taxes that are directly used for soldiers in war. Germans are lucky to have the Agricultural and Industrial relief Bureau, which is an association that places unemployed Germans, similar to me, in open positions. We try to help the war effort, but it's incredibly arduous to do so. Germans can't participate in the nation´s government or serve in the war for America. However, we can buy liberty bonds. Liberty bonds, advertised by the government, directly help soldiers in the war and the war effort. Germans can buy these and are encouraged to buy these and not surprisingly, most Germans have done
Question: Why did Germany fail to translate tactical and operational victories into strategic success during WWII? In modest terms, why did Germany fail to win the war?
World War I ended abruptly for all the countries involved; and Germany suffered the most from it. The war started with huge German advances, but it ended with Germany asking for peace later in 1918. They were forced to defeat after a strong offense from the Allies, which was the main short term cause of their defeat, but many other factors contributed as well; branching to economic, military, political and strategic reasons.Germany’s incompetence to carry out strategies affected strongly their defeat; originating from their failure at the U-boat Campaign and heavy losses at the Hundred Days Offensive. This of course, brought to great military losses, to the point the Germans were unable to trade losses with the Allies. Economically, Germany
Unemployment was widespread and a whole generation of young Germans was left hopeless and without direction. For many Germans during these terrible times, mere survival was a challenge. This wretched condition is apparent in Heinrich Hauser’s description of Germany’s unemployed who lined the highways, homeless and destitute, with no place to go. As he describes it, “unskilled young people, for the most part… had been unable to find a place for themselves in any city or town in Germany, and… had never had a job and never expected to have one.” Germany had been forced to her knees.
So how would a middle class civil service German live during this period? They would live with absolute ease. Emerging from a great depression that left 6 million people unemployed they were willing to open their arms to anyone with a plan to help them acquire a job. Hubert Lutz (Oral History) he remembers as a young boy, his father having to go down to the unemployment office to receive a stamp for money and to look for work. But when in 1933, his father’s employment situation changed for the better, “Dad did office work, clerical work, and that was when he got paid” (Oral History, Lutz, page 143). Hubert Lutz’s father met a member of the Nazi party and helped him get a job and eased the financial hardships the family was facing. This was a common theme Hitler was promoting with his rise to power. “The Fuhrer immediately insisted on massive
Germany is quite accepting of immigrants and they are very welcoming. Germany has the second largest immigrant population in Europe, United Kingdom is the largest. Immigrants have contributed greatly to the prosperity of the German economy. A representative study shows that “foreign workers in Germany significantly contribute to the Bundesrepublik’s prosperity” (Lorenz, 2017). At any rate, the German economy is suffering from labour shortage and is urgently in need of immigrants to “counter an ageing demographic”. Germany” needs its immigrants to be doing much more than making doner kebabs — it needs them in its banks, its government offices, universities, and IT companies” (Sampath, 2016). Based on data from the OECD and the German statistics office, the study shows that Germany’s cultural diversity happens to be a major contributor to its economic success. Immigrants make up “9.6% of the population and one in five Germans has a migration background. The fact that Germany’s immigration rate is so high only tells half the story though” (Lorenz, 2017). The number of foreign specialists in Germany’s main industries is what really stresses the importance of immigration. Studies have proven that “relatively poor performing Bundesländer, with fewer foreign workers, could positively influence innovation and economic success by attracting talented personnel from abroad” (Lorenz, 2017). Also, as stated by Movinga, “the impressive number of companies with risk capital and the number