Chapter XV

DESTINATION EUROPE

AT THE OPENING of the International Autumn Fair in Frankfurt on September 2, 1956, I declared, not for the first time:

Chapter XVI

THE PHOENIX ARISES FROM ITS ASHES

IT IS WORTH WHILE paying more attention to the basis of the obviously successful foreign trade policy when looking at the monthly export figures of the Federal Republic, which rose from DM 300 million at the beginning of 1949 to almost DM 3 milliard at the end of 1956.

Chapter XVII

OUTLOOK: CONFIDENCE AND ANXIETIES

SINCE THIS BOOK makes no claim to be theoretically systematic, but is meant rather to give to the German people some sort of account of progress so far, it seems a good moment to look into the future. This is not a matter of economic prophecy, but rather an evaluation of the present forms of our economic and political life, and finally an attempt to outline clearly the various possible alternative courses for our social and national existence.

NOTES

1 Wirtschaft ohne Wunder, 1953, Eugen-Rentsch Verlag, Erlenbach/ Zurich.

2 ‘Government Appropriations for Relief in Occupied Areas’, which provided some ‘first-aid’, as Germany was, of course, not covered by UNNRA.

3 On the day of the announcement of currency reform all banking and savings accounts were frozen, to be re-opened only several weeks later. The result, briefly, was to wipe out 90% of all savings, since every RM 100 in the old account became DM 10 in the new when accounts were finally freed.

TABLE I

THE INSTITUTE OF ECONOMICS OF

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Copyright, 1932, by

THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION

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Published August, 1932.

Second impression, February, 1933.

Third impression, January, 1934.

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