Quote:
Originally Posted by Natal
Didnt the allied forces raze the country to the ground?
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Well, there were cities which were more or less totally destroyed, like Dresden, Hamburg or Cologne for example. Others came out without too much destruction, depending on the lack of encountered resistance and absence of military fabrication.
Not all destruction was due to the allied forces, though. Retreating German troups had orders to blow up bridges, for example, to delay the Allied's march.
After the German surrender, the allied governments
could have made the decission to cut Germany into pieces and join the parts to the surrounding states. That would have been the end of Germany - and probably the start of new problems within the region.
Instead of that the western forces helped to build up a new state with democratic values, and even gave support for rebuilding the economy. (See
Marshall Plan)
After a few years the western sectors of Germany began to bloom, while the east, "Soviet Sector" (->
GDR) still suffered from the pullout of material and technology by the Soviet Union as reparation.
The bloom and re-established wealth of Western Germany lead to contentment of the citizens, the European Economic Community (a predecessor of the European Union) and more stability in Central Europe than we ever had.
I'll stop my history lesson here.
