Editing Economy of Germany (section)

===West Germany===
{{See also|Wirtschaftswunder}}
[[File:VW Käfer Baujahr 1966.jpg|thumb|The [[Volkswagen Beetle]] was an icon of West German reconstruction.]]
Beginning with the [[Monetary reform|replacement]] of the [[Reichsmark]] with the [[Deutsche Mark]] as legal tender, a lasting period of low inflation and rapid industrial growth was overseen by the government led by [[Chancellor of Germany|German Chancellor]] [[Konrad Adenauer]] and his minister of economics, [[Ludwig Erhard]], raising West Germany from total wartime devastation to one of the most developed nations in modern Europe.

In 1953 it was decided that Germany was to repay $1.1 billion of the aid it had received. The last repayment was made in June 1971.

Apart from these factors, hard work and long hours at full capacity among the population in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s and extra labour supplied by thousands of ''[[Gastarbeiter]]'' ("guest workers") provided a vital base for the economic upturn.