Paddy, I wrote "they had a hell of a lot more in terms of resources and opportunity to rebuild than, say, your average Afghani" specifically to address the point of why it is the Germans could bounce back as quickly as they did. They have resourses other than oil, and, unlike some people, they even allowed their women to walk around in broad daylight without a chaperone... I never, ever, at any point said that the Germans became a prosperous nation due to the Marshall plan. I only said that Phelice was inaccurate in her statament that the Germans have never received freebees from others, and that was only because I feel we should not forget our own history, even if it is one we are not very proud of, or we're bound to repeat the same mistakes again and again. Mind you, apparently there are still some who would like to go back to Good Old Adolf's days, just like some would prefer to be living in the time of Stalin or Pol Pot. As for me, I am happy to be living in the here and now, with all the things we have and all the safetly that involves, having learned from the struggles of my ancestors. It is the goal of most parents that their children should be better off than they, and not have to struggle like they did. There's a reason for that.
Having said that, I do not agree with your assessment of the German economy pre WW I, but that's a whole another ball of wax and totally o/t.
Yes, the subject has to do with rebuilding, according to you Germany had more resources and opportunity to rebuild because they had a shit load of money handed to them. I say, they didnt need a cent to rebuild their nation from the allies who destroyed their nation (the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and America.) They would of done just fine without it. As Beave pointed out correctly, the allies finally came to their senses and they used German economic recovery to counter the Soviet Union. The Americans even robbed Germany of their Nazi rocket scientist, who later were influential in the of NASA.
But in any case, German success without the Marshall Plan is a theoretical example, an actual practical example is Nazi Germany that became one of the richest nations on the planet. World War I ended in 1918, throughout the 1920s Germanys economy was sinking, when French and Belgium troops occupied their Ruhr region at the heart of their coal and steel industries caused their economy to strain even more, to the point where they reached hyperinflation in 1923. Their money eventually became worthless, and they still had to pay war reparations.
Despite this, when Hitler and the Nazis came to power on January 18 1933 Germany was still bankrupt, millions were unemployed, and they were still antagonized by the victors of the first world war. The Germans who lived in the 1920s didnt have the resources or opportunity then say, you average Afghani of today
they didnt even have a stable currency. They only had opportunity after they worked hard for it, Hitler had support from the labor force and they no longer went on strike. Adolf Hitler closed the trade unions and transferred their staff and members and created the German Labor Front (DAF), which was the largest trade union in the world at that time. (David Irving Hitlers War updated April 13 2001 edition page 45). In the end of all Hitlers economic reforms, Germany was not only rebuilt after the first world war, but one of the most rich and powerful nations in the world.
In any case, I see your point crystal clear with regards to Afghanistan, and it is a good one.