What was the impact of World War 2 on Germany?

Answer 1

Millions of Germans were killed, most of its cities were bombed and shelled to rubble, its highways and railroads were destroyed, it was split into two countries for 46 years and even today it is synonymous with tyranny and genocide. WW2 also led to the expulsion of about 11.7 million ethnic Germans from Poland, Czechoslovakia and other countries in Eastern Central Europe.

[Germany] "is synonymous with tyranny and genocide". This is an exaggeration. The Third Reich damaged Germany's reputation, probably for ever. The chief 'victims' of this are young Germans, who were born long after 1945 and cannot be proud to be German except in a cultural sense. However, there is widespread agreement among those who know Germany well that it is one of the most soundly based democracies in Europe. It is also a committed and respected founder member of the European Union. Moreover, there have been serious attempts in by Germans from a wide range of walks of life to confront the country's past. This is in marked contrast to attitudes in Japan, for example.