after the war
The exact date that the War ended is not universally agreed on, but the most common is May 6th, 1945, when actual fighting ceased. In May of 1945, Germany surrendered. Europe was left a crumbled mess with an unstable economy. In June of 1947, the United States Secretary of State announced the Marshall Plan in a speech to Congress. The Marshall plan, or European Recovery Program, extended aid European countries who faced a lot of damage, or a "remedy". It was a 7 year rehabilitation plan. In July of 1947, a conference was held in Paris, and all European countries were invited to send a representative of their country to pick up their "share".
Despite the offer, many Eastern European states declines, including Germany. At the beginning of the war, Germany began as a highly industrial city. As a direct result, Berlin had ended up very damaged from all the bombing during the war. In late 1944, the German economy faced collapse. In retaliation of the Marshall plan that was late offered by the United States, Germany attempted to fix itself up.
Information on this page found from the very helpful website: https://www.marxists.org/subject/stalinism/origins-future/ch2-1.htm
Images: http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/after/ger/eco/gae-col.html, http://www.polishamericancenter.org/70thAnniversary_WWII.html
Images: http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/after/ger/eco/gae-col.html, http://www.polishamericancenter.org/70thAnniversary_WWII.html