Wirtschaftswunder! That’s the German word for the new economic miracle echoing the postwar boom. What is the secret? It’s mid-size companies, or “mittelstand”, exploiting niches in the economy.
A good example is Diens Group in Cologne, founded in 2013. It survived two world wars and the depression making precision machines for export. In 2009 they had to shorten the work week. Then they laid off workers and had their pay supplemented by the German government. By 2010 they were hiring back all the workers. Now the workers are working overtime in 2011.
This is important because Germany represents one-third of Europe’s economy. If the Greek bailout goes through, it will be funded by taxes paid by companies such as Diens.