Page 165 - The Making of the German Post-war Economy

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1949 – CONTENTMENT AND

CONFIDENCE

In the federal elections, the people unambiguously decided for the Social Market Economy.
1
(Konrad Adenauer, 1949)

When in spring 1949 prices noticeably and sustainably stabilised, faith
both in the Deutsche Mark and in improving economic conditions grew
among the German people. According to an EMNID survey, by February
1949, 66 per cent of respondents believed in the stability of the new
currency whereas in July 1948 only 53.1 per cent and in August 1948
merely 42.5 per cent of interviewees had done so; even more significant
were the respective percentages of respondents not having faith in the
DM: 46.9 per cent, 53.0 per cent, and, finally, 13.2 per cent. Similarly, an
2
OMGUS opinion poll on economic affairs documented the upward trend
in confidence in the new currency, gaining twenty points from July 1948
to February 1949. Approval of currency reform measures remained at a
high level, averaging about nine out of ten. Although money and high
prices in general were great cause of concern (in fact, 57 per cent
mentioned financial problems, far exceeding the figure of 10 per cent that
then mentioned food as a major concern), at the turn of the year,
majorities felt that prices would go down. Thus, in January 1949, 52 per
cent of the respondents claimed to be better off than they had been a year
earlier, at which time 57 per cent had said they were worse off than the
year before. According to a contemporary EMNID survey, people
3
similarly calculated their personal economic situation: in consecutive
opinion polls, in the months of August, September, November 1948 and
February 1949, there was a fluctuation – 43.6 per cent, 65 per cent, 47.8
per cent, and 70 per cent – in those interviewed who thought themselves
better off than before to the currency reform. The analogous figures