How post-war finance remade Europe.

In this episode, host Carmen Hofmann speaks with historian Tobias Straumann about his book Hitler’s Debt and the financial decisions that shaped Europe’s post-war recovery.

We explore how settling Hitler’s unresolved debts, the 1953 London Debt Agreement, and bold U.S. policy choices helped turn a devastated continent into the “economic miracle” of the 1950s. Straumann explains why debt relief strengthened democracy, how leaders like Adenauer, Acheson, Schuman, Ben-Gurion and Sharett navigated moral and political dilemmas, and what the German case can teach us about today’s global debt crises.

A concise look at how financial strategy, diplomacy, and compromise built the foundations of modern Europe — and why those foundations matter now more than ever.