As noted first by Sully, David Frum has an interesting take on the benefits Germany derived from the Euro and how it had a deleterious effect on the rest of the Euro-zone. Essentially, the currency manipulation inherent in the Euro made it so that Germany became the Euro-zone's lender and many countries (Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Spain... sound familiar?) racked up an enormous amount of debt because interest rates were so low. On the other hand, because Germany had changed to the Euro and no longer had the Deutsche Mark, there was no currency appreciation in Germany that would have negatively affected their trade surplus, retention of corporations and unemployment. Basically. Germany was able to continue to grow on fundamentals while the rest of Europe built castles in the air supported by massive amounts of loans from Germany.
Not to take away from the foolish behavior of the other countries (the Irish built like a they were dru... nevermind, Greece's public sector and taxation was/is a bloody mess, etc.), but I think it's an interesting take on how Germany should cop to their complicity and stop playing the victim.
(Image from the Economist)
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