We # 39; re living in a Europe dominated by Germany Rift - UKIP Nigel Farage,
Their nation is one of the few European countries to have survived the global recession and the crisis almost unscathed euro area their economy is booming; their products are in demand; and therefore, some argue that they can call the shots in the entire region.
But in recent years, it is the same strength and economic success caused to be cast as villain.
Angela Merkel German Chancellor has been described as the daughter of Hitler and his country has been painted as an imperial power that will not be liked or admired by the rest, but hated and resisted, in a warning by George Soros, financially, because it will be perceived as an oppressive power.
The first right of Greek daily page shows a picture of democracy photoshop German Chancellor Angela Merkel with Nazi arm band.
His is not a single voice of the complaint because of Rome in Dublin, Athens to Madrid, there has been a mounting disapproval concert headed to Germany on the conditions it imposes - as largest lender - helping stricken European economies, especially Greece, Spain and Cyprus.
In 2012, hundreds gathered to protest in central Madrid, waving banners and saying Merkel go home, not a German Europe, a Spanish economist who participated in the demonstration told German financial mafia takes Spanish hostage.
In Athens demonstrators dressed in Nazi uniforms and gas masks An Italian newspaper Il Giornale, published a front page photo of Merkel as the Fourth Reich banners outside the parliament building in Nicosia read Merkel stole our savings.
Protester throws a bottle at riot police outside a barrier errected to protect the Greek parliament in Athens during a demonstration against the Vist Merkel.
Although Germany has come to the rescue of its weaker European neighbors, it did so reluctantly and with a set of very harsh terms.
Many economists have been saying - an insistence that debtor countries reduce deficits and spending and raise taxes - as directly contributing to massive job losses and a dramatic fall in living standards in Europe.
In Spain, unemployment has reached 27 percent in Athens, ministers imposed a 22 percent cut in the minimum wage in Cyprus, who have significant savings found 10 percent of them were caught in a tax unique.
Detractors of Germany many of these austerity measures were preventable and, in turn, created a German Europe - where it is the law of Berlin, and uses its economic power to dictate the rules to all other.
Ulrich Beck, who teaches at the University of Munich and the London School of Economics, was one of the most consistent critics.
In the hardest hit by the crisis, many people think they are the losers because the austerity policies jointly conducted by Berlin and Brussels are deprived of their livelihoods - and also their human dignity at -he says.
Many in Germany are these criticisms unfounded As the largest economy in Europe, it has raised more money than anyone else to rescue the euro area - 27 percent of the bailout fund to 700 million came from Germany - and therefore it believes it has the right to dictate certain terms.
Michael Wohlgemuth, director of the think tank Open Europe in Berlin, said Germany as the key creditor is obviously more powerful than before the crisis, the German government has a duty to ensure that the money of German taxpayers is not wasted All other countries would do the same stress conditionality.
He also stressed that the Bundesbank has exactly the same voting rights at the European Central Bank board with, say, Cyprus and Germany is always outvoted Critics say it is not outvoted on secondary issues; regarding the major policy decisions of the Bundesbank holds the purse strings and, in effect, a veto.
But while the crisis of the eurozone fades slowly, critics in recent months turned to the export success of Germany and its huge trade surplus, which at 199 billion is the largest in the world in absolute terms.
Germany has so things manufacture and export - the argument goes - the rest of Europe ends up being indebted to him, forced to buy German goods, rather than investing in their own production and the production.
It's not just the Greek and Cypriot governments that have come to be in debt in Germany, but all of us consumers.
The Beck's argument is that Germany did not need to invade and yet is omnipresent.
This sounds like sour grapes, but it is worth asking the question how Germany finished so strong and the rest of Europe need to worry.
The Berlin trade surplus is visible in many parts of Europe, not least in terms of the Emirates Stadium in north London, home to Arsenal Football Club.
It is not only Mesut Ozil, the most expensive player in the club record 42 5000000 rumored, where German influence is felt Walk the nearby streets and you can find in a section, an Audi, next to a Mercedes, next to a BMW, next to a Volkswagen.
Add to that many Skodas owned by VW, Porsche, BMW Minis again and even smart cars.
According to the Society of Automobile Manufacturers Traders, 2 2 million cars registered in the UK last year, 39 percent of them originated in Germany.
Step into the street, and many houses you will find a Miele vacuum cleaner, Bosch kettle, Neff oven, a Siemens dishwasher and an electric toothbrush Braun According to GfK, which monitors consumer markets, brands German account for 21 percent of the main appliance market in great Britain Almost half of all households with dishwashers, have a German.
Many consumers may think most of what they are now buying is now made in China stamped on the back, but for UK consumers which is not true.
Last year, we imported 56 billion worth of goods and services from Germany and 38 billion China.
Critics say Germany is because it has two main unfair advantages over its export by competitors.
First, the German policy maintained low wages compared to unsustainably its European neighbors - a minimum wage will be introduced next year.
Secondly, it is the view of most economists that Germany was the biggest winner among the euro, and that part of the euro - rather than keeping its old currency, the Deutsche Mark - was a huge advantage Upon accession, the exchange rate was set at 1 DM1 96, most people thought the time was a fair rate.
But it is estimated by the European Commission itself, since then, the real exchange rate in Germany fell by nearly 20 percent in other words, if Germany had retained the Deutschmark, the value of its products would have been 20 percent more expensive every potential customer Being part of the shared euro kept low by struggling neighbors helped drag down the cost of its products accordingly, German cars, kettles and shoelaces have suddenly become much cheaper to buy.
This argument has long been pushed by winning economist Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, no less, which emerged a leading Germany denigrate But a number of other economists, Nobel Prize winners such as Joseph Stiglitz and Christopher Pissarides recently joined him express critical problems inherent in a powerful northern Europe, led by Germany, and a small southern Europe all use the same currency Germany, they say, has urgently to re-address the serious imbalances the the most obvious method would be to make its products more expensive, pushing its workers' wages.
Fans of the country, however, say Krugman and the rest have a short memory, and that when the country joined the euro, it was famous, the sick man of Europe with high unemployment; he was, at the time, the slower growth of the European economy after Italy he was to join the euro at a relatively low level to help regain some competitiveness.
Moreover, even if Krugman and other economists arguments are correct in theory, many German manufacturers insist the weak euro is mostly irrelevant They say that customers tend to buy German goods for their quality, not their price.
Take Miele, which specializes in the manufacture of washing machines upmarket You will need to spend at least 700 if you want one of their models; some cost more than 2500.
A man walks past the new manufacturer Miele vacuum cleaners Radio International show in Berlin, Germany.
The company began as a manufacturer churns in the late 19th century and is still a family company and is part of the famous German Mittelstand - the network of small and medium enterprises, many of them family business whose roots extend well back.
Its CEO is Markus Miele, great grand-son of the founder, is clear that family property is critical to its success We believe not only next week and next month, but the next 10 years and we have development projects which have been running for a long time.
About 70 percent of everything he does, it exports He believes the German domination in white goods is partly due to the automotive industry.
The German automotive industry is mainly located in the most important premium segment are very high quality and they really help set made in Germany as a quality label.
He says I have my research staff market Each time we open a new country, I will count how many Audis, BMW, Mercedes, I can see on the roads, and if enough of these I know it will be a Miele Miele country or not country, because if a customer is able to spend money on these cars, they can also afford to spend money on a Miele product.
The success of the Mittelstand is through the German banks, said Simon Tilford, chief economist of the Center for European Reform.
This is due in part to the structure of the German financial system of small and medium enterprises have been able to access long-term capital at very favorable regional banks interest rates were mainly subscribed by the State, borrow very cheaply and then lending to these companies at reasonable prices.
There is also a long history of apprentices in Germany - before the introduction of the euro Many school leavers see a job in the industry as an option Miele university, which has 10,000 hand-profit -d'œuvre Germany takes 300 annually, for example.
It is understandable that a high-end e-business as Miele rejects the relevance of a weak euro; what's interesting is how lower-value manufacturing businesses also feel the same.
Duncan Savage is the managing director of Staedtler UK arm, which makes one million of its distinctive pencil scratch each day at its plant in Nuremberg He admits he sometimes in a supermarket aisle and wondered how Staedtler another family business will be able to sell expensive pens - usually 70P each - when rival supermarket own brand pencils on the next tray, are sold in packages that run a little every 2 p.
You may think a pencil is a very basic element, but black and yellow pencils, crayons Norris, have nine layers of lacquer and varnish to finish, while a Chinese may have only three layers is the quality .
The Company also made its own graphite locally Nuremberg to ensure that they do not break when sharpened pencils.
We could do our cheaper pencils, but you feel the difference, I think the quality of engineering, you see in the automotive industry, trickles all the way to the humble pencil.
But it is not only Krugman and his fellow economists who think the trade surplus in Germany is keeping the depressed world.
Christine Lagarde, the IMF head, has repeatedly called on Germany to do more to boost domestic demand - in short, encouraging Germans to spend more, ideally on things imported from the rest of Europe, for help their neighbors.
Again, in theory, this would help to correct the imbalance of Germany, but it could not really help the rest of Europe.
The export surplus of Germany with Europe has become significantly smaller in recent years between 2007 and 2012, its surplus with the EU still has descended 173-114 trillion.
And when it comes to very little of its European neighbors - the so-called PIIGS economies of Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain - Germany went from a surplus to a deficit critics Germany say because those economies in their knees and can not afford to import German goods but what is true is that most of the surplus of Germany in fact now comes to export to Brazil, Russia and other fast growing economies - the share of German exports to the EU increased from 65 percent to 57 percent between 2007 and 2012.
And many denigrate Germany underestimate how well the interdependence Germany is on the rest of Europe and the world A small example is the Dualit toaster - a key proof of being a member of the middle classes Britain as table linen Cath Kidston.
But this stylish chrome device, designed and manufactured in Britain, would not be the same without its distinctive ticking clock.
This small component is manufactured in Germany, like millions of nuts, bolts, pipes, tooling machinery, chemicals, dyes, colors and robotic equipment crucial for the UK manufacturing sector German export success is based all both on components on the finished engineering marvels.
And also, the wonders - Audis and mieles - rely on the rest of us is estimated that 40 percent of goods that Germany exports rely on imports from other European countries BMW, for example, sources nearly half parts for cars built in Germany and abroad while many in Britain are mourning the Mini now owned by a German parent company, BMW employs at least 5,000 people in Britain to make the car.
It would be crazy idea that we must reduce German exports to the rest of the world, said Wohlgemuth This in turn reduce imports in Germany.
Indeed, it is not Germany fault that Audi makes nice cars the middle class budding world want to buy, or well-made pencils that break when you don t sharpening.
Last year, Greece's new car market has finally begun to recover, which brands saw the strongest growth BMW recorded an increase in sales revenues and third Mercedes Benz rose 47 percent do forced these Greeks, rich enough to splash on a new car, chose German.
However, what is becoming a growing problem for Europe is the fetishization of Germany exports in expressing Tilford became the model for many other countries.
As Tilford said it is very difficult for the euro area as a whole if its largest component has a savings surplus, an economy that is that we can so dependent on exports Because obviously t all be surplus business together and the problem is that everyone in the eurozone tries to imitate Germany - by driving export growth But Germany can be Germany because others are not in Germany.
It is true that Germany is in the European driving seat, but to represent what is an attempt to Merkel to establish a Fourth Reich misses the point, it is in the driver's seat because creditors of Europe run Europe and they are likely to do so for as long as there is a single currency that binds these different economies - high and low - together.
And those who fear Germany uses its trade surplus as a stick to beat the rest of Europe forget that he was once the sick man of Europe While it has many advantages in construction, but much its strength comes from nothing more sophisticated than giving customers what they want.
Is Germany excludes your world, Germany rule the world.