Germany Says No To Greek War Reparations

In a recent state visit to Greece, the German Federal President, Joachim Gauck, faced a rather lukewarm reception from Greek officials and demands for German war reparations. Gauck respectively declined the Greeks. 

The Greeks have been using WWII as a weak argument to justify their poorly structured private and public economy. Before the war the Greeks weren't exactly known as an economic power. After the war, the mismanagement of the economy by successive Greek governments, both military and civilian, is not exactly a result of the Nazi occupation, but rather the path dependent policy choices they created for themselves. Two other things: I'd have to search again, but I'm certain Greece received war reparations from Germany. They certainly were recipients of Marshall Funds and subsequent IMF loans. Second, even if Germany were to fork over billions more in war reparations, it will not solve the underlying problems the Greeks have created for themselves and it will not prevent future Greek governments from seeking more. As soon as they exhaust what they were to receive, the Greek government would be right back demanding more.  

http://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article125505942/Gauck-erteilt-den-Griechen-eine-Absage.html