Germany surrendered to the Allied forces led by the United States in 1945. The country was left in ruins.

The people were in a state of total despair and collapse. Houses — even entire cities — had been flattened, including schools, libraries, and hospitals.

The Allied forces took factories and machinery with them and destroyed what remained of the infrastructure.

In the aftermath of these events, the idea of rebuilding from scratch emerged, led by women in the complete absence of government.

Under these circumstances, women and the elderly began clearing the rubble to rebuild homes, while collecting books and papers from beneath the ruins in order to reopen schools. On the remains of shattered walls, they wrote slogans spreading hope and encouraging work:

— Do not wait for your rights to be handed to you.
— Do what you can.
— Sow hope before wheat.

The period from 1945 to 1955 was one of reconstruction, driven by hope and faith in the possibility of success.

Public holidays were abolished, and an additional working hour was introduced, called:

— One Hour for Germany.

The women were nicknamed:

— The Women of the Ruined Buildings.

The period from 1955 to 1965 was the era of building factories. Turkish workers were brought in to help with reconstruction, and a work slogan was adopted:

— Seriousness + Hope.

From 1965 to 1975, capital and business leaders emerged. Every businessman took responsibility for around fifty young men and women, training and educating them to help rebuild and uplift the nation. Everyone’s mission was to spread hope and insist on development, progress, and achieving a place among advanced nations.

(Adapted from the “Germany News” page)

— Can we work as Germany did, rise from the ashes, and become a respected nation among nations? Or shall we remain trapped in empty slogans and personality cults, a state without weight or sovereignty?

National sovereignty is achieved through work, knowledge, and seriousness — not through hypocrisy, opportunism, mediocrity, the selling of illusions, and spreading hatred among the sons and daughters of the same homeland.