No two countries are identical, which makes comparisons regarding later economic development difficult; Western Europe was more developed and industrialized than Eastern Europe long before the Cold War; World War II damaged the economies of some countries more than others; and East Germany had much of its industry dismantled and moved to the Soviet Union for war reparations.
没有两个国家是一样的，这使得后来对经济发展的比较变得困难；西欧在冷战前就比东欧更发达且工业化；二战对一些国家经济的破坏比其他国家更为严重；东德有大量的工业设施被拆除并运到苏联以用于战后重建。