Those fears seemed justified when, in the fourth quarter of 2008, German exports contributed 8.1 percent of an overall 9.4 percent annualized decline in GDP. By mid-2009, the Bundesbank was forecasting a 6 percent GDP contraction by the end of the year. Surprisingly robust demand in Asia, however, made up for declines in the Euro Area. German exports, however, rapidly rebounded. Industrial orders rose throughout 2009, and by August investor confidence had reached its highest point in three years. Germany, it seemed, had dodged the financial bullets emanating from the United States.

Mark Blyth, Austerity, loc. 156