They didn't do that at all. Did they stockpile food, or gasoline? Did they build extra houses, or cars, or infrastructure. They did not. They put money in t

They didn't do that at all. Did they stockpile food, or gasoline? Did they build extra houses, or cars, or infrastructure. They did not. They put money in the bank. Money by itself doesn't do anything. It has to be invested, and right now the risk-free investments have negative interest rates. It's hard for individuals to save the way squirrels do. Farmers could do it, but that's it. Now it requires governments, and Germans elected a government that refused to do it, and instead imposed balanced budgets instead. Now they are suffering the consequences of that.