My regular read should recall that I've been channeling the revery of Edgar Cayce for a while now.  For review:  Cayce prophesied that Germany would be involved in three world wars, and would lose two.  Ergo, the next one will find Germany winning.  Further, these essays have pointed out that Germany is bludgeoning its trading partners, after having sucked the value out of them.

I just returned from my morning read of the Times, and Floyd Norris has the chronology, complete with conspiracy addenda.  For those not wishing to stray over there, these are some quotes that dovetail with earlier musings here.

"Imagine for a moment that two decades ago, a newly unified Germany set out to take over the European Continent, as the previous unified Germany had tried and failed to do half a century earlier. This time it would use money, not guns, to accomplish the goal."

"...a currency union could help German exports if the euro's value were held down by less competitive economies."

"Ultimately, deeply indebted countries would face a crisis, one that they could solve only if they acquiesced to German policies and surrendered a large part of national sovereignty."

"Its exports boomed as European neighbors used borrowed money to buy German goods. German banks helped to finance housing bubbles in the periphery -- usually not directly, but through loans to other banks."

"In hindsight, the critical moment in the crisis may have been when Ireland's banks failed in early 2009. Had the Irish government taken the position that it would stand behind deposits, but that loans made to the banks would be allowed to default, German banks would have been in trouble, and probably would have needed to be bailed out by the German government."

"A new German mark would no doubt be much stronger than the euro is now, making life a lot harder for German exporters. That reality has led some in Europe to think that Germany is bluffing, and that it will continue to pay the bill even if it cannot get what it wants."

All hail Der Fuehrer.  And I'll bet you thought the problem was China.