
Germany’s Economy Is Spiraling. Can War Fix It?
From The Journal. by The Wall Street Journal & Spotify Studios
May 5, 2026 · 19 min
About this episode
The episode discusses Germany's stagnant economy and a plan to shift from consumer goods to weapons manufacturing to stimulate growth.
After years of industrial decline, the Germany economy is stagnant. Government officials now hope an audacious plan, to pivot from consumer goods to weapons, will kickstart growth again. WSJ’s Bojan Pancevski explains how the same factories built to make German car parts are now gearing up to supply the defense industry. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - The Global Scramble for Patriot Missiles - Germany’s Economy Is Broken. There’s No Plan B. Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Jessica Mendoza
Guest: Bojan Pancevski
Topics covered
- Germany's economy
- industrial decline
- defense industry
- economic growth
- war impact
Keywords
- Germany
- economy
- industrial decline
- defense industry
- economic growth
- war
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Wall Street Journal, Spotify Studios
Places: Germany
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