In both cases, if either Europe or Japan returned – or, indeed, ever returns – to something like the pre-downturn trend of economic growth, it took (or will take) decades. In a third case, Europe at the end of the 1930’s, we do not know what would have happened had Europe not become a battlefield following Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland.
在这两次萧条中，欧洲或日本想要重新恢复到——或者事实上恢复到——衰退前的经济增长趋势的话，就得（或者说可能）花费数十年时间才能重回到这一水平。而要不是纳粹德国入侵波兰令欧洲沦为（二战）战场的话，我们也无法设想1930年末在欧洲爆发的那场萧条会引发何种后果。