That&#x27;s a common narrative, but it doesn&#x27;t make sense when you look at the facts on the ground. And putting some thought into it, bombed-out economies are not good customers.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;graphics8.nytimes.com&#x2F;images&#x2F;2012&#x2F;11&#x2F;19&#x2F;opinion&#x2F;111912krugman3&#x2F;111912krugman3-blog480.jpg" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;graphics8.nytimes.com&#x2F;images&#x2F;2012&#x2F;11&#x2F;19&#x2F;opinion&#x2F;11191...</a><p>As you can see, there was nothing more than a brief spike in the general upward trend in exports. The &quot;Europe bought tons of stuff from us, fueling our economy&quot; story is simply not true. Exports as a share of GDP briefly peaked at 8% and then rapidly returned to prewar levels by the early 1950s.