Germany vs UK Exports

So I just noticed that thanks to Brexit, we are now a full $1 trillion behind Germany in annual exports. A trillion. Well, almost, we are at $412.2 billion while Germany, from within the EU, is at $1,401 trillion. What's a few billion between friends?

The data for Germany is here, and for the UK is here.

It isn't just trading exports, Germany has a budget surplus, we have a deficit. Germany public debt stands at 65% of GDP, the UK at 85%. Credit rating is AAA (Stable) in Germany across the board, the UK mostly at AA and negative.

Wow. There's a massive reckoning coming ...

European political maps from 1950's

I was going through the boxes in my cupboard and stumbled upon my dad's school books. One of them, geography, had this fascinating map;

A European political map - from the mid-1950's, you'll notice Germany (pre-East/West split), Jugoslavia, and some east-European states (Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Estonia, etc.) absorbed into Russia.