The founding myth of modern Germany can be traced back to June 20, 1948, when Ludwig Erhard, economic director of the Anglo-American occupation zone in Germany, created the Deutsche Mark. To stabilize the new currency, he paired the paper issue with the removal of price controls. By spring 1949, German production rose from 51 percent to 78 percent of its 1936 level. Over the next eleven years, GDP grew at an annual average of over seven percent.