In the post WWII years the US would become the dominant industrial and manufacturing entity for perhaps 15 years or more, until Germany and Japan again rose from the ashes to become world class powers in the smokestack insudtries - steel, autos, and many kinds of manufacturing. WWII was mostly to do with both science and manufacturing prowess, so it was inevitable that Germany and Japan would become strong in these areas again. But from about 1947 to the early 1960s the US had much of the world's standing manufacturing capacity, and millions of people paid off millions of home mortgages as a result.