What did Germany do after World War II to recover so successfully that it became more prosperous than its WW2 victors?

When the 2ww ended the cold war started.....

The UK, USA, France etc spend a lot of time and effect including using most of their best engineers to create weapons and defenses for the cold war.

Germany was not allowed to create weapons; therefore all their best people worked in industry creating goods that could be sold.

The US and UK also based lots of solders in West Germany, and these solders spend money while there. At least some of the effort in building the bases was then by German workers (that got paid).

At the closing of WWII the Cold War had already begun. West Germany bordered the Soviet Bloc and became the premier battle ground. Long story short, Sec. George Marshall guilt tripped/spooked congress into agreeing to give very very large amount of their constituents money to Europe. W. Germany and Greece being the two most at risk to shifting into the Soviet sphere, they received the most. ^^^(Turkey was as well, & was a big part of selling the idea yet they did not receive Marshal Plan aid) I think what I'm saying is accurate but I did not check.... Aside from that we were going to do everything possible to help make sure West Germany looked like Disney Land compared to the other side of the Wall. Also Germany, historically is a very innovative society and has been a technological hub --- so with someone else writing blank checks to invest they were able to produce - that's what i speculate anyway.

Good question with several answers. First a nod to Lennart for pointing out that Germany grew just like France and Britain and the USA, so a certain amount of "a rising tide floats all boats." However there were some factors that advantaged Germany more than the others:

1. Highly educated, savings-minded workforce whose population losses were instantly replenished by the influx of millions of refugees from former eastern Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.
2. Wartime destruction meant wonder years for the construction industry. Entire cities were destroyed and had to be rebuilt.
3. Just fighting the war under conditions of scarcity and bombing engendered a high level of state-industrial cooperation and focus on efficiency and optimization. Do more with less. For example, Germany managed to produce more war materiel in 1944 than in 1940.
4. Germany shrank by 25% in 1945 compared to its 1937 territory. Most of the lost territory, such as East Prussia and Pomerania, was historically relatively poor and agricultural. Silesia was an industrial region but hardly on a par with the Rhineland. Other relatively poor regions such as Mecklenburg and Brandenburg were sequestered away into East Germany. So the richest and most industrial parts of West Germany could grow without having to subsidize the East.
5. Ludwig Erhard, the minister given much credit for the "Economic Miracle," astutely kept exchange rates artificially low in order to promote German exports.
6. The Marshall Plan certainly helped somewhat by infusing capital. Rather than investment, East Germany experienced a net loss of capital and industrial plant as "reparations" but still managed to become the 7th largest industrial economy at its height.

Finally, a political factor that is often overlooked: Before World War II Germany's middle class had no political home. Instead it was fractured six ways to Sunday. This had led to much political friction over the years, to the point of enabling the Nazi Party to rise to power by grabbing the votes of a frustrated middle class who wanted an end to the chaos. Finally the Catholics and the Protestants joined forces to form the CDU, giving it a solid base of political support to carry out the Economic Miracle. By the same token, the Communist Party was outlawed, and working class politics was united under the SPD. Political stability and the rule of law are seen as essential conditions for the growth of capitalism.