Vichy France was, during WW2, ruled by a German official designated to watch the French people and to stop them from rebelling. When the war was won by the Axis powers in late 1942, Germany included in its re-organizing of Europe the making of a southern French state. In the period between 1945-1949, Vichy France enjoyed a period of economic boom and increased power, as many individuals fled other countries to try to find hope in the new French government and Germany sending large amounts of money to Vichy France to rebuild it. When Germany stopped giving France money, however, Vichy France could not finance its many extravagant projects it was working on, the French economy collapsed completely.