The US escaped its comparable 1940s public-debt-to-GDP peak through a combination of strong growth and inflation alongside explicit yield curve control: the Fed grew its bond holdings roughly tenfold from 1942-1945 and pegged the yield curve (e.g., ~1/3 of 1% at the front, 2.5% at the long end) with an open bid, holding yields at 2.5% even when inflation peaked at 19%.