Creditors (debtors) in international finance are countries with a persistent current account surplus (deficit). However, history shows the adjustment between a creditor and a debtor is asymmetric: the latter is forced to contract its domestic demand but the former has no obligation to do anything at the same time. The consequences of this asymmetric adjustment is deflationary pressure in the Euro area and in the world economy more broadly. This paper reviews the gold standard in the 1920s, the post-war Bretton Woods System, and the recent European debt crisis and concludes there are important similarities among these cases.