Unemployment in Spain is at 27%. Young people are fleeing Portugal and Ireland. One-in-four Greeks say they have difficulty paying for food.

Despite the Depression-era conditions, however, Europe has no crash plan to get people back to work. Under the German-engineered strategy to escape the euro crisis, struggling southern European members must continue to cut public spending, lower wages and grind down prices until they're competitive again. At current rates, it could take a decade or more to complete the process, according to studies by Goldman Sachs.

All the pain being endured raises the question: Is there a breaking point at which Europeans simply say, "Enough"?

Certainly, Europeans have protested austerity. But despite some scares, no country has left the euro. Support for remaining in the common currency remains high, even though there is widespread disenchantment with the European Union. Over 60% of Spaniards, Greeks, Italians and French want to keep the common currency, according to a survey published this month by the Pew Research Center.

Euro doomsayers who expected Greece would tumble out of the currency last year have seemingly underestimated Europeans' willingness to put up with years of hardship rather than gamble on an exit. But European officials who point to the stability of pro-euro sentiment may be making the opposite mistake.