FRANKFURT—Stringent lockdowns weighed heavily on Europe’s economy in the second quarter, causing a record decline that was even more severe than in the US, but the continent’s strategy of containment coupled with aggressive stimulus is fanning hopes of a robust recovery.

The eurozone’s gross domestic product fell 40.3% annually in the three months through June, exceeding the US economy’s 32.9% contraction, according to data published 31 July. That is by far the sharpest decline since comparable records began in 1995, according to the European Union’s statistics agency.