The final payment was made on 3 October 2010, settling German loan debts in regard to reparations. ==Background== In 1914, the First World War broke out.
Germany's assistance with the restoration of the university library of Louvain, which was destroyed by the Germans on 25 August 1914, was also credited towards the sum, as were some of the territorial changes the treaty imposed upon Germany.
On 8 January 1918, United States President Woodrow Wilson issued a statement that became known as the Fourteen Points.
During the fourth quarter of 1918, the Central Powers began to collapse.
Furthermore, in 1918 during the German retreat, German troops devastated France's most industrialized region in the north-east (Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin).
Between 1919 and 1932, Germany paid less than 21 billion marks in reparations. The German people saw reparations as a national humiliation; the German Government worked to undermine the validity of the Treaty of Versailles and the requirement to pay.
Wilson opposed these positions and was adamant that no indemnity should be imposed upon Germany. The Paris Peace Conference opened on 18 January 1919, aiming to establish a lasting peace between the Allied and Central Powers.
The same article, with the signatory's name changed, was also included in the treaties signed by Germany's allies. ==German reaction== In February 1919, Foreign Minister Count Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau informed the Weimar National Assembly that Germany would have to pay reparations for the devastation caused by the war, but would not pay for actual war costs.
Thus, the A and B Bonds, which were genuine, represented the actual Allied assessment of German capacity to pay." Taking into account the sum already paid between 1919 and 1921, Germany's immediate obligation was 41 billion gold marks. To pay towards this sum, Germany could pay in kind or in cash.
In an attempt to rectify this situation, the Spa Conference was held in July 1920.
The objective of both the politicians and historians was to prove that Germany was not solely guilty for causing the war; if that guilt could be disproved the legal requirement to pay reparations would disappear. ==Evolution of reparations== ===Initial demands=== The Treaty of Versailles stated that a Reparation Commission would be established in 1921.
They would, however, be credited for these goods. In January 1921, the Allied Powers grew impatient and established the reparation sum at 226 billion gold marks.
On 24 April 1921, the German Government wrote to the American Government expressing "her readiness to acknowledge for reparation purposes a total liability of 50 billion gold marks", but was also prepared "to pay the equivalent of this sum in annuities adapted to her economic capacity totalling 200 billion gold marks".
In addition, the German Government stated that "to accelerate the redemption of the balance" and "to combat misery and hatred created by the war", Germany was willing to provide the resources needed and "to undertake herself the rebuilding of townships, villages, and hamlets". ===London Schedule of Payments=== The London Schedule of Payments of 5 May 1921 established "the full liability of all the Central Powers combined, not just Germany alone," at gold marks.
Thus, the A and B Bonds, which were genuine, represented the actual Allied assessment of German capacity to pay." Taking into account the sum already paid between 1919 and 1921, Germany's immediate obligation was 41 billion gold marks. To pay towards this sum, Germany could pay in kind or in cash.
The German Government was to issue bonds at five per cent interest and set up a sinking fund of one per cent to support the payment of reparations. ===End of reparations for Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Turkey=== Between the signing of the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine and April 1922, Bulgaria paid 173 million gold francs in reparations.
By late 1922, the German defaults on payments had grown so serious and regular that a crisis engulfed the Reparations Commission.
On 26 December 1922, Germany defaulted on timber deliveries.
By December 1922, Poincaré was faced with Anglo-American-German hostility; coal supplies for French steel production were running low.
The payment of the remaining 'C' bonds was interest free and contingent on the Weimar Republic's ability to pay, as was to be assessed by an Allied committee. Due to the lack of reparation payments by Germany, France occupied the Ruhr in 1923 to enforce payments, causing an international crisis that resulted in the implementation of the Dawes Plan in 1924.
In 1923, the Bulgarian reparation sum was revised downwards to 550 million gold francs, "plus a lump sum payment of 25 million francs for occupation costs".
When the Treaty of Lausanne was signed in 1923, Turkish reparations were "eliminated altogether". ===German defaults=== From the initiation of reparations, German coal deliveries were below the level agreed.
In January 1923, despite quota reductions, the German Government defaulted on coal deliveries for the 34th time in three years following the loss of the Upper Silesian coal fields containing 11 per cent of German coal resources, which had been transferred to Poland. On 9 January 1923, the Reparation Commission declared Germany to be in default of her coal deliveries and voted to occupy the Ruhr to enforce the country's reparation commitments.
In October 1923, a committee consisting of American, Belgian, British, French, German, and Italian experts and chaired by the former Director of the
The payment of the remaining 'C' bonds was interest free and contingent on the Weimar Republic's ability to pay, as was to be assessed by an Allied committee. Due to the lack of reparation payments by Germany, France occupied the Ruhr in 1923 to enforce payments, causing an international crisis that resulted in the implementation of the Dawes Plan in 1924.
Towards this figure, Bulgaria paid 41 million gold francs between 1925 and 1929.
Despite this, by 1928 Germany called for a new payment plan, resulting in the Young Plan that established the German reparation requirements at 112 billion marks () and created a schedule of payments that would see Germany complete payments by 1988.
Towards this figure, Bulgaria paid 41 million gold francs between 1925 and 1929.
With the collapse of the German economy in 1931, reparations were suspended for a year and in 1932 during the Lausanne Conference they were cancelled altogether.
With the collapse of the German economy in 1931, reparations were suspended for a year and in 1932 during the Lausanne Conference they were cancelled altogether.
Between 1919 and 1932, Germany paid less than 21 billion marks in reparations. The German people saw reparations as a national humiliation; the German Government worked to undermine the validity of the Treaty of Versailles and the requirement to pay.
In 1932, the Bulgarian reparation obligation was abandoned following the Lausanne Conference. Because Austria was "so impoverished" after the war, and because of the collapse of the Bank of Vienna, the country paid no reparations "beyond credits for transferred property".
The 1953 London Agreement on German External Debts resulted in an agreement to pay 50 per cent of the remaining balance.
Despite this, by 1928 Germany called for a new payment plan, resulting in the Young Plan that established the German reparation requirements at 112 billion marks () and created a schedule of payments that would see Germany complete payments by 1988.
The final payment was made on 3 October 2010, settling German loan debts in regard to reparations. ==Background== In 1914, the First World War broke out.
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