Why has Germany taken so long to pay off its WWI debt?

So why has it taken so long for it to shed its age-old debt?
The European nation was not expecting to lose the war, let alone anticipate being burdened with payments that would reach into the next century.
Continue reading the main story Price of conflict

• The Treaty of Versailles stripped Germany of just over 13% of its territory
• The treaty also reduced Germany's economic productivity by about 13%
• Germany told to pay substantial reparations for 'civilian damage', along with its allies
• While the 1919 treaty included a "guilt clause", the definite sum was decided in 1921

But the victors of the war wrote Germany's guilt into the Versailles Treaty at the infamous Hall of Mirrors, and collectively decided that it would have to pay a high price for that guilt.
About 269 bn gold marks, to be exact - the equivalent of around 100,000 tonnes of gold.

BBC News - Why has Germany taken so long to pay off its WWI debt?

 

To respond to your question: Think of it this way, after WWI in the lull period, Germany wasn't doing so 'swell' then came along Hilter, who, commences a massive re-armament program using the remainder of the funds in the German National Bank; after WWII [with Hitler now dead] the remaining Nazi's fled Germany with what they could carry, while the rest of the Nation was in ruins. Do you think that Germany has the capability to repay that enormous debt to the Victors? Maybe, but I doubt that we [those who are alive today] will see it in our lifetime. Reason, I believe that Germany is still 'licking their wounds.' -Cmd. Sgt. Maj. McKee "Birdy"

 

I had read in the newspaper a few days ago that the debt would have been fully paid many years ago, if it were not for the fact that Germany stopped making repayments during WW2 .....Adolf again hey!

 

In fact if Hitler had not come to power the reparations would probably have been reduced or even completely stopped by the Lausanne conference proposals anyway, so in some ways Hitler can be 'twice-blamed' for the reparations continuing so long.

Incidentally the initial expected date for the payments to be finished was around now anyway, with the 1929 modified plan expecting payment to finish by 1988, so if you factor in the 12 years of Hitler's Reich, and the few years in the early 30s when no country had much chance to pay that sort of money, actually Germany was pretty much on schedule.

IMHO, I am shocked to find that Germany still kept paying at all, and the recipient countries accepted the payments - after all the whole idea was ridiculous economically (it harmed both sides) and it was almost certainly a major reason why Hitler was able to come to power in the first place.

 

Yes, it was also a very 19th century idea; you lose a war, then the other side make YOU pay for the whole thing. Then again, the Prussians had made the French pay a F5Bn war indemnity in 1871.

 

Didn't the Russians do something similar to the Finns eventually as well? couldn't find anything on a quick search but it rings a bell for some reason.

 

So you can imagine how long we have to pay for WWII! And i weren´t involved in it so why to pay?

 

That was what I was thinking whats the point of paying for WW1 payments that's what got Hitler in power in the first place.

 

Spartan-
From what I can find, the Finns had to pay US$300,000,000 reparations to the Soviet Union.
Paris Peace Treaties, 1947 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

I believe this is the core reason the French were adamant about the reparations after The Great War. They paid, in full and on time in gold Fracs even though the entire Franco-Prussian war was fought on French soil and the German nation suffered no "war damage" to its infrastucture.

And as pointed out by others, the reparations were on "hold" and put there by the Weimar Government, agreed to by the Lucerne Committee when the American economist Young supported the plan to allow them to have payment waiver until the global economy recovered. It never did, Hitler came to power, and took credit for standing up to the "Jew" bankers and international finance structure, and not paying anymore reparations; even when he had nothing to do with it.

 

I can think of one decent reason it has taken this long, the original debt was for the entire German state, and post WW2 it was divided and not re-united until about ten years ago wasn't it?

Mayhaps that is the reason behind the sluggishness of that debt finally being fulfilled? Just a guess on my part understand.

 

I don't think France ran into much trouble having to pay the 5 Billion Francs in the same way Germany did.

The purpose of the reparations was to essentially bankrupt Germany so they could never have a super power again. I think original calculations said something like the final payment would be made in 2020?

I'm surprised the Allies decided to reinstate payments though, especially given the circumstances of the cold war, what if history attempted to repeat itself as a result of the payments? I'm assuming the second payments weren't as publicly announced as the first?

 

Mehar-
The following paper discusses the effect of the French War indemnity of 1871, though it's a bit on the technical side-
http://www.econ.queensu.ca/working_papers/papers/qed_wp_1025.pdf

According to the following link, the Germans had paid 1.5bn RM in reparations up until 1952. In 1953 they went into abeyance pending a reunification of east and west. The payments restarted in 1990 with a 20 year deadline specified.
Germany still paying off WWI reparations - The Local

 

Doesn't there come a point when the world will just move on?? Stop picking on Germany. So they screwed up....twice.

They did what they did and took full responsibility for the past. Why should this generation pay for somthing that happened many years ago? Who is it benefiting now?

As long as Germans continue to do their part in keeping the memory of it's victims alive, never forget the attrocities commited and do their part protecting world peace .... and lastly to never forget that unwritten rule : three strikes and your out !!

 

What a read!

I've read roughly the first 25 pages and I think I have a good enough understanding. The depressions that were faced in the 20s/30s by most of the world were not as severe as what the world faced in the 1870s.

It seems the French debt after the Franco Prussian war was more manageable for the country, unfortunately, due to the recession that occurred after the debt was paid off they ran into troubles. Had the French not been given the debt, it's difficult to say how the country would have been impacted by the economic downturn proceeding the war. The article linked in your post even mentions Germany, despite receiving the payments and not having to rebuild the homefront still faced issues similar to France.

It's difficult to look at in hindsight to be honest, so many factors have come into play. One could argue Germany was rebuilding, facing revolutions, etc but at the same time, so was France on a smaller scale. The Germany economy since reunification has been pretty strong and the value of the RM is rising, these conditions of course did not exist post WWI which can explain the delay in that regard.

Technically, only once since World War I was started after the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand and Austria Hungary's mobilization against Serbia after they failed to accept the ultimatum.

They started World War II of course, many external factors were also at play within Europe both times.

 

Germany did not start ww1 they were just honoring their treaty like every one else did and went to war Serbia started they equipped the assassinater.

 

Here is a good "run-down" of the WW1 debt finally being paid off this month, it is shorter than the other one posted by The_Historian. I was struck by this section:

In June 1953, at an international meeting that came to be known as the London Agreement, a fractured West Germany offered to slowly pay back some of the bonds on which it had defaulted back in the 1920s, but said that it wouldn't pay everything until the country was one day reunified. In 1995, no longer divided, Germany took up the task of settling all its debts.


Goto:

How Germany Ended Its World War I Reparations Payments - TIME

 

NO-ONE forced the Russian Imperial House to mobilize and 'guarantee' Serbia. Why oh why does everyone look at the Germans as aggressors for the Great War, when the historical record points to French/Russian machinations!!!

This 'attitude' of Tsar Nicholas Romanov was firmly set in place by the alliance structure and treaty that existed with the chief aggressor of the Great War....THE FRENCH. It was their politicians that set the entire thing in motion, what with their attitude toward's Germany for "Revanche!" for 1870. Remember, Europe had suffered several crisies, (Agadir, Fashoda) that did NOT result in war between the great powers, and France's "Entende Cordial" was merely an "Understanding", NOT a full blown alliance. Also recall that Britain vacillated before entering to SUPPORT BELGIUM....this had nothing to do with Serbia/Austro-Hungary!

So, root 'cause' was the unecessary mobilization by Russia, which not only pulled Germany in, but enabled the French to beat their chests and do what their politicians had been planning for some time....to intervene against Germany.

Wilhelm II may have been something of a 'bully', but blame for the Great War can most certainly not be laid at his feet. The Prussian General Staff placed him in an unenviable position, vis-a-vis their own plans, which postulated that war with Russia also meant war with FRANCE. Remember, if Wilhelm had had his way, he would have mobilized the bulk of his divisions against Russia from the outset, and he actually went to Von Moltke the Younger with just this in mind. Moltke turned white at the prospect and refused to re-write the entire Schlieffen Plan by putting it into practice with Russia as the principle enemy.

Once Hindenburg and Luddendorf began to effectively rule the country, it was all over for Wilhelm II. If his own Generals and Chancellor had listened to him in the first place, the Great War Eastern Front may well have been wrapped up by early 1916.

Can you imagine the effect of approximately ONE MILLION troops being available for use on the Western Front in 1916? They could have forced the issue at Verdun AND had enough reserves to mount a dreadful counteroffensive for the British on the Somme!

Result may have been a German victory in 1917!

 

That's a bit selective. At the German Imperial War Council on 8/12/1912 the Kaiser said the Austro-Hungarians should attack Serbia that year, and if it resulted in war against Russia and Germany being dragged into it, so be it. That was seen as being preferable to war after the Russians had finished modernizing their army and expanding the railway network towards Germany. Don't forget control of that same railway network was later vital to Bolshevik victory in the civil war.
Von Moltke and the army leadership wanted an attack immediately, but Tirpitz insisted the Navy wasn't ready and persuaded them to postpone the idea.
This shows the general German attitude towards war was present as early as 1912.
Relations between Russia/Serbia and Austro-Hungary had already been seriously damaged by the Bosnian Crisis in 1908-9; the Treaty of Berlin in 1878 had formally recognised the independence of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro. Bulgaria declared independence in October 1908, and next day the Austro-Hungarians announced they were annexing Bosnia-Herzogovina. The Serbians mobilised their army and demanded the plan to annex Bosnia be scrapped, and because the Treaty of Berlin dictated the Straits of Constantinople were to be closed to shipping in the event of war, the Russians couldn't send help to their allies.
That was one humiliation the Russians weren't going to forget in a hurry.
Bsides all the European powers viewed the crisis as a breach of the Treaty of Berlin, so the powderkeg was already primed and waiting to explode anyway.