How much did Germany actually pay in World War I reparations?
Estimates vary by source. The Reparation Commission and the Bank for International Settlements calculated that Germany paid 20.598 billion gold marks in reparations between 1919 and 1932. Historian Niall Ferguson estimates a slightly lower figure of no more than 19 billion gold marks, amounting to approximately 2.4% of Germany's national income over that period. The German Government's own estimate was far higher, at 67.8 billion gold marks, because it included the scuttling of the fleet at Scapa Flow and state property lost in ceded territories.
What was the London Schedule of Payments and what did it require Germany to pay?
The London Schedule of Payments, issued on the 5th of May 1921, set the combined reparation liability of all Central Powers at 132 billion gold marks. This figure was divided into three tiers of bonds. The "A" and "B" bonds, totaling 50 billion gold marks, were the genuine obligation. The "C" bonds, comprising the remainder, were described by Allied experts as deliberately fictional, designed to mislead public opinion while the actual demand remained far smaller.
Why did France occupy the Ruhr in 1923?
France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr on the 11th of January 1923 after the Reparation Commission declared Germany in default of its coal deliveries. By that date, Germany had defaulted on coal deliveries 34 times in three years. French Premier Raymond Poincaré also believed the occupation was necessary to force Germany to acknowledge its defeat in World War I and to accept the Versailles Treaty, not merely to collect coal and timber.
What did John Maynard Keynes argue about World War I reparations?
In his 1919 book The Economic Consequences of the Peace, Keynes called the Treaty of Versailles a "Carthaginian peace" and predicted the reparations would economically harm all of Europe. He argued that the figures being discussed by politicians at the time of signing were not within the limits of reasonable possibility and that the Reparation Commission could be used as a tool to destroy Germany's commercial and economic organization. Historian Claude Campbell credited Keynes with setting the fashion for critics of the treaty's economic provisions.
What was the Young Plan and when was it ratified?
The Young Plan was a reparations scheme chaired by American banker Owen D. Young. It was ratified by the German Government on the 12th of March 1930. The plan set a theoretical final reparation figure of 112 billion gold marks and established, for the first time, a final payment deadline: 1988. It also replaced the Reparations Agency with the newly created Bank for International Settlements.
When were Germany's World War I reparation-related debts finally settled?
The final payment on German loan debts related to World War I reparations was made on the 3rd of October 2010. Under the 1953 London Agreement on German External Debts, West Germany had agreed to repay 50% of the loan amounts defaulted on in the 1920s, with some debt deferred until reunification. Germany began making the final payments in 1995, following reunification.