It transpires that earlier in the week, Germany made its last payment on bonds issued to pay for reparations for the First World War, after various interruptions (the '30s, WW2 and the two Germanys), prompting some historians to say that the war is finally over.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europ...eparations-ending-century-of-guilt
I never knew they were still paying, but then again I never knew that Britain was paying off loans for WW2 until quite recently.
Moderators: richierich, ua900, PanAm_DC10, hOMSaR
RE: The First World War Is Now Over
| Quoting oly720man (Thread starter): I never knew they were still paying, but then again I never knew that Britain was paying off loans for WW2 until quite recently. |
West Germany signed a treaty for German debts of WW1 and WW2 (and the other debts of the Third Reich) in the 1950s (Londoner Abkommen). This revised the Versaille treaty and other claims so that Germany got more favourable conditions.
After all this was a wise move, because Germany regained its reputation on the financial markets which were threatened by this unsolved solution.
The main reason that the "2 plus 4 treaty" from 1990, which in reality is a peace treaty, and which ended the german occupation once and for all, was not called a "peace treaty", was due to the fact that the London treaty of the 1950s would have been reviewed again.
The original Versaille treaty had some other conditions, according to it, Germany should have paid for reparations until the 1980s.
RE: The First World War Is Now Over
See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agreement_on_German_External_Debts
The german Wikipedia Version of the article is much better though, if you speak german, you should read it!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agreement_on_German_External_Debts
The german Wikipedia Version of the article is much better though, if you speak german, you should read it!
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- waterpolodan
- Posts: 1628
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RE: The First World War Is Now Over
Interesting that this event take place possibly just before the last living combatant of that war, a British sailor living in Australia, passes away-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Choules
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Choules
RE: The First World War Is Now Over
| Quoting TheSonntag (Reply 2): The german Wikipedia Version of the article is much better though, if you speak german, you should read it! |
My German is rather rusty and basic, but I'll have a go when I've got some spare time.
| Quoting TheSonntag (Reply 1): The original Versaille treaty had some other conditions, according to it, Germany should have paid for reparations until the 1980s. |
And your great grandchildren are picking up the tab. The money to be paid was a hell of a lot, and we need no reminding where that led.
I'm not sure how many people at the time appreciated the potential implications, but after the "war to end all wars" I expect the desire to make people pay overrode all other considerations.
RE: The First World War Is Now Over
| Quoting oly720man (Thread starter): Germany made its last payment on bonds issued to pay for reparations for the First World War |
Who were they paying? Who held the bonds?
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- MadameConcorde
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RE: The First World War Is Now Over
I had two grandfathers in WWI - they took part in the whole war.
One of them I never got to know. He was gone when I arrived.
The other one I knew but not for very long.
Verdun... Taxis de la Marne...
RIP GrandPa 1 and GrandPa 2.
No More War!
One of them I never got to know. He was gone when I arrived.
The other one I knew but not for very long.
Verdun... Taxis de la Marne...
RIP GrandPa 1 and GrandPa 2.
No More War!
RE: The First World War Is Now Over
| Quoting MadameConcorde (Reply 6): RIP GrandPa 1 and GrandPa 2. No More War! |
At least there are no more wars for them. Sadly; I,m afraid that won't happen for the rest of humanity untill the earth is no longer around
RE: The First World War Is Now Over
Montréal is still paying for the 1976 Olympics.
Debt is primarily a bad thing.
Debt is primarily a bad thing.
RE: The First World War Is Now Over
| Quoting MadameConcorde (Reply 6): I had two grandfathers in WWI - they took part in the whole war. |
I have an ashtray at home, which has the iron cross of my grand-grandfather, and the certificate when it was issued to him in 1916, under it. Obviously my grand-grandfather didnt care much for it, probably he had seen too much in the war already.
One Year ago i was in Ypres, and I took some pictures of the german cemetary in Langemarck and the Menenpoort for remembrance of the English troops who were not even found(and from the car a picture of a Canadian cemetary).
The area is simply covered with dozens of cemetarys.
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- ronglimeng
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RE: The First World War Is Now Over
I think I'll stick with the narrow idea that the war ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (of 1918).
The completion of some sort of re-worked reparations payments is pretty dubious as a marker.
In a wider sense, some might argue that the Great War has never ended, and except for a few breathing spells and time outs, we are still dealing with issues it created.
The completion of some sort of re-worked reparations payments is pretty dubious as a marker.
In a wider sense, some might argue that the Great War has never ended, and except for a few breathing spells and time outs, we are still dealing with issues it created.
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- TheCommodore
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RE: The First World War Is Now Over
| Quoting falstaff (Reply 5): Who were they paying? Who held the bonds? |
All I can find is the catch-all "private and institutional investors" in various countries.
http://haas414.wordpress.com/2010/10...-one-years-after-berlin-wall-fell/
And the payments were interest payments on bonds issued in the 1920's. Germany paid the principal, but not the interest until Germany was reunified.
Payments were suspended in the early 1930's due to a global financial crisis and Adolf Hitler's Nazi government never restarted them. Only in 1953 did West Germany agree to begin repaying the principal debt on the bonds.
It was agreed at an international conference that the interest payments would not begin until Germany was reunified. When the Berlin wall fell in 1990, the country began its interest payments, the last of which will be made on Sunday, October 3.
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=189637
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- MD11Engineer
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RE: The First World War Is Now Over
| Quoting TheCommodore (Reply 11): Quoting falstaff (Reply 5): Who were they paying? Who held the bonds? I think it may have been Sweden, but 100% |
Part of it. Up to the 1983 we had a monopoly for match sticks. The reason was that in 1930 a Swedish match manufacturer Ivar Kreuger gave the German government a huge loan at good conditions to pay for reparations, but demanded a monopoly on all matches sold in Germany until his loan was paid back.
Jan
RE: The First World War Is Now Over
May the shameful way the war ended (the Versailles treaty that led directly to WW2) be put to rest now. France and the United Kingdom should have pitched in to make payments on those bonds, since they were the primary beneficiaries of them.
RE: The First World War Is Now Over
| Quoting ronglimeng (Reply 10): I think I'll stick with the narrow idea that the war ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (of 1918). |
That is always how I remembered it. This past summer I was in the UK and saw several memorials with the ending date of WWI in 1919. The friend I was hanging out with explained that the war actually did end in 1919. Which explained a trivia game "error" I saw in a bar a few years back. I was playing one of those game machines that sits on the bar and when the trivia question about what year did WWI end came up, 1918 was not one of the choices. I was dumbfounded because I always thought of 11-11-18 was the end of the war. When I got the answer wrong it showed the correct choice was 1919.
The USA considers a WWII vet anyone who served between 12-7-41 to 12-31-46. The WWII victory service ribbon was awarded to anyone who served on or between those dates. There is a separate service ribbon for those that served at anytime between 9-1-39 and 12-6-41.