“ ‘A fearful and gloomy existence awaits us under the best of circumstances!’ ” (Boden). Written by Friedrich Meinecke after World War I, it echoed the sentiment of many Germans at the time. The German’s were right to be anxious as Britain and France went into the Versailles Conference with vengeance. On the other hand, Britain and France had a right to be angry since Germany was the source of their economic downfall and hardship during the war. The final Treaty in June 28th, 1919 had no German representative. The Treaty was ruthless, requiring Germany to take responsibility for the war and pay $33 billion dollars in reparations to France to rebuild their economy (Boden). The Versailles Conference did not consider that Germany’s economy
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Ruhr was invaded by France when Germany did not pay them to gain back wealth needed to rebuild their economy. France speculated that they could gain reparations by operating mines and factories inside Ruhr which generated income for Germany (Reiner, effects of WWI in Europe). German workers went on strikes within Ruhr because of low wages and Germany printed money to pay them. This led to hyperinflation since their economy was still in shambles and they were only printing more currency. Effects of inflation were so drastic that in 1921 a dollar was equivalent to 65 German marks and by 1923 a dollar was equivalent to 4.2 trillion German marks. A common sight was Germans going to the market with wheelbarrows full of marks to buy bread (Reiner, effects of WWI in Europe). Economically, Germany was unable to pay for basic …show more content…
The reparations from the Treaty was the main cause of the economic instability of the early 20’s, but US involvement stabilized the economy until the 1930s. However, the stock crash of 1929 played a significant role in the rise of Hitler and the economic depression of the 1930s. However, the Treaty put Germany in a situation where the stock crash would crush their economy and Hitler ran his campaign against the Treaty. The Treaty was the indirect cause of economic and political factors of the 1930s and 1920s in
Ruhr was invaded by France when Germany did not pay them to gain back wealth needed to rebuild their economy. France speculated that they could gain reparations by operating mines and factories inside Ruhr which generated income for Germany (Reiner, effects of WWI in Europe). German workers went on strikes within Ruhr because of low wages and Germany printed money to pay them. This led to hyperinflation since their economy was still in shambles and they were only printing more currency. Effects of inflation were so drastic that in 1921 a dollar was equivalent to 65 German marks and by 1923 a dollar was equivalent to 4.2 trillion German marks. A common sight was Germans going to the market with wheelbarrows full of marks to buy bread (Reiner, effects of WWI in Europe). Economically, Germany was unable to pay for basic …show more content…
The reparations from the Treaty was the main cause of the economic instability of the early 20’s, but US involvement stabilized the economy until the 1930s. However, the stock crash of 1929 played a significant role in the rise of Hitler and the economic depression of the 1930s. However, the Treaty put Germany in a situation where the stock crash would crush their economy and Hitler ran his campaign against the Treaty. The Treaty was the indirect cause of economic and political factors of the 1930s and 1920s in