The World Wide Depression was hard for all countries. The World War did put a harsh reality on the whole world. Every country was nearly bankrupt and doing everything they can to strength their ecomonies. When the war ened in 1919, France and the other allies countrys put the blame on Germany for the emotional and phyical destruction the war had put on the world. Germany had a $56 billion reparation put on then that was agreed under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Germany also faced emormous economic problems that started during the war. Unlike France and the other country, Germany did not increase their taxes during wartime. Instead they just printed up more money which made the value of the money much less. The German government had a hard time and kept failing to keep up with the payments for the reparation. Thankful, Germany revered from the 1923 inflation by the international committee.
Charles Dawes, an American banker, was the leader of the international committee at the time. He was asked by the Ailled Reparaions Committee to investigate the problem. He helped start the Dawes Plan. The US government then gave $200 million loan which would help allow the Germans get back on their feet from the hole they were in. This was put into effect in 1924. Dawes Plan was helped stabilize German currency and to help make the economy strong again.
France wanted Germany to be weak, and as soon as Germany could not keep up with the payments, they sent troops to Ruhr. Because France had troops sent to Ruhr, Germany hed to not even try to pay the reparation at all. France was then forced into the Dawes Plan to help.
Much of the money from the Dawes Plan was spent on building new factories and helping the economy become strong once again. But the French wanted to keep Germany was weak as they could so France looked like the strongest power in the world. The Dawes Plan slowly made Germany became stronger. The French, Americans, and Germans were in a money circle. United States loaned Germany the money to help re-build their country. Germany used the tax increase to help pay the reparation. France started to pay back the Untied States for the war loan and helped with the shipment of the United States goods.
As I look at all the information I have found on the Dawes Plan and how it did help Germany get its strength back, I think this plan was not only a good idea to start but it made the United States look like a powerful country. This plan helped Germany get the power and strength back to get back into the power they had before the war. France did not want Germany to come back into power. They tried to keep them weak for a long period of time. By the United States stepping in and giving Germany the push they needed, showed the world that the United States is becoming a more powerful and important country to the world. As the world saw the United States slowly get the power and confidence they need, Germany got back on their feet adn was becoming for powerful then they were before World War 1. This plan was a positive for both the United States and Germany. France wanted Germany to stay weak because it made France look the the power house of the world. France put the blame on Germany for World War 1 and gave a huge reparation payment. When Germany did not make the payments, France just went after them again. I feel like the United States stepping in to give Germany the loan made France look like the bad guy. France tried to redeem thenselves by stepping in also to help Germany get their country back on their feet. All in all, the United Startes took a big leap in stepping in to get Germany back into the top powers once again. France was the bully in this act. But Germany still got themselves into a higher power then ever with the help of the Dawes plan. Germany is still a strong and powerful country today.
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I agree with your point. The united states did take a big leap in helping Germany with its economical problems. The dawes plan was a great investment for both the United states and germany. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the United States should have loaned any money. We did not get anything out of it. I don't get how loaning money makes you more powerful, when your not getting anything more than what you started with. The U.S. was stupid to do this, they should have either asked for more in return, or stayed out of the deal!
ReplyDeleteI thought your post was very good, however i do agree with Alex in the fact that i don't think the United States earned power from this. We ended up not receiving all the money we loaned out. Do you think it was good for Germany to stabilize there economy and gain power as they did?
ReplyDeleteAlex, i think it showed the world that we have the money to come into power. It showed the world that we are going to be powerful. It helped us as in the fact the everyone could see that we are slowly making our way to the top. It might of not helped us when it comes to money but it helped as in the way we look to everyone
ReplyDeleteThe United States loaning money did show that they are important and powerful, but they never got anything in return. I don't think it was good to give Germany power again.
ReplyDeleteRyan brings up the crucial point. It is important to revitalize countries after war (and wrong to punish in the way France did), but did this put Germany into a position of power beyond what was acceptable? How much of this money ended up going toward building the German Army?
ReplyDeleteIm putting off finishing my application...so here is my comment. I applaud you for having a blog on world history...go you! However, a few little things that can improve your synthesis. The reason France invaded the ruhr was because the ruhr is rich in coal. So if Germany was not going to pay back the war reparation, then the french where going to take advantage of that land, which was a form of compensation. Secondly, France is not a bully. There is genuine fear of another world war, so if keeping Germany away from industrialization is a way of keeping peace, so be it. And the U.S is not fearless either. The U.S felt that a re-industrialized Germany would help lessen the resentment felt by Germany due to versailles, however the U.S doesnt have to live with the fear of sharing a frontier with it. Thirdly, Dawes helped reboot the German economy in the short term, but lacked long term security. The German economy was too dependent on foreign investors and American loans, so more money had to go into Germany just to keep it on its feet. Fourthly, many of the loans ended up being used in industries that actually helped hitler into power. Wallstreet kind of paved the path for Hitler in '31. Why wallstreet you ask? Well many of the loans came from private investors in the states. J.P. Morgan benefited greatly from the relation with the reichsbank. American and German bankers had a ball with the Dawes plan. I think im done here...Back to my application
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