Germany still paying WW1 reparations - is this possible?
 

Today I was astonished to see in "Bild" (for those who don't know, it's the biggest german yellow press paper, something like the German version of the sun). Anyhow they claim, that in this years german government's budget, 70 million € go to France as the last rate for the WW1 war reparations. Now, I know the source is not really trustworthy but still the question reamins, is this true?

Source (german only):
http://www.bild.de/BILD/politik/2010...weltkrieg.html

All right, wouldn't have thought it here already. Sorry for the double topic.

Other thread aside, yes still possible. Iirc the UK only made its last payment to the US for our WWII debt a couple of years ago, and we were the winners (or so some say!). War is very expensive, both at the time and for the following generations, on all sides, so let's not do it anymore :nope:

Unfortunately we are a pretty violent race and we only have access to one planet so everyone with their own belief and opinion has to share and sometimes that doesn't work to well. :rotfl2:

you would have thought that france would have forgave that treaty long ago. :o

Meh, if only they'd asked politely for France :03:

They could buy Greece for a few euros and a BMW......

Hitler thought he actually did! The panzers went in for sightseeing!

:D

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Violent race? Who are you to call us violent? Why don't you come here and say that? I'll soon wipe that :rotfl2: off your face...





:O:

As I understand it arent the payments largely symbolic now? Going towards memorials and the like?

By treaty they have to pay but I doubt the allied nations just snatch the money and say "Ok now get out of here"

Possible? Completely. War reparations have to be paid off. At least, that's how it's been since the League of Nations was formed (and carried over following the creation of the United Nations). The Weimar Republic took full responsibility as the successor state of the Kaiserreich, but they never paid them off. The Third Reich maintained the same responsibility, they never paid them off. It's carried all the way over to the modern era with the Federal Republic of Germany- although I have to wonder who exactly is still keeping the financial records on this issue (it's been over 90 years since the Great War ended). On that note, who is seriously going to argue to the European Union's presiding members that this ridiculous sum of money has to be exchanged between these respective governments?

The Romanians tried to claim something similar on the Germans just a short while back over a trade agreement made between the Fascist-leaning government under Carol I and the Third Reich (which totals, today, to be nearly 18.8 billion Euros).

http://www.bucharestherald.ro/econom...cover-the-debt

Although, that's a trade agreement. It has nothing to do with reparations, hence the Germans don't have to pay it. And they have openly stated they have no intention of doing so (good for you, Germany). The particular instance I'm speaking of here parallels what the Greeks tried to pull back in February (they tried to claim reparations for "war crimes", yet they cited no cases whatsoever to substantiate their claims' validity).

http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...t-efforts.html

It was just an attempt on their part to get money from the economic powerhouse of the European Union (because of their inflation troubles), and it failed epically. Not any different with the Romanians.

Hmmm... the US should have been paying Britain for going up against the Nazi from day 1, and France as well.

And don't get me started on Russia. :shifty:

Modern day russia is only resposible for all the good the soviet union did, but not repsonsible for any of the atrocities.