How to be a good leader?
As we all know, Germany is now the core and leader of the European Union.
This is not only because of Germany's strong industrial strength, but at the same time everyone knows that Germany was once a defeated and divided country, from its rise and unification to its recognition by the world and then to the leader of Europe.
There are more important factors that play an immeasurable role.
Germany's war reparations are a sign of Germany's rebirth and rise.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > when it comes to war reparations, everyone is not unfamiliar. </h1>
For example, in modern China, it has lost a large amount of money, the most tragic of which is the Sino-Japanese War and gengzi reparations.
The Sino-Japanese War lost 230 million taels of silver, while Gengzi paid 450 million taels. A total of 680 million taels, Chinese very hard, until the beginning of the War of Resistance in 1937.
However, if it is worse than China, there is still a worse life in the world than China.
One was France, which paid five billion gold francs in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, or about 720 million taels of silver. At that time, German Prime Minister Bismarck wanted to completely lay France down and never turn over.
What Bismarck did not expect, however, was that the French were very angry, put together the money, and in less than a decade not only paid off the debt.
Against Germany.
Bismarck is weird? How did France recover so quickly?
Bismarck at that time certainly did not know that economic development had such a great wealth drive.
Indeed, France, which caught up with the wave of the second industrial revolution, rapidly developed industry, integrated the financial industry, and became a powerful country.
Understanding this principle, everyone can understand why the following story is twisted and interesting.
Bismarck and Wilhelm II
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > of course, there is a worse, German. </h1>
The reparations for World War I and World War II were astronomical.
However, Germany is a different country. Sometimes there's a tendon!
On October 3, 2010, it was an iconic time.
The German government paid the French government the last war reparations of 69.9 million euros (623 million yuan).
What kind of reparations is this, it is actually the reparations of the First World War in 1919, all 92 years.
How did the money come about?
When we were in middle school studying history, we knew that during the First World War, a careless gunshot in Sana'a Hot Nest made the Allies and Allies in Europe into a mess.
In the end, after all, It was Germany who started first, and Germany lost again.
The Allies demanded that Germany pay a huge amount of 269 billion gold marks, of course, this is an installment payment, which will be repaid in 59 years.
But everyone knows that this matter has also experienced a World War II, Germany has changed several governments, and this money is still being repaid?
Why do Germans insist on paying back? More on that.
That's how it came about.
But what people didn't expect was that this debt gave birth to World War II!
There are actually more things in this.
Treaty of Versailles
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > World War I destroyed Europe</h1>
The main battlefield of World War I was in France, the industrial area of northern France, which was a mess, and nearly five million people were killed or wounded. France was beaten.
I want to take Germany captive to the end and ask for a sky-high reparation.
Britain went from being a creditor country to a debtor country in the First World War. Of course, you have to get some back from Germany.
Both Britain and France owe the United States a bunch of debts.
How much? $11.577 billion!
The UK owes more than $4 billion, France more than $3.6 billion and, of course, Italy.
Moreover, France also owed Britain 1.36 billion pounds, and the domestic war bonds were even more.
At that time, $10 billion was a big deal. The United States had a GDP of only $74.2 billion by 1919.
That's about 15 percent of U.S. GDP, which equates to a share of $3 trillion today ($21 trillion in U.S. GDP in 2019).
Of course, americans have to go to great lengths to ask for debt, which is taxpayer money.
Paris Peace Conference
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" >but, this is a Dalian ring bond</h1>
For example, the most troublesome thing is France, why, because Russia, France's large debtor, has suddenly revolutionized.
Comrade Lenin said that we do not recognize all foreign debt.
He doesn't want what others owe him, and he doesn't pay back what he owes to others.
At that time, China was also exempt from paying compensation to Russia, so Chinese was particularly grateful to Comrade Lenin.
In fact, Comrade Lenin's calculations are still very refined.
Because Russia owes more debt to Britain and France. It wasn't just the billions of pounds owed to Britain and France during the war.
Russia industrialized before the war, and the bonds issued in France reached more than 100 billion francs, which is the hard-earned money of the French people.
Of course, it is not returned.
At this point, Britain and France became the wrongdoers, especially France was crazy about money, and it was incompatible with Russia.
Then it would only be to squeeze Germany dry and squeeze out the last drop of blood.
So after the war, Britain and France said to the United States, now they have no money, and when they take money out of Germany's reparations, they will definitely pay your debts.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Therefore, the compensation for Germany should be extremely high. A 269 billion gold mark was asked for (in 1929 this indemnity was reduced to 112 billion gold marks), which is equivalent to 96,000 tons of gold.
But Germany was also chaotic into a pot of porridge after the war, so what to do? Well, Germany, you pay in installments.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > The United States' arduous debt collection</h1>
Germany must rebuild to pay the reparations.
At that time, people did not understand, where to take care of so much, lack of money and lack of red eyes.
Moreover, Germans need money to develop the economy, and where can they take care of the reparations.
Over there, the United States did not agree to ah, this more than 10 billion US dollars is real money and silver loaned out. The American media and ordinary people are angry.
Just say to Britain and France, I can't wait, you Britain and France asked me to borrow money to fight the war, you can't excuse Germany not to pay your debts, just drag it out, this makes no sense.
Therefore, in 1922, the US Congress later established a "Foreign Debt Earmark Act" and severely collected debts by various means.
France, on the other hand, could not say enough. If Germany doesn't pay us back, we won't have the money to pay you back.
The then President of the United States, Coolidge
Britain's attitude is a little better, saying that the money will still be repaid, can it be slowed down. In fact, the United States has no problem, and it is impossible to fight for this matter.
In August 1922, britain sent a delegation of Chancellor of the Exchequer Baldwin to Washington to negotiate, when President Coolidge of the United States, in front of Baldwin, deliberately said to his subordinates: "They borrowed our money, didn't they?" ”
Under Coolidge's toughness, the famous "Baldwin-Coolidge" debt agreement was introduced, stipulating that Britain would pay it off in 62 years and pay back 35 million pounds a year.
In the same way, it can force Britain to be miserable.
The result of the persecution is a word "drag".
Britain can afford to drag it, France can't stand it.
Moreover, in November 1923, the then Weimar government in Germany said that it would postpone the payment of reparations.
At this point, France was very angry, and the consequences were "serious"!
There was a disturbance between France and Belgium to send 60,000 troops to occupy the German Ruhr Industrial Zone, which is called the "Ruhr Crisis" in history.
With this occupation of the Ruhr area, the German economy collapsed even more.
Inflation, factory shutdowns, and mass unemployment are coming.
Operation Ruhr, which posted 1 billion francs upside down
France sent troops to ask for money, the money did not come back, and also put in 1 billion francs of military expenses, simply stealing chickens can not be eroded a handful of rice.
That regret.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > no, ask for money in a different way</h1>
At this time, the United States and Britain saw that this was not a thing. This kind of coercion not only did not cost money, but also angered the Germans. Hurry up and put pressure on France, you can't do it like this!
At this time in Germany, anyway, more lice are not itchy, and more debts are not worried.
So the parties had to return to the negotiating table and sit down slowly.
There was a Locarno Convention, including the Dawes Plan, which had three main articles.
French soldiers and German civilians during the Ruhr Crisis of 1923
1. Germany's deferred payment of reparations;
Second: And the Entente borrowed 800 million gold marks (equivalent to 190 million US dollars) to stabilize the German currency, issued 11 billion gold marks of railway bonds, 5 billion gold marks of industrial bonds to rebuild the German economy;
Third: The United States provides Germany with a $16 billion loan and other aid programs.
This is interesting, the United States gave Germany loans to develop the economy, Germany developed to repay the money to Britain and France, and Britain and France received the money and returned it to the United States. This is how interesting a cycle is formed.
Dawes's "Triangular Relationship"
Finally, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief.
After a few good years, Germany is also fulfilling its obligation to compensate, and Britain has been paying off its debts to the United States for several consecutive years.
Only France still owes a huge debt, and say slowly and slowly to the Yankees!
Force the debt, force out a Nazi Party!
It was 1929, and this was the famous Great Depression.
In the United States, it is said that one person jumped off a building to commit suicide in one hour, and 5 million people lost their jobs.
At this moment, the whole world is in a big economic crisis.
Once the countries discussed, there was only one way to reduce Germany's debt.
Thus, in 1929, countries agreed to reduce German reparations to 112 billion gold marks.
In April 1924, a committee of experts under the leadership of Dawes
Even so, the German economy was still sluggish, or how could it be called the Great Depression?
But the long,tiring debt entanglement, and France's crazy debt squeeze. The Germans were filled with resentment and resentment. The Germans believed that the countries oppressed Germany too much.
The long-standing backlog of hatred sows the seeds of danger.
This gave Hitler's Nazi nationalism an opportunity, which became the most important underlying factor in the outbreak of World War II.
As soon as Hitler came to power in 1933, he immediately announced the abrogation of the Treaty of Versailles and refused to pay war reparations.
The United States was angry
At this point, Britain and France were dumbfounded.
Just looking at the United States, the Americans have no temper at this time.
No temper is no temper, this hatred in my heart!
Sooner or later, this account will have to be calculated.
Hitler
In 1935, the U.S. Congress issued the "Central Legislation Bill", the most important two of which are:
(1) "Certain goods designated by the President to be sold must be paid for before they are exported from the United States;
2. "All other goods purchased by a belligerent from the United States must be traded in cash. ”
In the future, all purchases of American materials must be cashed in stock, and even arrival payment is not allowed!
This was the main reason for isolationism in the United States at the time.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > World War II was fought miserably again</h1>
However, within a few years it was World War II.
Therefore, in the early days of World War II, there was a situation in which Britain and France were beaten up by the Nazis, and the United States simply did not sit idly by.
By 1940, in order to buy strategic materials for the United States, Britain even shipped the gold reserves of British banks to the United States, and the treasury was empty.
As a result, Germany in World War II threw Europe into a mess.
The money in World War I is not over, and Germany's World War II reparations are coming again.
This time, everyone has learned to be obedient, and war reparations cannot be asked for to die!
Marshall Plan
This time, britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union, which occupied Germany, demanded $20 billion in reparations, of which the Soviet Union took $13.7 billion from East Germany at the time, dismantling machinery, asking for money, and so on.
In the west, the Federal Republic of Germany was relatively lucky, the United States basically did not want it, and Britain and France only took hundreds of millions of dollars in reparations.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > Adenauer's courage </h1>
Face the huge responsibility problem of World War I and World War II!
However, at this time, West German Chancellor Adenauer bravely stood up and paid personal reparations persecuted by the Nazis in World War II!
Moreover, with the World War I reparations that Hitler relied on, Adenauer also promised to pay compensation!
So, it was in the "London Debt Negotiations" in 1952.
West German Chancellor Adenauer solemnly declared that the Federal Republic of Germany would inherit the unfinished world war reparations debt that had not been completed before World War II, when Germany still had 16 billion marks of debt left, and another 16 billion marks borrowed from the United States for reconstruction after World War I.
The allies also agreed to agree to this debt relief to DM 16 billion.
The Adenauer government believes that Germany should bravely shoulder its responsibilities!
The Germans believed that war reparations, whether reasonable or unreasonable, should be recognized by national agreements. That was the debt of the German state, and despite regime changes, Germany's national debt had to be borne.
German Chancellor Adenauer at the time
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > rebuild Germany</h1>
Of course, Britain, the United States and other countries have also attracted the lessons of the First World War.
Therefore, not only was part of the World War I reparations reduced, but also the Reparations of World War II were basically not required.
More importantly, in 1948, U.S. Secretary of State Marshall proposed the "Marshall Plan" to revive Europe, aiding Europe a total of $13.15 billion, of which 30% was used to support the reconstruction of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It turned out to be a great plan.
The Germans also worked hard, and from 1949 onwards, they stabilized the currency, developed the economy, implemented a thorough market economic system, and caught up with the wave of the third technological revolution.
The European Community was formed with France and other major European countries, forming a large European market.
The West German economy took off from there.
In 1983, the principal of the First World War was finally paid off.
He also promised to pay off the interest after 20 years of German reunification.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > worth mentioning WWII reparations! </h1>
During this period, Germany also paid off world war II reparations, especially for individuals persecuted by the Nazis.
To outsiders, it seemed like a heavy burden for Germany, which was not rich at the time.
But the Germans are different.
On June 29, 1956, the Federal Reparations Act was officially passed, which entitled anyone persecuted by Nazi Germany for reasons of anti-Nazi, racial belief, and different world views to claim compensation from Germany.
In 1957, the Bundestag passed the Federal Property Restitution Act, which provided a legal basis for war victims to recover their property through German courts.
Prime Minister Brandt's kneeling in Warsaw
With the "Warsaw Massacre" on December 7, 1970, West German Chancellor Brandt kneels in front of the Jewish Monument in Warsaw, Poland. The whole world was shocked! Germany's introspection on war crimes culminated.
At this time, many German companies also joined in the compensation, bmw, Mercedes-Benz and other companies began to compensate.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > commemoration, responsibility, and future</h1>
By 2000, the German Foundation for Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future was founded, and more than 6,500 German companies had donated 5.1 billion marks to Nazi laborers, although most of them were founded after World War II and never used Nazi labor.
Over the course of seven years, the foundation has paid compensation to more than 1.6 million World War II workers in Central and Eastern Europe. On June 12, 2007, the Foundation held a ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office to announce the official conclusion of the seven-year compensation work for Nazi forced labor in World War II.
At this point, Germany's Reparations for World War II have come to an end.
In 2007, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany paid about 64 billion euros in reparations after World War II.
You see, Germany has been paying off its debts, and if it is still paying back, Germany will be unified and will become the leader of the European Union. Is there any mystery in this?
German Indemnity Form for Jews
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > after German reunification, fulfill the promise of world war I reparations! </h1>
After reunification, Germany continued to pay World War I reparations.
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, on October 3, 2010, the 20th anniversary of German reunification, the Deutsche Bundesbank paid France the last 69.9 million euros in compensation in strict accordance with the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
On that day Germany finally paid off its World War I debts.
The page of history, which represents genuine european reconciliation, has been turned.
Looking back at May 8, 1985, weizsäcker, the seventh president of post-war West Germany, gave a speech in the House of Representatives: "Those who close their eyes and do not look at the past, and who in the end cannot see the present, do not want to engrave inhuman acts in their hearts, can easily fall into that dangerous situation again, must take seriously the modern history of their country, and assume responsibility for war across generations." ”
President Weizsäcker delivered the "40 Years in the Wilderness" speech
The participation of all German citizens in the reparations may seem to be a loss on the surface, but this act strengthens the national identity with the country and the face of the country's history.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > the final "ending"</h1>
On 9 March 2015, the British government also paid off debts totalling £1.9 billion during the First World War.
Before that, in 2007, Britain also paid off its World War II debt to the United States.
After nearly a hundred years, the United Kingdom has finally paid off its historical debts, which is a late promise.
On the contrary, just as France, Italy, and Russia have not paid off the debts of the First World War, it seems that the Debts of the United States in the First World War are considered to be at a large loss.
This is actually not a good thing for the country, and now that you look at the internal motivation and national strength of these countries, it is difficult to say how much has been done.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel observed a moment of silence at the Holocaust Memorial
Looking back at the history of Germany's post-war debt repayment, the state fulfilled its obligations to its citizens, and the citizens were responsible for the country.
Internally, it is an important way to strengthen the cohesion of germans, and externally it is also to show that we are facing history squarely and reconstructing the image of the country.
Now it seems that the deal is very good, and in short, Germany has won.
Therefore, in the post-war period to the present, Germany has not only flourished economically for a long time, but also won the respect of European countries in the international community, and Germany has become the actual leader of the European Union.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > a little experience</h1>
"A thousand sails on the side of the sinking boat, and a thousand wood springs in front of the sick tree!"
In the immediate interests, there are many losses and losses, such as Britain, France, and the United States after the First World War.
And once "the wind and things should be looked at for a long time", like Germany after World War II, it is so complete that redemption, rebirth, and nirvana are completed.
Also in this fiercely competitive society, how to become a leader with authority?
Being good at reflecting on oneself, having the courage to take responsibility, and leading everyone into action is not only good for others, but also indispensable for oneself.
The world is dark, it is transparent, and what you do, the sky has eyes!
Such historical issues are also worthy of our consideration today.
Early highlights:
Is the death value of 98,000 pilots worth? The largest strategic bombing in history
The destruction of 2,100 million-ton ships and 1,000 submarines is the longest and most complex naval battle in history
The initiator of the US global strategy, Marshall, the "inferior student", looks at the overall ability from five details
Resources:
Churchill's Memoirs: World War II
War Reparations and Reflections in Germany after World War II
The Complete History of World War II