On April 9, 1924, Charles Gates Dawes, an American politician who was then chairman of the Entente Reparations Commission, drew up a plan to solve the problem of reparations after Germany's defeat in World War I, known as the "Dawes Plan".
Charles Gates Dawes (1865–1951)
American politician, economist, nicknamed Mary the Devil
He became famous mainly because he presided over the formulation of the "Dawes Plan", which solved the problem of war reparations for the defeated country Germany after the First World War and contributed to the recovery and development of the German economy. In 1924, he was elected 20th Vice President of the United States (1925-1929). He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925
The Dawes Plan, also known as the Dawes Plan, the Dawes Plan, the Dodds Plan, etc., was proposed by the United States to relieve the huge financial pressure on Germany due to the Versailles Treaty reparations, and was a report submitted by the Dawes Commission to solve the problem of German reparations.
background
On November 11, 1918, the victorious powers (Entente [British Empire, French Third Republic, Russian Empire, Republic of China, United States, etc.]) and defeated countries (the Allies [German Empire, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Kingdom of Bulgaria]) declared an armistice.
After six months of negotiations (the Paris Peace Conference), the Treaty of Versailles was signed at the Palace of Versailles in Paris on June 28, 1919, which was recognized by the League of Nations and entered into force on January 10, 1920.
This cartoon shows the German hatred of the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles laid the seeds for the rise of the Nazis
Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany lost 13.5% of its territory, 12.5% of its population, all its overseas colonies (including German East Africa, German Southwest Africa, Cameroon, Togo, and German New Guinea), 16% of its coal production, and half of its steel industry. It is also necessary to pay 132 billion gold marks, equivalent to 96,000 tons of gold, and the 1 billion marks payable in the first year must be paid by May 31, and 2 billion marks will be paid every year thereafter, and paid off in 30 years. If Germany did not accept it, the Allies sent troops to occupy the Ruhr industrial region of Germany.
After its defeat in World War I, it took Germany 92 years to fully pay off the reparations until October 3, 2010, when the last reparations were paid.
The most active issue of reparations was France, because France was twice attacked by the Germans in half a century, and even the Kaiser ascended the throne at the Palace of Versailles in France, so France wanted to plunder Germany's wealth as much as possible and weaken Germany to the maximum.
But Britain, another European power, did not want to weaken Germany too much, mainly for three reasons:
First, Britain wants to maintain the balance of power policy on the European continent, fearing that after Germany is completely bankrupt, France will become the king of the European continent, which will be unfavorable to Britain;
Second, if Germany collapses economically due to reparations, a revolution may break out and it will not be able to provide benefits to Britain continuously;
Third, the German economy is sluggish, which is not conducive to the economic recovery of post-war Europe and affects the business of the British.
However, due to the exhaustion of Germany's financial resources after World War I, and the contradiction between the victorious countries over Germany's reparations, the issue of Germany's payment of reparations according to the Treaty of Versailles became an intractable dispute in the capitalist international economy and politics in the 20s.
At the same time, because the main battlefield of World War I took place on the European continent, European countries also owed the United States a war debt of up to $10.34 billion because of World War I, including 4.3 billion US dollars for Britain, 3.4 billion for France, and 1.65 billion US dollars for Italy. Although the Treaty of Versailles stipulated that Britain and France could receive war reparations from Germany, they also had to repay the debts of the United States, so Britain and France advocated that the issue of reparations and war debts be discussed in a row.
And for the United States, there is another problem. Because the war debt owed to the United States in World War I amounted to $10.34 billion, including $4.3 billion for Britain, $3.4 billion for France, and $1.65 billion for Italy. And because the Paris Peace Conference did not allow the United States to get the benefits they expected, and the United States Congress did not approve the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the United States could not receive German reparations.
Based on the above reasons, although Britain, the United States and France jointly defeated the Allies, they each had their own ghosts on the issue of repayment compensation to Germany and the repayment problem within their own Entente, so although the Treaty of Versailles was signed, Britain, France and other countries could get war reparations from Germany, but they turned around and had to pay the debts of the United States.
In May 1920, the heads of government of Britain and France issued a statement advocating the simultaneous cancellation of war debts to the United States and reparations claims to Germany. When Germany's financial and economic situation further deteriorated, it was no longer able to repay the reparations of the Allies, and the contradictions between Britain and France on the issue of reparations in Germany became increasingly acute.
In 1921, under the Treaty of Versailles, the German government paid the first instalment of 1 billion marks.
On August 1, 1922, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour sent a note to the six Allies, including France and Italy, known as the "Balfour Note", stating that Britain was "prepared to renounce all future rights to reparations to Germany and all claims for war debts." As long as this renunciation becomes a matter that enables this vital issue to be dealt with as a whole... Part of the master plan. "The implication is that the United States is asked to work together to abolish the demand for war debts."
The German government also saw the contradictions within the Allies, coupled with the economic pressure caused by its own huge compensation, so after repaying the first 1 billion make, the following year, on December 31, 1922, the German government claimed that its finances were exhausted and could not pay the reparations, and demanded that the amount of reparations be reduced.
In this regard, Britain said that it could be discussed for the three reasons mentioned above, but France took a tough attitude, saying that Germany's reparations could not be less, nor could it be postponed, and based on the "Versailles Treaty" mentioned that if Germany's compensation was not in place, it would occupy its Ruhr industrial area.
So on January 11, 1923, France and Belgium sent 40,000 troops to occupy the Ruhr industrial area of Germany, forcibly transported the coal mines produced in the Ruhr area to France, and imposed military control over the Ruhr area. The Ruhr region was the heart of Germany's heavy industry, and at that time, the Ruhr region accounted for 70% of Germany's total pig iron production. After the occupation by France, Germany's economy was on the verge of collapse.
Germany used this as an excuse to passively resist the reparations. At the same time, in the international community, Britain, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands and other countries have also protested this action of France, and the contradictions between Britain and France on the German issue have become more acute.
The internal situation in Germany, which is on the verge of economic collapse and the number of unemployed people has soared, has become more turbulent. It was also during this period that Hitler first entered the political arena and became known to the Germans – he led the famous Beer Hall Rebellion.
In September 1923, after the German government announced that it would stop passive resistance, France withdrew from the Ruhr area and accepted the Anglo-American proposal to reassess the issue of German reparations by a commission of experts.
In order to solve the German dilemma and allow Germany to continue to pay compensation, the Allied Reparations Commission appointed the director of the United States Office of Administration and Budget (Charles Gates Dawes) to lead the plan, hoping to find a solution that would be agreed by all parties.
Dawes Plan
On 14 January 1924, Dawes told the Commission that its main task henceforth would be to find a cure for the ills of the German economy. He told the Paris rally that the continent would face disaster unless "common sense is respected." He also warned against the national arrogance of those who had struck Germany in the recent war. He also condemned them for "sinister intentions and lust for profit" and "taking advantage of people's dangers and falling into the well."
On 8 April 1924, their reports were presented and published to the Commission at the Dawes Commission in Paris. The British and French governments expressed support for the plan submitted to the Allies by Dawes and his panel. In an open letter published in Paris, German officials also described the proposal as "a more realistic basis for a speedy settlement of the issue of compensation." ”
On June 6, 1924, the German National Assembly accepted the Dawes report by a vote of 247 to 183.
On July 16, 1924, the International Conference of the Entente to discuss the Dawes Plan opened in London. The U.S. government broke with the practice of sending observers to the Allies meeting for several years, and sent Ambassador to Britain Kellogg to formally attend the meeting.
The Final Protocol was adopted on 16 August 1924. The main ones include:
1. Withdrawal of allied forces from the Ruhr area;
2. Germany paid one billion marks in the first year, and then two and a half billion dollars annually for the next four years;
3. Under the supervision of the Allies, the German National Bank will be reorganized;
4. Germany will receive foreign loans, mainly from the United States;
5. The compensation shall include German income tax such as transportation, customs duties and excise taxes.
On August 30, 1924, the Reichsbank became independent from the government and adopted a new set of mark currency.
On September 1, 1924, Berlin would carry out the first payments according to the Dawes Plan.
Dawes plans to follow
After the implementation of the "Dawes Plan", Germany's problem of severe shortage of funds was solved, and with a large amount of material equipment and technical help from the United States, its economy tended to stabilize and resume development; France, England, etc. received some reparations; During the same period, the US economy gradually prospered, providing capital for Europe while expanding imports, so that the European economy as a whole tended to stabilize.
The implementation of the "Dawes Plan" has made the US government pay more and more attention to the influence of US economic power and the effectiveness of financial leverage, and try to promote the US security concept, promote security cooperation among European countries, and achieve political stability in Europe. American bankers have repeatedly claimed that U.S. banks will not lend to Europe on a large scale unless there is a stable and secure political environment in Europe.
In 1925, Benjamin Strong, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, explicitly told European leaders that the attitude of the American financial community "depends primarily on the degree of confidence in the political situation in Europe." In other words, the improvement of the security situation in Europe and the stability of the political situation are prerequisites for obtaining US capital. In fact, it was the pressure from the United States that prompted Germany, France, Britain and other countries to seriously consider signing a European security treaty and starting security negotiations.
Formally signed in London on 1 December 1925, the Convention is collectively known as the "Locaro Convention" and includes:
1. The Treaty of Mutual Assurances between Germany, Belgium, France, Italy and Britain, also known as the Rhine Security Convention, stipulates that Germany, France and Belgium mutually guarantee the inviolability of the border between Germany and Germany, abide by the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles on the demilitarization of the Rhine area, and Britain and Italy act as guarantors and undertake the obligation to assist the invaded country;
2. The Arbitration Treaty between Derby, Germany and France, Poland and Germany and Czech Republic stipulates that Germany and Belgium, France, Poland and Czech Republic shall settle their disputes by peaceful means, and each group of contracting States shall establish a standing conciliation committee to deal with problems between the two parties; /4. The Treaty of Safeguards between France and Poland and France and Czech Republic provides for mutual assistance in defending against unprovoked attacks.
The treaty guarantees the status quo of Germany's borders with its western neighbors, which is of positive significance for improving French-German relations and stabilizing the situation in Europe, but it does not guarantee the border between Germany and its eastern neighbors, that is, it does not restrict Germany's expansion to the east.
The signing of the Locarno Convention was another major adjustment of the Versailles system by the Allies on European security issues. It temporarily eased the security problems in Europe, improved the relations between the Allies, especially France, and Germany, brought European international relations into a period of relative stability, and created favorable conditions for the continuation of the Dawes Plan and the development of the German capitalist economy in the mid-to-late 20s.
However, the Rocarno Agreement clearly excluded Russia from the sidelines, only to further isolate Russia due to the "peace with the West". In 1922, Russia used the Treaty of Rapallo to make peace with Germany, but the current move in Western Europe is undoubtedly to win over Germany.
In 1930, German ultra-nationalism re-emerged, and the "Locarno spirit" was disillusioned.
In 1934, Germany opposed the confirmation of the Eastern Border with the proposal for the "Locarno of the East"; Poland demanded that the West recognize its land interest from the Soviet Union in 1920, and failed to reach any agreement.
After the Nazi Party came to power on 30 January 1933, it sent troops to the Rhine Demilitarized Zone on 7 March 1936 and declared that it was no longer bound by the Locarno Convention.
On 28 April 1939, Germany officially denounced the Locarno Convention, and on 1 September 1939, World War II was launched.
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