Versailles Reparations

BigBlueBox

Banned
A few questions:
  1. Was Germany actually capable of paying an amount of reparations that could cover the war damages and debt accrued by the Entente?
  2. Was there any way the Entente could have compelled Germany to pay up? Would the Ruhr Valley occupation have worked if it lasted longer? Could some kind agreement in which Anschluss, the Rhineland demilitarization and disarmament would be renegotiated once the debt was payed off work? What about a threat to not withdraw from Saarland?
 
1.Sure, over a long enough period of time. But within the timeframe laid out under Versailles with that schedule of payments? Not without, as they did, playing funny money games with inflation and passing the debt certificates with American investors.

2. The Ruhr Valley occupation barely managed to break even in paying the cost of the mobalization and activity. As for the demiliterization of the Rhineland, that was an extistential security concern for France, who's primary goal was to hamstring Germany's ability to put her through another major war, so I doubt that would be on the table. Anschluss maybe, but that depends on the stability of the Little Entente
 
Versailles should have been:
Reparations equal to Germany's 1913 military budget (no longer needed since Germany is demilitarized) for 30 years (a realistic time period where the people you actually harmed might still be alive and can be paid).
 
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