Nazi Germany 1933-1939 |
Economic Recovery |
| The economic recovery of Germany after WWI was greatly hindered
by the multitude of war reparations that Germany was forced to pay to France. These
reparations were ratified in the Versailles Treaty. Being a victor’s treaty, the
agreements made in Versailles were very harsh on the defeated countries of WWI, a category
to which Germany belonged. However, the French were especially angry at Germany for
Germany’s aggressiveness during the war, and so the reparations that were put upon
Germany were unusually harsh. Among other things, the Germans were expected to pay a
substantial sum, as well as give the French train cars and livestock. These reparations
greatly hindered the success of Germany’s post-WWI economy. However, Von Hindenburg, the German president, did his best to assure the success of Germany’s economy despite the harsh reparations. He succeeded for a period of four years between 1923 and 1927. However, the crash of the United States stock market, a market which invested heavily in German business, was disastrous for the German economy. Although Hindenburg remained president, the economic hardship in Germany contributed to the popular discontent and hate which Hitler used to rise to power. By 1933, having fed off of the hate which festered within the Germans for the Versailles Treaty, the Nazi party became the strongest in Germany. |