Thanx Pearly I believe this period in our world history
has more importance in the "shaping of the things to come".
Than any other period in Modern Times.
Money
1910-1914: Following the birth of a central monetary authority in 1876, Germany participates in the prewar gold standard. Monetary policy reflects Germany's typical concern for controlling inflation until the outbreak of war.
1914-1918: Like most countries, Germany suspends the gold standard for the war. The war is financed not by taxes but by bonds, in the expectation of post-victory payments from other countries. This bet makes it difficult to negotiate an end to the war, as peace without victory would make honoring the bonds impossible.
1919-1928: War debt and reparations lead to the printing of huge sums of currency, causing high inflation. The Weimar Republic still evokes images of wheelbarrows of currency for everyday shopping. In 1923 a U.S. dollar is worth more than four trillion marks. The U.S.-led Dawes Plan briefly alleviates the reparations problem in 1924. Reducing payments and making loans available, it restores relative stability.
1929-1932: The Dawes Plan is followed by the Young Plan, which sets reparations at $25 billion (approximately $267 billion in 2001 dollars) over nearly 60 years. The plan, implemented in 1930, is abandoned in 1932 because of the onset of the Depression and Hitler's rise to power. The Depression also causes U.S. creditors to call in their debts, and the situation worsens.
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1945-1947: The currency falls to 1/500th of its value, and cognac and American cigarettes become common units of trade.
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1967-1971: The next two coalition governments look to a more Keynesian style of planning as a way out the downturn. The Law for Promoting Stability and Growth sets targets for currency stability. Despite pressure from the United States to revalue, the government fears harming exports if the mark is allowed to appreciate. The Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates ends in 1971.
pbs.org
--------What will "the next war" cost?
Impossible Debt
Finally, the German, Austrian, Hungarian, Polish, and Bulgarian monetary systems collapsed under runaway inflation called hyperinflation. The United States loaned money to Germany through the Dawes Plan. This loan, along with private investment, enabled the defeated countries to make scaled-down reparations payments. However, the victors collected only a small fraction of the reparations, and the United States eventually had to cancel the remaining debts of its allies.
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All of the combined wars from 1793-1910 cost 23 billion dollars..
WWI-came in @ 186 billion dollars... -
I guess the next topic where this leads will be the profiteer's of war. |
