Economic Effects
Economic recovery in Europe following World War I made very challenging times for Great Britain, France, and Germany. Prior to the war, trade routes to Europe were well paved in stone and very profitable for all. However, the price of war was very tasking on many of the economic giants of the world. The French francs and the German marks didn’t weigh well with the American dollar since they had printed money to support the war effort when they didn’t have the gold to back the money being printed. The British and French had financial support from the United States during the war effort and during peace talks requested a suspension for repaying their debt to the United States, however, the US refused such a request. Germany was slowly repaying their war debt for reparations to the French for the damages done to their land, but all payments were in coal and timber, but never a payment in full. After the French protest, Germany defaulted on its debt to France by 1922. The French retaliated to this move by the Germans by moving troops into Germany’s industrial area of Ruhr and took over the railroad for their own personal use. This move accomplished little as the German workers went on strike. Meanwhile, Germany’s economy was worsening. In April of 1924, the Dawes Commission ruled that Germany’s payments will be cut in half and that loans would be made to Germany to help stabilize their economy in which the United States provided over the next five years. This aide contributed to Germany’s economic recovery until the Great Recession of the late 1920s and the stock market crash of 1929. This halted all economic recovery from World War I.
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