• Plauditecives@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    The treaty was played up by Nazi Germany for political reasons and as such is often mentioned as one of the reasons for Germany to start the war. In practice the reparations asked of Germany where significantly less than what France had to pay as reparations for the 1870 war.

    German economy was in a much worse state after 1929 than France was in the later half of the 19th century, making it a heavier burden. But that’s not due to the treaty itself.

    French Marechal Foch famously said of the treaty «It’s not peace, it’s an armistice for 20 years ! ». They already knew at the time that it was not enough to significantly impact Germany.

    • ohulancutash@feddit.uk
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      1 month ago

      France had wanted the reparations set so high that it would permanently destroy any German economic prospects. Britain and the US had to restrain them, which may explain why Foch was even more hysterical than is usual for the French.