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the total of debts arising before World War II were 16.1 billion marks, while debts after the War were calculated to be 16.2 billion marks. Under the London
Agreement, the repayable amount was reduced by 50% to about 15 billion marks and stretched out over 30 years, and compared to the fast-growing German economy were of minor impact. An important term of the agreement was that repayments were only due while West Germany ran a trade surplus, and that repayments were limited to 3% of export earnings. The amounts set by the Agreement were meant to be paid by the profit resulting from German exports, not from stockpile or new loaned amounts. This gave Germany's creditors a powerful incentive to import German goods, assisting reconstruction. After the settlement came into force, for the next five years, until 1958, Germany had to pay only debts arising from unpaid
33:
341:, was highly unstable until 1953. After the signing of the agreement, it stabilized due to the debt relief. The transition of West Germany from a debtor to a creditor by the middle of the 1950s had an impact on Germany's economic growth as well. The agreement's outcome can be described as a German economic miracle. Germany achieved all of the above, despite being obligated to pay the total amount of war reparations (with interest) prior to the London Conference and despite the presence of an
257:
after World War I which had not been paid in the 1930s, but which
Germany decided to repay to restore its reputation. This money was owed to government and private banks in the U.S., France, and Britain. Another 16 billion marks represented postwar loans by the U.S. According to several commentators,
294:
creating a
Commission. The Commission's key role was to determine the types of debts that would be addressed by the London Agreement. During the process, the two sides negotiated the terms of the Agreement “as equals”. The first conference was held in Bonn, in June 1951. The next conference was held
97:
informed them about
Germany’s desire to repay its debts. The Conference on German External Debts (also known as the London Debt Conference) was held between 28 February and 28 August 1952. The Agreement reached at the Conference was signed in London on 27 February 1953. The Agreement was ratified by
281:
239.4 million in deferred interest became due. These claims were repaid by means of "Fundierungsschuldverschreibungen" (Funding Debt
Securities) with a maturity of 20 years. On 3 October 2010 the final payment of €69.9 million was made on these bonds, the last payment by Germany on known debts
241:
The
Agreement was based on three important conditions. Firstly, the total amount that Germany was obligated to pay would be greatly reduced. The repayments’ timeframe should be stretched long enough in order to help Germany’s economy grow. Last but not least, the total that was supposed to be paid
269:
After the five-year mark, Germany was under obligation to pay a fixed amount of 765 million Marks per year. As time went by
Germany’s exports increased significantly, making fulfilment of payments a lot easier and reducing their negative effects on the economy. Debts covered by the Agreement were
298:
In
February 1952 another conference occurred. This was the most essential moment of the entire negotiation process. The total amounts of debts and the compensations’ deadlines were the main topic of conversation. Germany’s negotiating skills played a huge role in the settlements’ outcome.
84:"4. The three Governments, in order to make an overall settlement of German debts possible, are prepared to modify the priority of their claims in respect of the post-war economic assistance which they furnished to Germany, on condition that the settlement plan is acceptable to them."
89:"5. The arrangements contemplated relate to Germany's pre-war public and private indebtedness and to the German debt arising out of post-war economic assistance; they do not relate to claims arising out of the war which can only be dealt with in connexion with a peace treaty."
320:
showed that the London
Agreement "spurred economic growth in three main ways: creating fiscal space for public investment; lowering costs of borrowing; and stabilising inflation." It allowed Germany to enter international economic institutions such as the
224:
Debts that would be settled by different arrangements were excluded from the London
Agreement. Claims arising by countries damaged by Germany during World War II were not included. The debts to be settled by the London Agreement included;
201:
Some amounts owed by Germany arose from its efforts to pay war reparations, and others were associated with large scale loans by the United States. In total, 80 percent of Germany’s external obligations were owed to the United States, the
329:. Another study has shown that the London Agreement can be associated with a "rise in real per capita social expenditure in health, education, housing, and economic development". The stabilization of inflation was a major benefit for the
79:
involved in the settlement, about a new arrangement regarding Germany's External Debts. The content of the dispatch made the main points of discussion clear from the start. The dispatch contained the following texts.
262:. This is another example of attempts made to help Germany’s economy grow before starting to pay the owed amounts. This way, the Allies also acknowledged the willingness of Germany to
263:
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In the last parts of negotiations, some “intergovernmental debts” were settled and “detailed technical reports” were produced that were included in the London Agreement.
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246:”. It can be described as a broad based Agreement as it settled just about every kind of German debt arising from the period before and after the Second World War.
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the United States, France, and United Kingdom on 16 September 1953, at which point the agreement came into force. The Agreement was firstly turned down by the
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191:
889:
894:
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Timothy W. Guinnane, "Financial Vergangenheitsbewältigung: The 1953 London Debt Agreement" (Economic Growth Center, Yale University, 2004)
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316:
849:
884:
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714:
534:
879:
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Jürgen Kaiser (2013). "One Made it Out of the Debt Trap: Lessons from the London Debt Agreement of 1953 for Current Debt Crises"
899:
854:
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almost paid off during the 1970s. Germany continued to pay the fixed amount until the last payment was settled in 1983.
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and creditor nations. The Agreement was signed in London on 27 February 1953, and came into force on 16 September 1953.
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236:"pecuniary obligations arising out of contracts other than loan or credit contracts and due before May 8th 1945"
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Der Weg zum Londoner Schuldenabkommen. Die Regelung der deutschen Auslandsschulden nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg.
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364:
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131:
76:
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Guinnane, Timothy W. (July 2015). "Financial Vergangenheitsbewältigung: The 1953 London Debt Agreement".
487:
Guinnane, Timothy W. (July 2015). "Financial Vergangenheitsbewältigung: The 1953 London Debt Agreement".
410:"One Made it Out of the Debt Trap Lessons from the London Debt Agreement of 1953 for Current Debt Crises"
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Das Londoner Schuldenabkommen: die Regelung der deutschen Auslandsschulden nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg
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143:
230:"non-contractual pecuniary obligations, the amount of which was fixed and due before May 8th 1945"
17:
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123:
233:"pecuniary obligations arising out of loan or credit contracts entered into before May 8th 1945"
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Vilà, Gregori Galofré; McKee, Martin; Meissner, Christopher; Stuckler, David (9 October 2016).
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693:
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213:, and loans from economic aid to Germany. The support was provided by two major programs, the
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Galofré-Vilà, Gregori; Meissner, Christopher M.; McKee, Martin; Stuckler, David (2019).
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Originally presented as the author's habilitation (Düsseldorf) under the title:
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709:(in German and English), Oldenbourg: Deutsches Historisches Institut London,
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and re-emergence of Germany as a world economic power. A 2018 study in the
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560:"Deutschland hat keine Kriegsschulden mehr (Germany has no more War Debt)"
39:
signing the London Agreement on German External Debts on 27 February 1953.
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The Agreement covered loans arising from external investments due to the
657:
Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: G to M
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The agreement significantly contributed to the growth of the post-war
535:"A new idea steals across Europe - should Greece's debt be forgiven?"
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Financial Vergangenheitsbewältigung: The 1953 London Debt Agreement
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Australasian Legal Information Institute, Australian Treaty Series
277:. For many decades this seemed unlikely to transpire, but in 1990
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31:
690:
Yale University Economic Growth Center Discussion Paper No. 880
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Yale University Economic Growth Center Discussion Paper No. 880
594:"The economic consequences of the 1953 London Debt Agreement"
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Part of the agreement concerned debts to be paid after the
443:"Agreement on German External Debts [1954] ATS 17"
627:"Economic consequences of the 1953 London Debt Agreement"
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per year was associated with Germany’s “ability to make
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The Marshall Plan and the Debt Agreement on German debt
509:
J. L. Simpson "The Agreement on German External Debts"
184:
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
581:Η διεκδίκηση των γερμανικών οφειλών προς την Ελλάδα
430:Η διεκδίκηση των γερμανικών οφειλών προς την Ελλάδα
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655:Osmańczyk, Edmund Jan; Anthony Mango (2003).
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679:: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
249:The total under negotiation was 16 billion
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45:London Agreement on German External Debts
659:(2003 ed.). Taylor & Francis.
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110:The parties that were involved besides
102:and then approved on a following vote.
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355:German reparations for World War II
317:European Review of Economic History
290:The negotiations started with the
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18:Agreement on German External Debts
890:Treaties of the United Kingdom
106:Debts covered by the Agreement
73:Departments of Foreign Affairs
71:On 24 May 1951, the US and UK
1:
895:Treaties of the United States
327:International Monetary Fund
253:of debt resulting from the
93:In response to the Allies,
75:respectively, informed the
61:Federal Republic of Germany
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790:Treaties concluded in 1953
780:History of government debt
850:Treaties of Liechtenstein
579:Άρης Ραδιόπουλος (2019).
428:Άρης Ραδιόπουλος (2019).
53:Londoner Schuldenabkommen
885:Treaties of South Africa
795:Treaties of West Germany
384:stopped payments in 1931
295:in London in July 1951.
275:reunification of Germany
188:United States of America
880:Treaties of Switzerland
775:Economy of West Germany
365:World War I reparations
27:1953 debt relief treaty
900:Treaties of Yugoslavia
855:Treaties of Luxembourg
282:from both world wars.
91:
86:
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905:Germany national debt
815:Treaties of Sri Lanka
800:Treaties of Australia
753:Timothy W. Guinnane,
194:. The states of the
180:Union of South Africa
49:London Debt Agreement
35:
865:Treaties of Pakistan
770:1953 in West Germany
255:Treaty of Versailles
47:, also known as the
840:Treaties of Ireland
820:Treaties of Denmark
805:Treaties of Belgium
611:10.1093/ereh/hey010
198:were not involved.
144:Republic of Ireland
59:treaty between the
875:Treaties of Sweden
860:Treaties of Norway
830:Treaties of Greece
825:Treaties of France
810:Treaties of Canada
743:Text of the treaty
337:new currency, the
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870:Treaties of Spain
845:Treaties of Italy
666:978-0-415-93922-5
566:. 3 October 2010.
382:Hoover Moratorium
343:Arbitral tribunal
264:compensate Israel
37:Hermann Josef Abs
16:(Redirected from
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204:Netherlands
176:Switzerland
57:debt relief
764:Categories
544:25 January
389:References
376:Young Plan
370:Dawes Plan
323:World Bank
211:Dawes Plan
192:Yugoslavia
156:Luxembourg
675:cite book
631:VoxEU.org
432:, p. 109.
378:, 1930–32
372:, 1924–29
244:transfers
114:included
100:Bundestag
55:), was a
51:(German:
604:: 1–29.
457:15 April
349:See also
325:and the
260:interest
217:and the
164:Pakistan
95:Adenauer
67:Overview
636:15 July
128:Denmark
116:Belgium
731:online
713:
698:493802
696:
663:
497:493802
495:
306:Impact
292:Allies
215:GARIOA
190:, and
186:, the
182:, the
178:, the
172:Sweden
160:Norway
142:, the
136:Greece
132:France
124:Ceylon
120:Canada
564:Stern
413:(PDF)
251:marks
168:Spain
148:Italy
910:Debt
711:ISBN
694:SSRN
681:link
661:ISBN
638:2021
546:2015
493:SSRN
459:2017
140:Iran
43:The
606:doi
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