Economic Influence Of War On Germany Research Paper

The Economic Influence of War on Germany

Throughout the history of the world there have been many wars, and with that said, there have been many effects that war has had on the economies of the countries involved. Not only can a war hurt individuals mentally and physically, but it is often overlooked how greatly it can economically devastate a country. For example, after World War I, a large amount of Germany was left in ruins. Cities were wiped out, businesses were blown off of the map, and homes were destroyed, leaving the whole country in an economic crisis. Soon after, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime actually helped the German economy to an extent, and World War II followed. After World War II, once again the economy was in shambles,
At the time, while known as the German Empire, it consisted of 27 territories and held an extremely powerful army and the second strongest navy in the world. However, this would all change devastatingly quickly with the Treaty of Versailles and the end of the war. The German empire was brought to an end literally overnight when in November of 1918 when the allied forces took over, starting a republic. When the republic was instituted, the Treaty of Versailles had left Germany $33 billion in debt. “Germany plunged into the chaos of inflation. One US dollar cost 4.2 trillion Deutsch Marks. People were lining up for food brings bags of money along” (Hitler 1). This quote shows that the German economy was struggling due to inflation after World War I. Adolf Hitler soon urged the German republic to switch to a dictatorship in order to save the economy of the nation. However, even after a money reform conducted by the country in 1923, the worst was yet to come. After the United States stock market crash of 1929, Germany now had no source of money, as the U.S. had been their main source via loans. It was in this that Hitler saw an opportunity to make his rise to power. However, a man by the name of Hjalmar Horace Greeley Schacht was the true key to the vehicle that reformed Germany’s economy. After having pulled
There were times in which Germany was one of the most powerful countries in the world, but there were also times where a U.S. dollar was worth over 4 billion Deutsch Marks, the German currency at the time. War was the most influential factor in the economic declines that Germany faced, as World War I and World War II both devastated Germany. These wars even led to the splitting of the country, which left the East Germans under communist rule, and struggling for many years. However, with the help of great economists, what is known as the “German Economic Miracle” took place, leaving Germany today as a flourishing country once