Increasingly hostile sentiment towards Greece from Germany has inevitably resulted in the issue of unpaid war reparations rising to center stage.
Feb 6, 2012Katerina NikolasThey arent expecting it to solve the economic crisis. Its an issue that has been consistently raised by a few select groups but is now gaining popular support due to the attitudes raised in the German press. Greece has kept quiet about it for a long time.
school of athens peopleTheAthens Newsreported that the MPs have stressed that Germany owes Greece a debt of 54 billion euros before interest (70 billion with interest). They are calling for the issue to be raised as a national issue as Greece was the only country to which Germany iled to pay war reparations.
The reparations acknowledged by the Paris Peace Conference (1946) to be paid by Germany for damage caused to the Greek economy
Feb 5, 2012Paul WallisYeah, except that the German economic collapse, (which happened in the 20s, by the way, Prof. Ritschl) was caused by the impossibilities of the Versailles Treaty and a more or less totally collapsed postwar economy, not irresponsible borrowing and in irness lending. Hard to see why this is considered relevant to the Greek argument, because Germany didnt get much, if any, help during the worst of the crisis.
Feb 6, 2012Marcus HondroAbsolutely some reparations should be paid and by being critical of Greece, Germany is asking for the issue to be brought up again. It will always be so until the issue is resolved. The hardship placed upon Germany after W.W.1 are irrelevant.
Keep Talking Greecelists the debt owed to Greece in this lengthy quote which summarizes the issue fully:
Aruling by the UN courtlast week decreed that no individual may now sue a nation over war reparations, but this leaves the way open for the Greek nation to demand action for the long overdue payment relating to Nazi atrocities.
The issue of war reparations is one which is widely discussed amongst the Greek population who are increasingly resentful of criticism from Germany, which came to the fore when Germany proposed that Greece hand over budgetary sovereignty to the EU. In an article in German Der Spiegelin June 2011, eminent historian Albrecht Ritschl, a professor at the London School of Economics, criticized Germany for their hostility towards Greece in the current economic. He pointed out that Germanys debt deult in the 1930s makes the Greek debt look insignificant in comparison.
Feb 6, 2012Katerina NikolasI should add the link to Der Spiegel is worth following to read the article in full, in addition to the small quote I used.
According to estimated figures compiled by National Council for the Claim of German Debts, led by the Resistance hero Manolis Glezos, the debt now exceeds, in present value, 162 billion euros plus interest. This contrasts with other sources who put the figure at 70 billion. The Athens News cites the unpaid debt as resulting from:
The obligation to pay compensation for the loss mainly of vessels (due to bombing, torpedoing, sinking or captivity) during the period of Greek neutrality, before the Italys and Germanys invasions. The forced occupation loan. The $3.5 billion loan now stands at $25 billion with inflation and interest payments taken into account.
Ritschl accurately predicted that continued anti-Greek sentiment in the German media would inevitably push the issue of war reparations back onto the center stage. The Greek government, which is usually reserved on the subject, may now be forced to address the issue.
The payment of compensation to the victims of the atrocities perpetuated by the German occupation army. The victims are 1,125,960 people. (38,960 executed, 12,000 dead from stray bullets, 70,000 killed in the battle field, 105,000 dead in concentration camps in Germany, 600,000 deaths from starvation).
Feb 6, 2012Katerina NikolasIf anyone is interested I wrote an article on a village Im very miliar with which suffered at German hands and has never received a cent in reparations.
school of athens people Greek MPs raise the issue of German war reparations,Athens- The issue of the outstanding war debt owed to Greece by Germany will not go away, having gained ground in recent years as Eurocrats dominated by Germany, force ever increasing austerity on the Greek populace. Now a cross party group of 28 Greek MPs has tabled a proposal for the issue of German war reparations to be discussed in Parliament.
Even if the war reparations are payable in full with interest, theyre only likely to cover part of the Greek debt, and theres still the school of athens people Greek MPs raise the issue of German war reparationsissue of Greece getting its economy in order and balancing its budget. They also dont deal with the issue of Greece raising future loans through bonds on its own. Pay the debt by all means, but dont expect the big problems to go away when its paid.
