History

en cou r aged hy per i n f l at i on . T hey hoped that r epar at i on paym en t s wou l d be m ade i n the deval ued Germ an cu r r en cy. T he T r eat y was si gn i f i can t to Germ any i n the per i od 1919- 23. I t s si gn i f i can ce was that i t i so l ated Germ any f or a wh i l e, i t added to the destab i l i sat i on of a ser i es of weak Germ an gover nm en t s and i t m ade wor se the hy per i n f l at i on wh i ch had al r eady taken ho l d i n Germ any. T he Germ an pub l i c and som e com m en tator s, both at the t im e and m or e r ecen t l y, wer e appal l ed by i t s term s. T hey ar gued that i t was desi gned to dest r oy Germ any and i t s econom y, bu t i t d i d not do that . Germ any was po l i t i cal l y i so l ated f or a t im e, bu t i t r em ai ned st r ong and i t s econom y qu i ck l y r ecover ed . I t cer tai n l y had m ajor p r ob l em s du r i ng the per i od 1919- 23 w i th weak gover nm en t s and hy per i n f l at i on , bu t the T r eat y d i d not cause these. I t destab i l i sed al r eady weak gover nm en t s, as d i d l ef t -w i ng and r i gh t -w i ng ex t r em i st s, and i t added to hy per i n f l at i on caused

by Germ an gover nm en t po l i cy. Beyond that , i t was r eal l y on l y an i r r i tan t to the Germ an peop l e.

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