this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2025
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The German economy overheated because of excessive government spending to appease the people. The Nazis went to war in 1939 to stave off the impending economic collapse through plundering of other country's resources.
Edit: to those who would say it was the Versailles Treaty to blame for Germany being bankrupt during the Great Depression, it is more complicated than that. Many argue that blaming the reparations clause from Versailles is basically a myth.
But the resentment on Versailles treaty is not the only reason and it is far more complex. The US was basically providing money to Germany through loans, so that Germany can repay the reparations set by Versailles treaty (the United States along with Britain actually opposed the terms but the French insisted). Germany was actually on her way to pay the reparations and the economy boomed after World War 1. But, when 1929 came the Great Depression happened which means the United States had no more money to give, which means Germany also had no money to pay the reparations. This caused the country to default leading to hyperinflation.
Hitler refused to pay the remaining reparations and gave jobs to the Germans by rearming. However, this caused another inflation and impending bankruptcy which prompted Hitler to invade regions and then countries to plunder for more funds.
It wasn't loose government spending it was the reparations from ww1
This is a gross misrepresentation. The nazi debts were accumulated to build up a war economy in order to go to war. The plan probably always was to pay it off (or at least maintain it) through looting, but they did not take on the debt to appease the people. Exactly none of it went into improving people's lifes.
The Nazi rearmament gave people jobs (but caused excessive government expenditure). Also, Hitler stopped most of the payment for reparations when he came to power.
Germany was economically crippled by reparations imposed after World War I. Read up on the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty, signed in 1919, demanded Germany pay 50 billion gold marks (approximately $220 billion in today's money) to cover civilian damage. This debt, along with other harsh terms of the treaty, contributed to hyperinflation, economic instability, and resentment that helped the Nazi party come to power in Germany.
That is true. But the resentment on Versailles treaty is not the only reason and it is far more complex. The US was basically providing money to Germany through loans, so that Germany can repay the reparations set by Versailles treaty (the United States along with Britain actually opposed the terms but the French insisted). Germany was actually on her way to pay the reparations and the economy boomed after World War 1. But, when 1929 came the Great Depression happened which means the United States had no more money to give, which means Germany also had no money to pay the reparations. This caused the country to default leading to hyperinflation.
Hitler refused to pay the remaining reparations and gave jobs to the Germans by rearming. However, this caused another inflation and impending bankruptcy which prompted Hitler to invade regions and then countries to plunder for more funds.
I don't disagree with any of that.