In the section "Im Blickpunkt" ("In Focus") we present special highlights from archives represented in the Archive portal-D. These selected archival documents provide an insight into the holdings and offer research suggestions for a possible search in Archive Portal-D or the "Weimarer Republik“ (Weimar Republic) topic portal. This month, we are pleased to present a contribution from the Federal Archives on the subject of reparations payments.
For the young Weimar Republic, the conditions and fulfilment of the Treaty of Versailles were a dominant issue in both foreign and domestic politics. The question of war guilt and the reparations based on it were particularly polarising.
The first Reichstag elections on 6 June 1920 ended in a minority government with Reich Chancellor Constantin Fehrenbach (Centre). The Weimar coalition of SPD, Centre and DDP was replaced by a shift to the right and left wings.
With the signing of the peace treaty on 28 June 1919 in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, Article 231 attributed sole war guilt and the resulting damage to Germany. The article served as a justification for the reparation claims against Germany. In the Treaty of Versailles, Germany undertook to compensate for war damage worth 20 billion gold marks, yet the total amount and duration of reparations were not specified. A reparations commission with representatives of the Entente was to decide on the amount, type, and distribution of reparations in several conferences, initially excluding Germany.