9. Allotment of German Reparations After World War II – A Summary
Published by Campbell M Gold in Historical · Sunday 08 Sep 2024
Tags: Allotment, German, Reparations, World, War, II, Yalta, Conference, Allied, countries, Reparations, German, industrial, assets, Forced, labour, Value, transferred, Agreements
Tags: Allotment, German, Reparations, World, War, II, Yalta, Conference, Allied, countries, Reparations, German, industrial, assets, Forced, labour, Value, transferred, Agreements
9. Allotment of German Reparations After World War II – A Summary
My Reparation Series - Article #9
Introduction
Based on the Yalta Conference during World War II, it was decided that no money would be paid as reparations to Allied countries (although this rule was not followed in later agreements). Instead, a significant portion of the value transferred involved German industrial assets and forced labour given to the Allies. The specific Allied demands were further detailed during the Potsdam Conference. It was determined that reparations would be directly paid to the four victorious powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union). In the case of countries within the Soviet sphere of influence, the Soviet Union would hold a significant role in deciding how the reparations would be distributed, underscoring the geopolitical implications of the post-war era. To oversee the distribution of reparations among the victorious powers, the Allied Control Council was established.
German Reparations
The Allies finally agreed for German reparations to be paid in the following forms:
- All foreign currency
- All gold, silver and platinum in bullion or coin form held by any person/institution in Germany
- All patents and research data relevant to military applications and processes
- Confiscation of all German investments abroad
- Dismantling of the German industry
- Requisition of current German industrial production and resource extraction
- Transferring all manufacturing equipment, machinery and machine tools to the Allies
- Transferring all railroad cars, locomotives and ships to the Allies
- Forced labour provided by the German population
The Western Allies established the Inter-Allied Reparations Agency (IARA) to oversee the extraction and distribution of German reparations in their control zone. The victor powers agreed to allot Germany a pre-determined percentage of its reparations.
Categories
German reparations were to be classified into two categories, "A" and "B":
- Cat A (all forms of German reparations except those included in Category B).
- Cat B (industrial and capital equipment, merchant ships, and inland water transports).
The following nations received reparations as part of the proceedings of the IARA:
Allotment of German Reparations by Western Allies
Country - % of "Cat A" reparations - % of "Cat B" reparations:
- Albania - 0.05 - 0.35
- Australia - 0.70 - 0.95
- Belgium - 2.70 - 4.50
- Czechoslovakia - 3.00 - 4.30
- Canada - 3.50 - 1.50
- Denmark - 0.25 - 0.35
- Egypt - 0.05 - 0.20
- France - 16.00 - 22.80
- Greece - 2.70 - 3.35
- India - 2.00 - 2.90
- Luxembourg - 0.15 - 0.40
- Norway - 1.30 - 1.90
- New Zealand - 0.40 - 0.60
- Netherlands - 3.90 - 5.60
- Union of South Africa - 0.70 - 0.10
- United Kingdom - 28.00 - 27.80
- United States of America - 28.00 - 11.80
- Yugoslavia - 6.60 - 9.60
Poland
Poland was excluded from the IARA proceedings at the Soviet Union's demand. This agreement, part of the Potsdam Agreement, allowed the Soviet Union to collect and distribute Poland's reparations.
The Soviet Union mainly took its share of reparations from the territory in its occupation zone. The Provisional Polish Government signed the Polish-Soviet Reparation Treaty on 16 August 1945. This treaty allocated Poland's share of confiscated German machinery, goods, and raw materials.
Additionally, Poland received 15% of the German merchant fleet acquired by the Soviet Union. Deliveries were overseen by a joint Polish-Soviet commission and continued until 1953.
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