Editing World War I reparations (section)

===End of German reparations===
{{Main|Lausanne Conference of 1932}}

In March 1930, the German Government collapsed and was replaced by a new coalition led by Chancellor [[Heinrich Brüning]]. In June, Allied troops withdrew from near [[Mainz]]{{mdash}}the last occupation zone in the Rhineland{{mdash}}and Brüning's Government broached the subject of demanding further refinement to reparations, but this demand was refused by [[William Tyrrell, 1st Baron Tyrrell|William Tyrrell]], the British ambassador to France.{{sfn|Young|2006|pp=171–172}} During 1931, a financial crisis began in Germany. In May, [[Creditanstalt]]{{mdash}}the largest bank in Austria{{mdash}}collapsed, sparking a banking crisis in Germany and Austria. In response, Brüning announced that Germany was suspending reparation payments. This resulted in a massive withdrawal of domestic and foreign funds from German banks. By mid-July, all German banks had closed.{{sfn|Young|2006|p=174}} Until this point, France's policy had been to provide Germany with financial support to help Brüning's Government stabilize the country. Brüning, now under considerable political pressure from [[Far-right politics|the far-right]] and [[President of Germany (1919–1945)|President]] [[Paul von Hindenburg]], was unable to make any concessions or reverse policy. As a result, Brüning was unable to borrow money from foreign or domestic sources. Further attempts to enlist British support to end reparations failed; the British said it was a joint issue with France and the United States. In early July, Brüning announced "his intention to seek the outright revision of the Young Plan".{{sfn|Shamir|1989|pp=56–58}} In light of the crisis and with the prospect of Germany being unable to repay her debts, United States President [[Herbert Hoover]] intervened. In June, Hoover publicly proposed a one-year [[Moratorium (law)|moratorium]] to reparation and war debts. By July, the "[[Hoover Moratorium]]" had been accepted.{{sfn|Crafts|Fearon|2013|p=155}}

The moratorium was widely supported in both Germany and the United Kingdom. The French, initially hesitant, eventually agreed to support the American proposal.{{sfn|Albrecht-Carrié|1960|p=200}} However, on 13 July, the German [[Danatbank|Darmstädter Bank]] collapsed, leading to further bankruptcies and a rise in unemployment further exacerbating Germany's financial crisis.{{sfn|Harsch|2009|p=160}} With the [[Great Depression]] now exerting its influence, the Bank for International Settlements reported that the Young Plan was unrealistic in light of the economic crisis and urged the world governments to reach a new settlement on the various debts they owed each other. During January 1932, Brüning said he would seek the complete cancellation of reparations. His position was supported by the British and Italians, and opposed by the French.{{sfn|Temin|Toniolo|2008|p=137}}

Because of the political differences between countries on the subject and impending elections in France and Germany, a conference could not be established until June. On 16 June, the Lausanne Conference opened. However, discussions were complicated by the ongoing [[World Disarmament Conference]]. At the latter conference, the US informed the British and French that they would not be allowed to default on their war debts. In turn, they recommended that war debts be tied into German reparation payments, to which the Germans objected. On 9 July, an agreement was reached and signed. The Lausanne Conference annulled the Young Plan and required Germany to pay a final, single installment of 3&nbsp;billion marks.{{sfn|Temin|Toniolo|2008|pp=137–138}}{{sfn|Mommsen|Foster|1988|p=454}}{{sfn|Joshi|2005|p=78}} The Lausanne Treaty was to become effective as soon as a corresponding agreement had been reached with the United States on the repayment of the loans it had made to the Allied powers during World War I.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=September 1932 |title=The Result of the Lausanne Conference |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20662122 |journal=World Affairs |publisher=Sage Publications, Inc. |volume=95 |issue=2 |pages=75–77 |jstor=20662122 }}</ref> Due to the failure to come to such an agreement, the Lausanne Treaty was not ratified by any of the states involved and therefore never became legally valid.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|Xj17DQAAQBAJ|page=575|plainurl=yes}} |title=Wirtschaftspolitik in Deutschland 1917–1990 |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2016 |isbn=978-3110465266 |editor-last=Abelshauser |editor-first=Werner |location=Berlin |pages=575 |language=de |trans-title=Economic Policy in Germany 1917–1990 |editor-last2=Ritschl |editor-first2=Albrecht |editor-last3=Fisch |editor-first3=S. |editor-last4=Holtfrerich |editor-first4=Carl-Ludwig |editor-last5=Hoffmann |editor-first5=Dierk O.}}</ref> Germany still paid interest on bonds created under the Dawes and Young plans until 1939,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=William O. |last2=Burdekin |first2=Richard C. K. |date=2002 |title=German Debt Traded in London during the Second World War: A British Perspective on Hitler |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3549020 |journal=Economica |volume=69 |issue=276 |pages=655–669 |doi=10.1111/1468-0335.00305 |jstor=3549020 |issn=0013-0427}}</ref> but did not resume paying reparations until after 1945.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lausanne Conference |url=https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1515.html |access-date=3 November 2023 |website=U-S-History.com}}</ref>