GERMANY WILL NOT PAY BILLION DOLLAR REPARATIONS DEMAND
Berlin, Germany (JFK+50) On March 23, 1921, the New York Tribune reported that Germany's unofficial response to the Entente's demand of payment of one billion marks in gold "to apply on reparations obligations" would be "in the negative."
It was further reported that the Reichsbank* would consider this demand as "a violation of the (Versailles) treaty and in contradiction to "observed practice."
The Reichsbank stated that it would not surrender her gold voluntarily, a reserve of 1,091,000,000 marks**.
*The Reichsbank was the central bank of Germany 1876-1945 with headquarters in Berlin.
**In 1921, one U.S. $ = 330 German marks, in 1922 one U.S. $ = 800 German marks. By Nov 1923 one U.S. $ = 4,210,500,000,000 marks. As the first reparation payments were made, the value of the German mark sank drastically causing internal political instability and misery for the populace.
SOURCE
"Germany Will Refuse to Pay Billion Marks," The New York Tribune, March 23, 1921, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
