Stubble wrote: ↑Fri Jun 20, 2025 8:55 am
Mr Hill, don't sell yourself short. You also have a winning personality, as apparent by the adoration of CJ, your new crush for life.
You hung the moon for him or some such, apparently, you're the only reason he still comes around.
See, I'm some low IQ luddite, along with everybody else on the forum. You though, you can hold a conversation (in reality, you have depths of patience that I know I lack, for I ran out of wick to burn on that fellow his first week, and each week since, only doses can I tolerate).
We had a disagreement on the causes of hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic but you weren't able to express your viewpoint clearly. It's not about being high or low IQ, that barely matters to me, but you were not able to respond with logic. Instead you just insulted me.
The hyperinflation was largely an effect of the punitive reparations that were placed on Germany after WW1.
On the Allied side, the reparations push was led by Clemenceau, Lloyd George, and French and British civil servants and politicians — who were not Jewish. The decision was framed as national policy, reflecting France’s huge wartime losses, British war loans, and the desire to limit Germany’s power.
Reparations were entirely a product of official inter-Allied negotiation during the Versailles Peace Conference (1919) and subsequent meetings (Spa Conference 1920, London Schedule 1921, etc.).
No organized third parties — neither political movements, private groups, nor prominent figures — outside the victorious governments demanded reparations from Germany.
The Treaty of Versailles included Article 231, known as the “war guilt clause,” which placed full responsibility for the war on Germany and its allies. The motive was not just punishment — it was also practical: France needed rebuilding; Britain needed to pay debts; Belgium was wrecked. Many economists (like John Maynard Keynes) warned that excessive reparations would cripple Germany’s economy and poison international relations. This criticism turned out to be largely accurate.
Most modern historians reject the idea that Germany alone caused the war. Instead, they see a shared responsibility among multiple powers.
Germany and Austria-Hungary: Aggressive support for Austria-Hungary after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand triggered the crisis. Germany’s “blank cheque” to Austria is seen as reckless.
Austria-Hungary: Insisted on punishing Serbia harshly, escalating the crisis.
Russia: Mobilized quickly to support Serbia, which turned a regional dispute into a continental war.
France and Britain: Some argue they could have done more diplomatically to restrain Russia or moderate Austria’s demands.
Balkan nationalism: Tensions and rivalries in the Balkans were a long-running fuse for conflict.
France and Belgium suffered the worst physical damage. To them, Germany had to pay, and the easiest legal path was to declare it responsible.
The Allies needed to justify imposing payments and restrictions. A clear “guilty party” made this politically simpler than admitting a shared blame that would complicate compensation demands.
Germany was effectively scapegoated by the Versailles Treaty and then they turned around and scapegoated the Jews. Hyperinflation was resolved mostly by the time that Hitler rose to power but it left a deep national resentment.
