I've been incredibly curious of this, and this is only my second post so be gentle if you will.

and why

I'm writing a current events paper concerning the Greek debt crisis and I'm having trouble finding a few figures I think would help my argument immensely. And, as a side note, I found an article (I think in the Guardian) last Thursday that pretty much answered all of my questions but I have been unable to find it since - very frustrating.

• What was Germany's debt after WWI? (I'm finding numbers all over the place)
• What was Germany's national debt after WWII?
• When did Germany finish paying back it's debts from WWI?
• With Germany's war debts, has Germany ever received any kind of amnesty or discount on its debts? (Here, I'm finding the 'London Debt Agreement', a debt relief treaty enacted in 1953. Is there any others I'm missing?)

Big Edit: Did some research, dug up some numbers.

1. The Treaty of Versailles required Germany pay 132 billion gold marks, or $33 billion for reparations (Ritschl 2). That is $446.6 billion in 2014 (Marcuse) (The Inflation).
2. Germany’s post ww2 debt was “estimated at 16.2bn [marks],” or $3.9 billion (Toussaint) (Marcuse). That is $37.84 billion in 2014 (The Inflation).
3. 3 October 2010, on the 20th anniversary of German unification (Lang).
4. After WWII, rather than add to Germany’s debt, assistance was given to rebuild Germany and, as a result, Europe’s economy. First, the Dawes plan was drawn up in 1923.

• The Dawes Plan created a staggered payment plan for Germany’s reparations and provided a loan of $200 million from foreign banks, with ongoing loans from the US as well. Further, the Dawes plan changed Germany’s currency from the highly inflated German Mark to the new Reichsmark (Dawes).
• The Young Plan (1930) reduced total amount of reparations to 121 billion gold marks, or $29 billion, that would be payable over six decades. The plan also loaned Germany another $300 million (Dawes).
• The Marshall Plan (1948) was a Europe Wide aid program that greatly benefitted West Germany in the form of dollar grants valued in 2014 at $12.5 billion, with an additional $2 billion added 1954-1961 (1945) (Toussaint).
• The London Debt Agreement (1953) was a treaty discussing the pre and post war debt of Germany. “Germany’s prewar debt amounted to 22.6 bn marks including interest. Its postwar debt was estimated at 16.2 bn (Toussaint).” The debt agreement effectively over halved these totals to 7.5bn marks prewar and 7bn marks postwar (Toussaint). That is $1.8 and $1.6 billion in 2014 (Marcuse) (The Inflation).

Sources:

"1945–1952 - Milestones - Office of the Historian." 1945–1952 - Milestones - Office of the Historian. United States Government, n.d. Web. 14 July 2015.

Marcuse, Harold, Professor. "Historical US Dollars to German Marks Currency Conversion." Historical US Dollars to German Marks Currency Conversion. University of California Santa Barbara, 19 Aug. 2005. Web. 14 July 2015.

Lang, Olivia. "Why Has Germany Taken So Long ... ?" BBC News. BBC, 2 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 July 2015.

Ritschl, Albrecht, Professor. "Research Impact: Making a Difference." LSE (2014): 1-4. Economic History. The London School of Economics and Political Science. Web. 13 July 2015.

"The Dawes Plan, the Young Plan, German Reparations, and Inter-allied War Debts - 1921–1936 - Milestones - Office of the Historian." The Dawes Plan, the Young Plan, German Reparations and Inter-allied War Debts. United States Government, n.d. Web. 14 July 2015.

"The Inflation Calculator." The Inflation Calculator. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 July 2015.

Toussaint, Eric. "The Cancellation of German Debt in 1953 versus the Attitude to the Third World and Greece." CADTM. Committee for the Abolition of Third World Debt, 18 Aug. 2014. Web. 14 July 2015.

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