I'm doing some research on the Treaty of Versailles and the ability of the German state to pay the reparations placed on them in 1918. I need a good source of raw economic data(for examination) for this period. Do you guys have any suggestions? Thank you.
Reparations weren't set until the 1921 London conference which put the figure at 132 billion marks - $31½bn (never paid in full), a ludicrous amount equal to nearly 2½ years of pre-war German GDP, nominally to be shared among the former Central Powers none of which was in a position to pay it.
The last big GDP reworking I'm aware of is Albrecht Ritschl and Mark Spoerer, Das Bruttosozialprodukt in Deutschland 1901-95, Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte 38:2 (1997) p 27-54. They've yet to be accused of undercounting.
What should be noted that the 132 billion marks figure is only if you include the "C" tiered notes, which nobody expected the Germans to actually pay off and were merely a decoy to deceive the public from the actual amount (which was closer to 50 billion marks, an amount the German government certainly felt comfortable enough paying as per Sally Marks' Myth of Reparations, which is an excellent paper if you have not referenced it already).