Research On Germany Reparations After World War â…¡

Germany was defeat in World WarⅡ, and must make reparation for the military failure and war crimes after the war. Post-war Germany reparation began in 1945, and has not ended yet. In chronological order, three stages of post-war German reparations were researched in this thesis in 3 Chapters:reparation in occupation period, the federal republic of Germany’s compensation during the Cold War, the compensation after the reunification of Germany. From the contrast between occupation period and federal republic of Germany can be seen, that Post-war Germany reparation has changed from "passive reparation" to "active reparation". Reparation in occupation period was mandatory by the Allies force, but the federal republic of Germany has taken the initiative to pay compensation to victims of the war.During World War II allies began to discuss the formulation of post-war Germany reparations policy. The United States, Britain and the Soviet Union had developed related programs within the government. Allies made resolution about Germany reparation in Yalta and Potsdam Conference, and the three powers representatives had a heated debate to this end. In Yalta Conference established the principle of payment of reparations in kind, and then in Potsdam Conference determined the "zonal reparations" principle. After 1946, the United States and the Soviet Union put an end to cooperation in reparation affairs. From 1945 to 1953, there is a big difference between East Germany and West Germany’s reparation policies. The Soviet Union made large-scale demolition of industrial equipment and extraction of industrial products in East Germany as reparation, and it seriously weakened the East German region’s industrial strength. After 1946 the United States made a significant reduction in West Germany reparations scheme, and supported West Germany industry revival.After the establishment of the federal republic of Germany, the Adenauer government actively compensated Israel and the Jewish world in order to rebuild Germany’s reputation in the international community. The federal republic of Germany and Israel signed "Luxembourg Treaty" in 1952. Federal Republic of Germany paid 3.45 billion marks reparation from 1952 to 1966 to Israel and the Jewish world, and these reparations played an important role for the economic development of Israel. According to the provisions of the "Luxembourg Treaty" the Federal Republic of Germany issued in 1956 "The Federal Indemnification Law", and compensates the victims of World WarⅡ. This is the first time in human history, that a defeated country enacted laws to protect the rights of war victims to obtain compensation. Jewish world initiated actions to a number of German companies for reparation, who used Jewish workers during World WarⅡ. Some German companies paid reparations to the Jewish workers, such as IG Farben, Krupp, Siemens, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, etc.After German reunification and the end of the cold war, a large number of World WarⅡlabors in Eastern Europe launched compensation litigation against Germany. In 2000, the federal government and the enterprises in Germany jointly established the "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future" Foundation. From 2001 to 2007 more than 100 million World WarⅡlabors in Central and Eastern Europe received compensations.Germany shows through continuous reparation his courage and determination to reflect and take the war crimes. Reparations have greatly improved the international image of Germany, and eliminate the moral barriers for Germany to return to the Western world. Germany reparations after World WarⅡhave also some reference for the East Asian war victims to claim compensation from Japan.