Adoption of the Dawes Plan: The Times Report

Following the suspension of the payments of reparations due to the hyperinflation of the early 1920s, a committee of financial experts, presided over by the American Charles Dawes, produced a report on the value of German reparations to be made following the introduction of the “Retenmark” by Gustav Stresemann. The report was accepted by the Allies and by Germany on August 16, 1924, in a conference held in London, the end of which is described here by The Times of August 18, 1924. Although no attempt was made to determine the total amount of reparations to be paid, payments were due to begin at 1,000 million gold marks in the first year and to rise to 2,500 million by 1928. The plan provided for the reorganization of the Reichsbank and for an initial loan of 800 million marks to Germany in order to help rebuild German industry after the economic meltdown following the war.