World War I/reparations

The reparations was a series of payments the German state were forced to make following its defeat during World War I. These were in a variety of forms, including coal, steel and agricultural produce.

The impact of the reparations were widespread. The economic depression that they enforced on Germany helped to pave the way for Adolf Hitler. In Britain meanwhile the large amounts of free (to the British anyway!) coal, flooding the market undercut the native coal industry. This also caused massive economic hardship, which was probably the principle cause of the 1926 General Strike.