First World War officially ends on Sunday

[xxMATTGxx]

The First World War will officially end on Sunday when Germany pays off the last of the enormous debt which was set by the Allies 92 years ago. Skip related content

The final £60 million instalment is part of a £22 billion debt imposed for starting one of the bloodiest conflicts in history will be cleared on what will also be the 20th anniversary of German reunification.

The Allied victors - primarily Britain, France and America set the reparations in 1919's Treaty of Versailles - a peace agreement - as both compensation and punishment for waging the four year war, which left 10 million soldiers dead, and European towns and cities devastated.

Germany's Federal Office for Central Services and Unresolved Property Issues said that the bond issued to pay remaining debts stemming from 'The War To End All Wars' will be written off on 3 October.

Germany's best-selling daily newspaper, Bild, said: "On Sunday the last bill is due and the First World War finally, financially at least, terminates for Germany."

The initial sum agreed upon for war damages in 1919 was 226 billion Reichsmarks, but was later reduced to 132 billion, £22 billion at the time.

However, the bill would have been settled much earlier had Adolf Hitler not refused to pay the reparations during his dictatorship. The bill was also frozen again when West and East Germany split, and renewed again after reunification in 1990.

Most of the war reparations go to private individuals, pension funds and corporations holding debenture bonds.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/38/20100929...s-6ae0455.html

So Germany have nearly/finally paid the last of it!

[marriott0.01]

Would of finished a lot sooner if they hadn't refused to stop paying them during WW2.

Edit : Didn't read the article all the way through, just skimmed it :L But yeah finally we can put the war behind us even though the ToV was too harsh as it was.

[Frodo13.]

As a history student, I'm ashamed that I had no idea that the terms of the ToV were still being carried out. But good news I guess

[SarahVictoriaaa]

I agree it would have finished alot sooner lmao x

[Ardemax]

Didn't know about this really.

But yeah, well done Germany?