Reparations - A History of the German Economy

19 23 was a year of major crisis for the young wimar republic, even more so than the young soviet regime. Reparations payments under the versailles treaty compounded the devastation wrought by world war one and left the german economy in shambles. In july and august 19 23, they organized wildcat strikes, labor shutdowns, opposed and condemned by official union leadership. This was all incredibly vexing for the leaders of the communist party, because at that same moment they were watching a similar rise in worker unrest over in germany. And concluding, it meant that revolution was in the air.