After the lifting of reparations at Lausanne, demand for German bonds began to strengthen.113 This was crucial, because it provided an opportunity for hard-pressed banks to offload illiquid assets and to rebuild their cash balances. In late summer there were signs of a revival in construction. Inevitably, once the harvest was in and building activity slowed for the winter, unemployment did begin to rise again, heading back towards the shock figure of 6 million. But the mere fact that this did not exceed the level reached the previous year was encouraging to the experts.
